Yakubu Gowon shi ne shugaban mulkin soja na biyu da ya mulki Najeriya tsakanin 1 ga watan Agusta 1967 zuwa 29 ga Yuli, 1975. Ya kuma jagoranci kasar ta cikin rikice-rikicen da suka biyo bayan hambarar da gwamnatin Tafawa Balewa a ranar 15 ga Janairu, 1966, da yakin Biafra. wanda ya kare tare da maido da hadin kan Najeriya.
Ba kamar sauran da suka gabace ta ba, hambarar da gwamnatin sojan da Yakubu Gowon ya jagoranta, juyin mulki ne ba tare da zubar da jini ba, inda aka hambarar da gwamnatin a lokacin da shugaban kasar ba ya nan a birnin Kampala na kasar Uganda don halartar taron kungiyar hadin kan kasashen Afirka, OAU a lokacin.
Yakubu Gowon ya yi alkawarin mika mulki ga farar hula a 1975. Ya sauya sheka. A shekarar 1974, ya ce mika mulki, kamar yadda aka yi alkawari, ba ya yiwuwa kuma a hakika. Bayan wannan saba alkawari, an kore shi daga mulki a shekarar 1975, bayan ya shafe shekaru tara yana kan karagar mulki.
An yi ta cece-kuce a bariki a lokacin da Gowon ya ce ba zai sake mika mulki ba a 1976. Bai bayyana wata sabuwar rana ba. Wasu matasan hafsoshi, karkashin jagorancin irin su Joe Garba, Musa Yar’adua da Ibrahim Taiwo, sun yanke shawarar yin juyin mulki ga Gowon.
