Absolute Truth

25 October 1973, Nigeria broke diplomatic relations with Israel. It was General Yakubu Gowon who ordered it. Now why did Gowon do it? Listen and read carefully. It was not because Nigeria hated Israel. In fact, Nigeria and Israel had been friends before 1960. Israel had helped Nigeria with agriculture, education, medicine and technology. Many Nigerians had trained in Israel. The relationship was cordial. But in October 1973, the Yom Kippur War broke out between Israel and Egypt, and Israel pushed its troops beyond the 1967 ceasefire lines and held on to Egyptian territory, especially the Sinai. For Africa, that was a red line. Egypt is an African country. The Sinai is African land. The Organisation of African Unity, the OAU, had already passed a resolution that member states should cut relations with Israel if Israel refused to give up occupied Arab lands and return to the 1967 lines. And who was the Chairman of the OAU at that time. It was Gowon himself. He had become Chairman on 27 May 1973. So Gowon was in a tight corner. How could he be the Chairman of Africa and still keep quiet while African land was being occupied. How could he preach African unity and African liberation, and still keep full friendship with a country that Africa had condemned. Gowon himself had said it earlier that year. He said Nigeria would break relations with any country that treated Africa or Nigeria as a nonentity. He said, if Israel does not heed the OAU pleas and advice to relinquish occupied Arab lands, we will have no choice but to take steps we deem fit. When Israel advanced beyond the ceasefire lines, Gowon took that step. On that day, 25 October 1973, at 1pm in Lagos, the Federal Military Government announced that Nigeria had broken relations with Israel. The Israeli ambassador was told only one hour before the public announcement. So the reason was simple, but it was powerful. Gowon ordered the break because Israel was occupying Egyptian territory, because Africa had agreed to stand together on this, and because as OAU Chairman, Gowon could not lead Africa with his mouth and betray Africa with his hands. It was a decision of African solidarity, and a decision to defend the principle that no country should keep land it took by force, especially African land. Nigeria paid a price for it, because we lost a useful friend. But Gowon believed that Nigeria, as the giant of Africa, must stand with Africa first. That is why, in 1973, Nigeria broke with Israel, and relations were not restored until September 1992, under Babangida. Now You Know