Former Nigerian military leader, General Yakubu Gowon, is alive and well, according to his personal media aide, Adeyeye E. Ajayi. There were rumors circulating on social media that he had passed away, but these have been refuted by Gowon himself and his aides. Gowon is a retired Nigerian army general and military leader who served as head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. After his time in office, he earned a doctorate and became a professor of political science at the University of Jos in the mid-1980s. He also founded his own organization in 1992 called the Yakubu Gowon Centre, which works on issues in Nigeria such as good governance as well as infectious disease control including HIV/AIDS, guinea worm, and malaria.