Mrs. Gowon:  Devotion Personified at 80

Born to Malam Walter Bala and Lydia Fati Zakari on August 22, 1946, Victoria Hansatu Gowon was shaped by values of respect and humility. As the third of 10 children, she embraced diversity early in life and the need to embrace one another. Under her parents’ watchful eyes, humility, and the need to ‘do to others what you want them to do for you’ became the cornerstone of her life. Her tenacity in following the paths she was taught informed her perspective and shaped the life she lives.

Not a lady who was really into modern trends, she popularised African fashion when she accompanied her husband, Gen. Gowon, on a state visit to London in June 1973. For her then, as it is now, the pride of Nigeria’s fashion is endearing, and she turned the visit into a showcase of the enchanting beauty of a country emerging from the rubble of a civil war. With a style unique to her poise, the former first lady gradually became a figure in folklore, a heroine who symbolises kindness and devotion.

Meeting her for the first time, one comes away with the impression that she is conscious of her words. She speaks not in haste, and thinks before speaking. In the past, she was a source of gossip and unpalatable remarks from those intimidated by her status and her marriage to Gen. Gowon. Getting her to speak is like squeezing water from a mountain. Described strictly as a private person, the matriarch of the Gowons’ family is not in a hurry to open her life to public comments.

Growing up

When asked to narrate her years growing up in Zaria briefly, she insists it is a private matter that should not be thrown into the public space. Despite many years in exile after her husband was overthrown in July 1975, the daughter of a Northern Nigerian bureaucrat avoids the highway of public discourse that sometimes ends in disinformation and dents the image of those being discussed. Conscious of how upbringing shapes children’s lives, the former first lady worked behind the scenes to raise her children, shielding them from the hateful comments that sometimes burden former leaders.

Her life was a huge success because she limited her ambition to being a loyal and dedicated wife and mother. As a result, her role was limited to supporting her husband, not necessarily creating the office of the First Lady. After the state wedding in April 1969, the First Couple became a model pair, as their image inspired many young men and women who dreamt of getting wedded.

In hamlets and villages, the wedding of Victoria and Gowon became folklore songs that reverberated across the North, especially in various parts of the country in the Hausa language:

Victoria Gowon, tunani na O! (My dream, O Victoria Gowon!)

Aure na sai da kwanoni  (With plates, I must wed)

Aure na sai da motoci (My wedding must be with cars)

O Victoria Gowon, tunani na ye (O Victoria Gowon, that is my dream)

For the present generation, unaware of those years, plates were out of reach for ordinary folks. Children raised in the rural areas sang their hearts out to the rhythm of drummers, turning the dancing arena into an enjoyable frenzy. Such was the atmosphere of a First Couple who were humble and loving towards all, despite the bitter and hurtful feelings caused by the war.

She was quite mature in her early years of marriage, with Gen. Gowon praising her for her skills in managing the home front while her husband tackled issues related to the civil war. In his memoir, the former Head of State recalls the early days of a young lady thrown under the floodlights thus:

“She was industrious, and her training as a nurse gave her a special sense of wellness, neatness, commitment, and dedication that she brought to bear on the whole family. Her remarkable power of observation, matched by maturity well above her age, helped her quickly master the art of being an officer’s wife. This, in turn, helped us to meet one of our early challenges as the First Couple.”  

Beyond power, life did not end for the First Couple; it eventually revealed Mrs. Gowon’s virtuous side. Raised in a family that valued dignity in labour, the former first lady focused on helping to raise the family, while Gen. Gowon returned to school. With much time now available for him, he rose to the peak of academic excellence, earning a Ph.D in Political Science.  Always around to celebrate the academic progress of her husband, she stood by her husband throughout the years.

Quintessential wife, mother

The former First Lady’s life reflects how a wife’s support can strengthen the home front and inspire her husband to pursue progress. Now an octogenarian, Mrs. Gowon remains the quintessential wife and mother, whose roles have positively impacted her husband, children, and fellow citizens privileged to cross her path.

Not an attention-seeking personality, she prefers to do her duties without seeking the limelight. As a testament to her taciturn nature and aversion to public applause, she avoids the cameras.  She embraces her role as a wife and mother, raising children and serving as a constant pillar of support to the General. Her greatest effort is her relentless work to ensure that children are taught to do and act rightly. Though the matriarch of the Gowon Family has stood against acts that discriminate against women, she is quick to call on women groups to unite and ensure women’s effective presence in key leadership positions in the country.

Apart from recognising her role as her husband’s chief adviser, she had often resorted to employing strict disciplinary measures as a potent tool for bringing up children, as confirmed by the former Head of State.  Gen. Gowon insists that he is sometimes a victim of her strict disciplined life:

 “Although Victoria has an unobtrusive personality, she was everywhere. She could also be quite hard, not just on me, but on the children as well, because she was uncompromising in her resolve to bring them up properly. In our kind of position, one certainly needed somebody like that to get things moving according to plan. She never interfered in my work; but she always gave me the benefit of well-thought-through advice based on what she had observed. Whenever I broached an issue with her, she would listen intently and offer advice supported with cogent reasons I should consider, not take, one course of action rather than another.”

 Mrs. Gowon’s life is best reflected in Henry Longfellow’s The Psalm Of Life:

 “Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

 Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

 Find us farther than to-day.”

 Her life was moulded by the love of parents who drank from the spring of early Christian missionaries, who braved the odds to bring the gospel to the North. The footprints of the matriarch are captured in the inspirational lines penned by the award-winning American author and freelance poet, Ramona K. Cecil, on A Christian Mother:

Whenever her children need her

They know she’s always there

Her beauty in the strength of faith

That she daily finds in prayer

As she turns 80 today, the Field Marshal of the Gowons remains a symbol of strong home-training, dignity, devotion, and loyalty to a cause. Surrounded by the love of her husband and children – Ibrahim, Saratu, and Rahila – and two grandchildren, the octogenarian is satisfied with the family she has helped to create and has managed for nearly six decades.