Throwback : General Yakubu Gowon Came To Church In Mercedes And Left In Open-top Rolls-Royce On His Wedding Day

General Yakubu Gowon was chauffeured to church in a classic Mercedes during his wedding in 1969. After the church wedding ceremony, Yakubu Gowon and his new wife left in an open-topped Rolls-Royce.

General Yakubu “Jack” Dan-Yumma Gowon is the former head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup military coup d’état. He was just 31 years old when he became head of state in 1966. General Yakubu Gowon was overthrowned in the 1975 Nigerian coup d’état.

On April 19th, 1969, General Yakubu Gowon married Victoria Zakari, in Lagos. The wedding ceremony took place at the famous Christ Church Cathedral Lagos.

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This short clip captures the moment that Gen Gowon arrived at the church in a classic Mercedes Benz limousine. After the church wedding ceremony, General Yakubu Gowon and his wife were ferried away in an open-topped Rolls-Royce car.

The young leader and his wife – whose Rolls-Royce was escorted by motorcycles and several cars  – was driven through streets, as huge crowds, including uniformed school children and market women, thronged to watch him pass while cheering them up.

Since the civil war was still going on that year, many considered it distasteful that General Gowon chose that time to wed.

Last year, the former head of state of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon and his wife Victoria Gowon celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The dinner took place at Silk Road Resturant Abuja.

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