SOME eminent Igbo leaders yesterday faulted revelations by Lt. General Jeremiah Useni, former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, on how northern military officers killed the late General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military head of state. He was killed in the July 1966 counter-coup.
Useni, in an interview published in The Nation yesterday, claimed that he was one of the soldiers who fired shots during the coup in which Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed. In the interview, he spoke of how the plot to topple the military government was hatched and executed by mainly northern military officers seeking revenge against the Igbo.
The 1966 coup which toppled the civilian government in which the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafwa Balewa, Premier of the Northern Region and Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of the Western Region, Chief Ladoke Akintola and several northern military leaders were killed, was perceived as a coup against the north.
Colonel Joe Achuzia, former Biafran army commander, dismissed Useni’s accounts as unreliable. According to him, the former minister was not relevant in the scheme of things during the Aguiyi-Ironsi era.
He said, “I don’t react to such nonsense as the one you said came from Jerry Useni. It is not in my character to make statements on documents or statements I have not seen or read as the case may be.
“However, people like Useni are not in any position to give any reliable account. He was a junior officer who was not in reckoning in the army until the mass recruitment done in preparation for the Nigerian civil war. His account can never be anything reliable. It cannot be correct. At most, it will be very, very wrong,” Achuzia said.
In his own reaction, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), accused Useni of intentionally fanning the embers of discord ahead of the 2015 presidential election in the country.
“I like what Jerry Useni has said. It is a good revelation that reinforces the fact that Nigeria was built on distrust right from the word go. The whole polity called Nigeria was conceived and delivered on distrust between the north and the south. We know this all the while but Useni’s confession merely confirms our fears over how our brother was murdered.”
According to him, northerners saw themselves as brothers united against the south. It was not about religion but a north versus south divide. “They conspired and murdered Aguiyi-Ironsi simply because he was an Igbo man who rose to become the Head of State. That is why MASSOB is saying there is no basis for us to remain in the entrapment called Nigeria. With this kind of revelation, what is the basis for our remaining in the country called Nigeria? We want to be allowed to go our separate way because Nigeria is built on distrust.”
He accused Useni of fanning the embers of war at all cost. “They want the country to erupt in chaos ahead of 2015. He is reminding us of how they murdered our brother in cold blood based on distrust. He expects us to be happy reading all he said. Boko Haram is killing our brothers even now, based on the same distrust. Yet they want a united Nigeria.”
For Dr. Chinweoke Mbadinuju, former Governor of Anambra State, Useni should be cautioned against waking up the past that is not very pleasant. Doing this, he warned could re-open old wounds that are better left to heal.
“I don’t know what he wants to achieve by all he said. The statements were very unfortunate and unnecessary. We need peace in this country. No need to wake up the past that is not very glorious.
“I would have said more, but the truth of the matter is that it is not good to ascribe too much to inglorious past especially now that Nigeria is at the stage it is now politically. It is bad now that seven northern governors are looking for trouble in the PDP.”
And according to the submission of Nduka Eya, former Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the consciences of people like Useni, who had hands in the killings of prominent Igbo sons and daughters during the dark days of Nigeria’s history, must be haunting them.
“Even though I am yet to read the said interview, I can say maybe his conscience is haunting him,” Eya said.
Mazi Okwu Okwu, Secretary of the Board of Trustee (BoT) of the Ohaneze Youth Council, said Useni should be ashamed of his involvement in the killing of Aguiyi-Ironsi and other gallant officers of the Nigerian Army.
“If Useni is importing heroism into his action, then it means he lacks any element of human feeling. At a time when his co-travellers are writing books and granting interviews to express their regrets over this same incident, Useni is busy celebrating his callous nature.
“To me, here is a man who is on his own in his failure to realise that the misdeeds of the past account for many of the troubles we face today as a nation. He is a fish out of water. He should be pitied,” Okwu said.


http://thenationonlineng.net/new/aguiyi-ironsi-igbo-leaders-blast-useni/

Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

And what brought about this?

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

Another illiterate, uninformed, and blind troll who doesn't know how the average Igbo adore Fajuyi

LOL
MIDDLE BELT / SOUTH EAST /SOUTH SOUTH ALLIANCE.
LMAO

SS/SE/MB alliance is nothing but fraud perpetuated on NL and the internet.

naijaking1:

Another illiterate, uninformed, and blind troll who doesn't know how the average Igbo adore Fajuyi

Tell us how the average Igbo adore Fajuyi?

I thought some of you believed that he was just a collateral damage and didn't die for some heroic reasons.

ilugunboy: SS/SE/MB alliance is nothing but fraud perpetuated on NL and the internet.

Continue deceiving yourself!! By 2015 we shall know.The people of plateau have learnt teir lessons.After the serial pogroms perpetrated against them in te last few years they have eventually known their enemies.It is even easier for APC to win in the SE than for them to win in Plateau state.

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

Been following your posts.. You make sense!

****enter***

anoda thread for more tribalistic bashing


**** vamoose fast***

Brimmie:

Been following your posts.. You make sense!

wah dah hell !!! .......Ure finished

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

rubbish

Great post. History it seems is very incomplete in Nigeria. I found out that many Igbos are not aware of what transpired from independence to the start of the civil war. A lot of injustice and bias is being done to the psyche of a lot of well meaning people by the deliberate silence on all that happened. We now pick what is suitable to tell our kids and others in the society. Any country I go to they are proud of their histry and tell you how they came to be. Ours we want to re-write history or leave out whole parts to suit our story. That way we don't learn anything from history.
Let's take pride in how we evolved and learn from our mistakes. A mistake was made in the 1966 coup and this has brought a lot of distrust to an otherwise happy and loving Nigerian populace of different tribes.
Please please please, show love to the fellow Nigerian man because our strength really is in our number and diversity which others are struggling to attain.

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

You call the first military coupe the igbo coupe when you forget to address the fact that some Northerners and officers from the middle belt played a major role during the first coupe but no, you all complained like it was a coupe done by the South eartern brethren alone.

A coupe was eminent during the 1960's even though if Neogwu and Ifeajuna who was the driving force of the first coupe didn't kindle the spirit, someone else would. The military were all power hungry at that time and still are. Azikwe was spared his life because he was damn lucky. The weeks before the coupe, he left for the United State for a conference of some sorth. I'm sure if were still in Nigerian during the time of the bloodshed, he would have been a collateral damage to their cause.

We all seem to forget about the thousands of innocent Southern Eastern officers who were arrested, tortured and prosecuted unjustly during the counter-coupe. Also a very great and civil man lost his life. His name is Aguiyi Ironsi. He had no involvement during the first coupe that went wrong, he simply took the mantle of power and became the supreme commander because he was the most high ranking officer at that time and he was murdered because he represented the South-Eastern side and the millions of Igbo brethren and people alike lost their lives during the civil war.

Also during the first coupe, the mutineers planned on excuting Aguiyi Ironsi later on but couldn't succeed since their coupe later failed and was uncompleted. All top military personel during that period were planned on being assasinated. Also Aguyi's intentional plan after becoming the supreme commander was to restore back the power to the democratic regime before he was being murdered during the counter-coupe which would later lead to the destruction and the deunification of Nigeria. People also fail to remember that Aguiyi and some other high ranking officers purposedly matched to Balewa's residence to warn him of an imminent coupe rumours spreading around and to listen to his couseling and orders but the old man couldn't give any. He was too trusting and too naive.

So let's try to be civil and unbiased about this matter of very sensitive nature. Nigeria was formed from distrust. Distrust from the Northerners towards the South and vice versa. It's so sad that the driving force of the first coupe where the South-Eastern brethren. It shouldn't have been them. It should have been someone else. Maybe we wouldn't be suffering from prejudice like we've been for over 40 years.

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

Chinua Achebe wrote his memoir , I have read his book and I wonder what it is that is so foul. Every man is entitled to his opinion. Useni on the other hand granted an interview that was quite candid, again he is entitled to his opinion.
I frown against the tribal coloration of events , comments and what have you. As an Igbo man it is sad to read all that led to the war, as a Nigerian , I am also saddened by the loss of lives in all totality. We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup.
I like hearing from elders, they are the custodians of history. However, we the young ones should be mindful of all we assimilate . Stories are told to suit the story teller, let's always sieve stories that we hear so as to learn from them and not aggravate the polity.
From all I know as a Christian, there is no Igbo , Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, Nigerian heaven or hell, we are all one people, let us make our diversity our strength.
For posterity sake, I'm adding a piece from Dawodus site on the five majors.
"
 

Because of the death of most of the principal actors, the true sequence of events during Nigeria’s first military coup of January 15th 1966 have become clouded by rumour, and outright mythology.  Several misconceptions formed in the gossipy aftermath of the coup have assumed the status of fact.  I attempt in this article, to expose some of the primary myths. 

FIVE MAJORS?

 

One enduring myth is that Nigeria’s first military coup was carried out by “five Igbo Majors”.   The source of this myth is the “we were five in number” comment, which the coup’s most visible, participant: Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, made in an interview with Dennis Ejindu (Africa and the world - May 1967) after the coup.    The “five Majors” myth was later perpetuated by Captain Ben Gbulie’s book on the coup entitled “Nigeria’s Five Majors”, the title of which he recently admitted borrowing from a BBC play of the same name. 

When Nzeogwu made his infamous “we were five” comment, he made no reference to the rank of the “five”.   He was merely referring to the five designated strategic regional commanders of the coup.  In fact, no less than nine Majors were originally billed to take part in the coup.  These were Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, Okafor, Anuforo, Chukwuka, Obienu, Onwuatuegwu and Chude-Sokei.   Shortly before the coup, Chude-Sokei was posted overseas.  On the coup day itself, Obienu failed to show, leaving seven Majors as participants.   When it came to execution, the Majors designated five officers as regional commanders for the coup’s execution.  Of Nzeogwu’s “five”, there were “the two of us in the North” (Nzeogwu and Major Tim Onwuatuegwu), and three more in the South.   

The head of the Lagos operations was Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.  That makes three Majors so far.   The squad, which killed Chief Samuel Akintola in Ibadan, was led by CAPTAIN Nwobosi.   That makes four (three Majors and one Captain). There was no coup in the Mid-West as no military formation was based in that region.  However, Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to the east to arrest the Premier of the Eastern region: Dr Michael Okpara.  The identity of the fifth member is the most problematic.  Majors Don Okafor and Adewale Ademoyega were given much responsibility for the Lagos branch of the coup, and it is likely that one of these two men was the fifth commander. 

WHO WAS THE LEADER?

 

Major Nzeogwu has since 1966, been touted as the leader of the January 1966 coup.  This has been widely presumed due to the visible role which Nzeogwu played during and after the coup.  Nzeogwu was the only Major to successfully execute the coup in his designated target region.   He then followed up his coup success with his infamous “our enemies are the…..” speech.   Thus the (false) assumption that he was the coup leader spread.    The truth may be somewhat different. It was not until the coup plot reached its logistical stage that Nzeogwu was brought in to the conspiratorial group.  The brains behind the coup was probably Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, however Ifeajuna was chased out of Nigeria’s then capital city of Lagos by Major-General Ironsi.  Realising that Ironsi was rounding up those that took part in the coup, Ifeajuna fled to Ghana, leaving Nzeogwu to hold the fort. 

“THESE BOOKISH PEOPLE”

 

The ideological circle of for the January coup seems to have consisted primarily of officers who had embarked upon military careers after completing university degrees. The late former military governor of the Northern Region: Hassan Katsina once commented on the presence of some “bookish people” who had joined the Army for rather different reasons from the normal military crowd.   Katsina was probably referring to the graduates that had begun to join the Army.   These graduates may have been exposed to the left wing political doctrine which was sweeping across much of Africa, Asia, and South America at the time. In January 1966, the Nigerian Army had six graduates: Ojukwu, Olutoye, Banjo, Ademoyega, Ifeajuna, and Rotimi.  Three or four of these graduates were involved conceptually, or physically in the January coup. Of the direct participants, Ademoyega had a degree in History from the University of London, and Ifeajuna was a graduate of the University of Ibadan. 

Although not physically involved in the January coup, Lt-Colonels Ojukwu and Banjo had been accused of showing a greater than average interest in political matters.   Security reports concerning coup plotting by Banjo were passed to Prime Minister Balewa, who ignored them.   Major Ademoyega claims that the Majors had at some point in time, floated the idea of a coup to Ojukwu and Banjo, along with Lt-Colonels Hilary Njoku and Francis Fajuyi.  The four Lt-Colonels were not opposed to a military coup, but Njoku and Ojukwu were “unsure” about whether to participate (see Ademoyega: “Why We Struck”).   None of the four Lt-Colonels got physically involved when the Majors eventually struck and three (Njoku, Ojukwu, Fajuyi) actually played a role (to varying degrees) in crushing the coup, while Fajuyi and Ojukwu became military governors in  Ironsi’s military administration. 

A MAN CALLED KADUNA

 

Nzeogwu was a devout catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and despite being a bachelor, did not spend much time chasing women.  What possessed a puritanical, bible bashing, innocent young man like Nzeogwu to murder unarmed civilians in the middle of the night?   What is clear is that Nzeogwu had harboured some anti-government sentiment for several years before 1966.  Nzeogwu’s boss at the Nigerian Military Training College: Colonel Ralph Shodeinde, had in the past reported Nzeogwu to Army Headquarters for allegedly disseminating anti-government rhetoric to junior officers.  Shodeinde’s report claimed that Nzeogwu had been attempting to poison junior officers’ minds against the Government (see Obasanjo: “An intimate portrait of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu”).  Nigeria’s current Defence Secretary: Lt-Gen Theophilus Danjuma was aware of Nzeogwu’s coup recruitment policy.   As a former colleague of Nzeogwu, Danjuma noted that “Nzeogwu was a very charming person.  He had his method, he would start by criticizing government and then watch your reaction…..if you joined him in criticising the government…..then he would say well, we would (sic) fix them one day.  That’s how he recruited”.  Tim Onwuatuegwu bought Nzeogwu’s anti-government line.  Onwuatuegwu was a colleague of Major Nzeogwu at the Nigerian Military Training College, where Onwuatuegwu was also an instructor.  Onwuatuegwu was tagged a dull, parade ground “goody two shoes” type by one his own course-mates at Sandhurst but fell under Nzeogwu’s spell and was convinced enough to break into the house of, and shoot his own Brigade commander (Brigadier Ademulegun). One officer that seems to have been unaffected by Nzeogwu’s political rhetoric was a cadet named Salihu Ibrahim.   Ibrahim was training at the Nigerian Military Training College while Nzeogwu (chief instructor at the College) and company hatched the coup plot.  Despite being close to Nzeogwu, Ibrahim matured into a “vintage professional soldier” (Chris Alli: The Siege Of Nation) who abhorred military participation in Government.  Ibrahim retired from the Nigerian Army in 1993 after rising to the rank of Lt-General, and serving as Chief of Army Staff.  Strangely for a man who disliked military coups and military governments, he served as a member of firstly Major-General Buhari’s Supreme Military Council from 1984-85, and in Ibrahim Babangida’s Armed Forces Ruling Council thereafter. 

THE ONLY IGBO TO DIE

 

Many claim that the January 15th 1966 coup was a gigantic Igbo plot to transfer control of the Federal Government from northerners to Igbos.   However, one stumbling block in this argument was that the Majors’ killed an Igbo officer during the coup.   The proponents of the “Igbo coup” argument have tried to rationalize the murder of Lt-Col Arthur Unegbe by arguing that he was not initially a target of the Majors, but was only killed because he refused to surrender the keys of the armoury.  This argument displays an ignorance of military postings and procedure.  At the time of the January coup, Unegbe was the Quartermaster-General of the Nigerian Army at Army Headquarters in Lagos.  Not being in command of a combat unit, he had no access to any armoury keys.  As soldiers, the Majors would have known this.   Also, the fact that Unegbe was SHOT proves that the Majors were already armed when they got to him.  Why kill a man in order to get something you already have?   Additionally, the mutineers in other units outside Lagos managed to get their hands on weapons without resorting to killing the respective Quartermasters of their various units.    What is more probable is that Unegbe was killed because he was known to be close to Brigadier Maimalari.  Thus the Majors probably figured that Unegbe had to be silenced in order to prevent him from raising the alarm. 

THE ROLE OF NORTHERN SOLDIERS

 

Not many realize that several officers of northern origin took part in Nigeria’s first military coup.  The “Igbo coup” tag attached to the Majors’ assault ignores the fact that scores of northern officers took part in the Lagos operations, and even assisted Nzeogwu when he stormed the residence of the Northern Region’s premier: Ahmadu Bello.  Nzeogwu  later described the detachment of troops accompanying him to Bello’s house as “a truly Nigerian gathering” (New Nigerian – 18th January 1966).   Nzeogwu pointed out that the northern soldiers accompanying him “had the chance to drop out.  More than that, they had bullets.  They had been issued with bullets but I was unarmed.  If they disagreed they could have shot me….most of the Other Ranks were Northerners but they followed”.   Among the prominent northern soldiers that helped Nzeogwu to overthrow the Northern Region’s government was John Atom Kpera.  Kpera later became the military governor of Benue State.  Many of the soldiers that accompanied Major Ifeajuna when he abducted the Prime Minister: Tafawa Balewa, were also northerners. 

IRONSI

 

The Majors’ failure to arrest or kill the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Nigerian Army: Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, has led some to believe that he was part of, or was at the very least tipped off about, the coup plot.    Ironsi and other senior officers had in the weeks leading up to the coup become concerned by the possibility of a junior officers’ coup.  These concerns were passed on to the Prime Minister who either did not take them seriously, or chose not to act in response. 

Ironsi was definitely on the Majors’ hit list and Major Nzeogwu later regretted that they did not manage to get him (“We got some but not all.  General Ironsi was to have been shot”).  Ironsi’s escape owed much to good fortune, and the Majors tactical mistake in arresting or killing other senior officers before they got hold of Ironsi.  The commotion caused by the murders of other officers alerted Ironsi to the coup and he was able to rally troops who helped him to put down the Majors’ coup.  Ironsi had been tipped off about the coup by a telephone call from the Army’s Adjutant-General: Lt-Col James Pam.  Shortly after ending the telephone call with Ironsi, Pam was abducted and murdered by officers involved in the plot.   On his way to commence moves to crush the coup, Ironsi actually came across some junior officers that were involved in the coup.  It is possible that some of these young officers lost their nerve when confronted by the intimidating presence of their GOC.   When he encountered a checkpoint manned by some of the mutineers, Ironsi simply stepped out of his vehicle, and roared “get out of my way!” (an order which was promptly obeyed) before continuing his journey.  After the coup was suppressed, Ironsi met with the surviving members of the federal cabinet.  Even northern ministers present at that meeting conceded that Ironsi seemed genuinely upset by, and wept about the death of his military colleagues. 

As often happens with emotive events, we sometimes allow our judgment, and the facts, to be obscured by rumour and grab hold of any theory – no matter how implausible.  I hope that I have managed to shed more light on the events of that fateful night that so drastically altered Nigeria’s political landscape"

It is gud that this is happeining now. Massob needs a total revamp. And it is not the Zionist movement. Massob ideoligies is from india (ghandi the hindu), Biafran zionst movement is from isrealis (AMALEK and teman). What happened to ideologies from the one true God (Yawa). I pity all the massobians following the ideologies of ghandi and the laws of his hindu God! My people are really ignorant. Bow to YAWA

spyx64: SOME eminent Igbo leaders yesterday faulted revelations by Lt. General Jeremiah Useni, former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, on how northern military officers killed the late General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military head of state. He was killed in the July 1966 counter-coup.
Useni, in an interview published in The Nation yesterday, claimed that he was one of the soldiers who fired shots during the coup in which Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed. In the interview, he spoke of how the plot to topple the military government was hatched and executed by mainly northern military officers seeking revenge against the Igbo.
The 1966 coup which toppled the civilian government in which the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafwa Balewa, Premier of the Northern Region and Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of the Western Region, Chief Ladoke Akintola and several northern military leaders were killed, was perceived as a coup against the north.
Colonel Joe Achuzia, former Biafran army commander, dismissed Useni’s accounts as unreliable. According to him, the former minister was not relevant in the scheme of things during the Aguiyi-Ironsi era.
He said, “I don’t react to such nonsense as the one you said came from Jerry Useni. It is not in my character to make statements on documents or statements I have not seen or read as the case may be.
“However, people like Useni are not in any position to give any reliable account. He was a junior officer who was not in reckoning in the army until the mass recruitment done in preparation for the Nigerian civil war. His account can never be anything reliable. It cannot be correct. At most, it will be very, very wrong,” Achuzia said.
In his own reaction, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), accused Useni of intentionally fanning the embers of discord ahead of the 2015 presidential election in the country.
“I like what Jerry Useni has said. It is a good revelation that reinforces the fact that Nigeria was built on distrust right from the word go. The whole polity called Nigeria was conceived and delivered on distrust between the north and the south. We know this all the while but Useni’s confession merely confirms our fears over how our brother was murdered.”
According to him, northerners saw themselves as brothers united against the south. It was not about religion but a north versus south divide. “They conspired and murdered Aguiyi-Ironsi simply because he was an Igbo man who rose to become the Head of State. That is why MASSOB is saying there is no basis for us to remain in the entrapment called Nigeria. With this kind of revelation, what is the basis for our remaining in the country called Nigeria? We want to be allowed to go our separate way because Nigeria is built on distrust.”
He accused Useni of fanning the embers of war at all cost. “They want the country to erupt in chaos ahead of 2015. He is reminding us of how they murdered our brother in cold blood based on distrust. He expects us to be happy reading all he said. Boko Haram is killing our brothers even now, based on the same distrust. Yet they want a united Nigeria.”
For Dr. Chinweoke Mbadinuju, former Governor of Anambra State, Useni should be cautioned against waking up the past that is not very pleasant. Doing this, he warned could re-open old wounds that are better left to heal.
“I don’t know what he wants to achieve by all he said. The statements were very unfortunate and unnecessary. We need peace in this country. No need to wake up the past that is not very glorious.
“I would have said more, but the truth of the matter is that it is not good to ascribe too much to inglorious past especially now that Nigeria is at the stage it is now politically. It is bad now that seven northern governors are looking for trouble in the PDP.”
And according to the submission of Nduka Eya, former Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the consciences of people like Useni, who had hands in the killings of prominent Igbo sons and daughters during the dark days of Nigeria’s history, must be haunting them.
“Even though I am yet to read the said interview, I can say maybe his conscience is haunting him,” Eya said.
Mazi Okwu Okwu, Secretary of the Board of Trustee (BoT) of the Ohaneze Youth Council, said Useni should be ashamed of his involvement in the killing of Aguiyi-Ironsi and other gallant officers of the Nigerian Army.
“If Useni is importing heroism into his action, then it means he lacks any element of human feeling. At a time when his co-travellers are writing books and granting interviews to express their regrets over this same incident, Useni is busy celebrating his callous nature.
“To me, here is a man who is on his own in his failure to realise that the misdeeds of the past account for many of the troubles we face today as a nation. He is a fish out of water. He should be pitied,” Okwu said.


http://thenationonlineng.net/new/aguiyi-ironsi-igbo-leaders-blast-useni/

when I read post like this,I try and restrain my self not to use words that are not appropriate....okay the igbos and a yotuba oFficer planned a coup in 1966......the igbos killed some northern soldiers during the biafra war. But how many do you see coming on national dailies to tell us that they did it? Meaning that since there was a 1966 coup,then the igbos should suffer in perpetuity?? It only reveals one thing...that you especially and majority of Nigerians and blacks in general are still savages.....when german chancellor went to one of the european states that felt the brunt of german war machines thru hitler,they appologised for the atrocities that hitler and the old germany comitted.....having the impression that the igbos deserved what they got shows how brute and savagery that you have stooped.....meaning it serves the jews right that 6 million of them where killed....?? Just because of a foolish excuse that they killed jesus.....most times I wonder what quality of exposure and education we get these days.....and mind you....it was the WESTERN REGION that the whole wahala started from.....with awolowo and akintola ish.....so don't thing you guys are excluded....

ilugunboy: SS/SE/MB alliance is nothing but fraud perpetuated on NL and the internet.

how come you seem to know everthing about the SS SE and Middle belt? Are you a fraud your self? I have been reading your comments,and I understand the way your likes reason and think.....irrational....

chukwudi44:

Continue deceiving yourself!! By 2015 we shall know.The people of plateau have learnt teir lessons.After the serial pogroms perpetrated against them in te last few years they have eventually known their enemies.It is even easier for APC to win in the SE than for them to win in Plateau state.

Who is this one? I'm in Jos nd we're tired of Jonathan nd Jang. How did Jonathan protect d interest of the Christians in Jos?

If APC presents a candidate we can identify with, why won't we go with them.

ilugunboy: SS/SE/MB alliance is nothing but fraud perpetuated on NL and the internet.

when Hausas were fighting with Yorubas in ibadan over beans i guess that shows alliance between SW/North.

No citizens of this country can be more Nigerian than the igbos. Long live Ndigbo Long live Nigeria

"We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup".

It was just a coincidence that Northern and Western leaders were killed and NO Eastern leader was killed.

It was also just a non issue that the Killer Majors were not tried and purnished but went about town like Rock Stars.
The Northerners were supposed to take it in Good Fate and go about their jolly good daily lives.

Kamanda: "We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup".

It was just a coincidence that Northern and Western leaders were killed and NO Eastern leader was killed.

It was also just a non issue that the Killer Majors were not tried and purnished but went about town like Rock Stars.
The Northerners were supposed to take it in Good Fate and go about their jolly good daily lives.

Kamanda my point is that though no Igbo leader was killed except for Obienu, the coup wasn't initiated on tribal lines. Nigerians soldiers from diverse tribes participated and even Nigerians generally heralded the coup. However, the tribal card was played after the coup by the northern politicians who had lost out. It was they who goaded the northern military officers to react in the manner they did.
The actions of the then northern elders is similar to the attitude of today's northern elders.They are quite persistent in their demands irrespective of how other Nigerians feel.
I read somewhere that politics should be about persuasion and not power, I quite agree with that school of thought.

tawa89: when Hausas were fighting with Yorubas in ibadan over beans i guess that shows alliance between SW/North.

SW don't do attache ....check through history.

Kamanda: "We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup".

It was just a coincidence that Northern and Western leaders were killed and NO Eastern leader was killed.

It was also just a non issue that the Killer Majors were not tried and purnished but went about town like Rock Stars.
The Northerners were supposed to take it in Good Fate and go about their jolly good daily lives.

That is the senseless idea we are supposed to believe as historical truth. Unfortunately, those promoting these lies are still paying for it, even after 50 years, because they refuse to simply admit wrongdoing, offer an unreserved apology and a genuine hand in friendship and brotherhood.

Sir Ahmadu Bello and Balewa's ghosts are still haunting them 'till today.

uglybugz:
Kamanda my point is that though no Igbo leader was killed except for Obienu, the coup wasn't initiated on tribal lines. Nigerians soldiers from diverse tribes participated and even Nigerians generally heralded the coup. However, the tribal card was played after the coup by the northern politicians who had lost out. It was they who goaded the northern military officers to react in the manner they did.
The actions of the then northern elders is similar to the attitude of today's northern elders.

That is the devil that northern elders/politicians introduced succesfully to counter the revolution of 1966 and it has been replicated severally till today. It has been a wonderful source of propaganda but the truth can't be suppressed for ever.

[quote author=uglybugz]
Chinua Achebe wrote his memoir , I have read his book and I wonder what it is that is so foul. Every man is entitled to his opinion. Useni on the other hand granted an interview that was quite candid, again he is entitled to his opinion.
I frown against the tribal coloration of events , comments and what have you. As an Igbo man it is sad to read all that led to the war, as a Nigerian , I am also saddened by the loss of lives in all totality. We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup.
I like hearing from elders, they are the custodians of history. However, we the young ones should be mindful of all we assimilate . Stories are told to suit the story teller, let's always sieve stories that we hear so as to learn from them and not aggravate the polity.
From all I know as a Christian, there is no Igbo , Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, Nigerian heaven or hell, we are all one people, let us make our diversity our strength.
For posterity sake, I'm adding a piece from Dawodus site on the five majors.
"
 

Because of the death of most of the principal actors, the true sequence of events during Nigeria’s first military coup of January 15th 1966 have become clouded by rumour, and outright mythology.  Several misconceptions formed in the gossipy aftermath of the coup have assumed the status of fact.  I attempt in this article, to expose some of the primary myths. 

FIVE MAJORS?

 

One enduring myth is that Nigeria’s first military coup was carried out by “five Igbo Majors”.   The source of this myth is the “we were five in number” comment, which the coup’s most visible, participant: Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, made in an interview with Dennis Ejindu (Africa and the world - May 1967) after the coup.    The “five Majors” myth was later perpetuated by Captain Ben Gbulie’s book on the coup entitled “Nigeria’s Five Majors”, the title of which he recently admitted borrowing from a BBC play of the same name. 

When Nzeogwu made his infamous “we were five” comment, he made no reference to the rank of the “five”.   He was merely referring to the five designated strategic regional commanders of the coup.  In fact, no less than nine Majors were originally billed to take part in the coup.  These were Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, Okafor, Anuforo, Chukwuka, Obienu, Onwuatuegwu and Chude-Sokei.   Shortly before the coup, Chude-Sokei was posted overseas.  On the coup day itself, Obienu failed to show, leaving seven Majors as participants.   When it came to execution, the Majors designated five officers as regional commanders for the coup’s execution.  Of Nzeogwu’s “five”, there were “the two of us in the North” (Nzeogwu and Major Tim Onwuatuegwu), and three more in the South.   

The head of the Lagos operations was Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.  That makes three Majors so far.   The squad, which killed Chief Samuel Akintola in Ibadan, was led by CAPTAIN Nwobosi.   That makes four (three Majors and one Captain). There was no coup in the Mid-West as no military formation was based in that region.  However, Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to the east to arrest the Premier of the Eastern region: Dr Michael Okpara.  The identity of the fifth member is the most problematic.  Majors Don Okafor and Adewale Ademoyega were given much responsibility for the Lagos branch of the coup, and it is likely that one of these two men was the fifth commander. 

WHO WAS THE LEADER?

 

Major Nzeogwu has since 1966, been touted as the leader of the January 1966 coup.  This has been widely presumed due to the visible role which Nzeogwu played during and after the coup.  Nzeogwu was the only Major to successfully execute the coup in his designated target region.   He then followed up his coup success with his infamous “our enemies are the…..” speech.   Thus the (false) assumption that he was the coup leader spread.    The truth may be somewhat different. It was not until the coup plot reached its logistical stage that Nzeogwu was brought in to the conspiratorial group.  The brains behind the coup was probably Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, however Ifeajuna was chased out of Nigeria’s then capital city of Lagos by Major-General Ironsi.  Realising that Ironsi was rounding up those that took part in the coup, Ifeajuna fled to Ghana, leaving Nzeogwu to hold the fort. 

“THESE BOOKISH PEOPLE”

 

The ideological circle of for the January coup seems to have consisted primarily of officers who had embarked upon military careers after completing university degrees. The late former military governor of the Northern Region: Hassan Katsina once commented on the presence of thanks alot dear for your candid information.

Whoever holds animoosity over General Useni's words can go and take a backward dive in the ocean .


Northerners wlld never let that innjustice done to their people n heroes fly, an eye for an eye


Shikenan!

ndu_chucks:

That is the senseless idea we are supposed to believe as historical truth. Unfortunately, those promoting these lies are still paying for it, even after 50 years, because they refuse to simply admit wrongdoing, offer an unreserved apology and a genuine hand in friendship and brotherhood.

Sir Ahmadu Bello and Balewa's ghosts are still haunting them 'till today.

Well said, much as they would like to rewrite history by way of selective memory; nothing will take away from the fact or stop people from believing the obvious: that it was an Igbo coup led by Igbo officers with an Igbo agenda, to topple the government of the day and replace it with their own (Azikiwe & co, not Ironsi); because they couldn't stomach the fact that northerners who they saw as inferior were in fact in charge and also being outnumbered they knew they could never achieve it democratically so they chose force - thereby opening the pandora's box for which all of us are still paying for today.

Igbos were not only responsible for truncating our democracy (because of their arrogance and do or die attitude), they were responsible for the riots and killings of their own ppl in the north that followed; yes, firstly through the one sided pro - Igbo policies Ironsi embarked upon and secondly, through blatant provocation (taunting in the streets, markets and other public places) of northerners then by Igbos, it even got to the extent that a cartoon of the Sardauna was depicted in one the popular magazines of the time (DRUM) mocking the northerners that their father (the Sardauna was languishing at the gates of hell); still news also filtered that the late prime minister Tafawa Balewa was not only killed (strangled) but his body was also desecrated (they cut off his privates and put it in his mouth - ppl don't talk of this out of respect) that is how his abandoned decomposing body was found leaning against a tree in the bush days later. This news along with already ongoing issues was enough to push the northerners beyond the limits of self restraint into retaliation.
Interestingly, northerners were so appalled at the time that they wanted separation - so Igbos were not the first but only following after the north (with their separatist) Biafran agenda.
Interestingly also, the unitary government system was introduced by Ironsi who dissolved regionalism to concentrate power to himself; southerners should know who to blame when they are crying for SNC and resource control - they are merely reaping the seeds sown by their own ppl.
In short, all our wahala started with the Igbos and their coup - they should apologised to all Nigerians.

meccuno: when I read post like this,I try and restrain my self not to use words that are not appropriate....okay the igbos and a yotuba oFficer planned a coup in 1966......the igbos killed some northern soldiers during the biafra war. But how many do you see coming on national dailies to tell us that they did it? Meaning that since there was a 1966 coup,then the igbos should suffer in perpetuity?? It only reveals one thing...that you especially and majority of Nigerians and blacks in general are still savages.....when german chancellor went to one of the european states that felt the brunt of german war machines thru hitler,they appologised for the atrocities that hitler and the old germany comitted.....having the impression that the igbos deserved what they got shows how brute and savagery that you have stooped.....meaning it serves the jews right that 6 million of them where killed....?? Just because of a foolish excuse that they killed jesus.....most times I wonder what quality of exposure and education we get these days.....and mind you....it was the WESTERN REGION that the whole wahala started from.....with awolowo and akintola ish.....so don't thing you guys are excluded....

What is this one saying *ode*

We will lead u people for 59yrs then we can divid@my kingdom

uglybugz:
Chinua Achebe wrote his memoir , I have read his book and I wonder what it is that is so foul. Every man is entitled to his opinion. Useni on the other hand granted an interview that was quite candid, again he is entitled to his opinion.
I frown against the tribal coloration of events , comments and what have you. As an Igbo man it is sad to read all that led to the war, as a Nigerian , I am also saddened by the loss of lives in all totality. We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup.
I like hearing from elders, they are the custodians of history. However, we the young ones should be mindful of all we assimilate . Stories are told to suit the story teller, let's always sieve stories that we hear so as to learn from them and not aggravate the polity.
From all I know as a Christian, there is no Igbo , Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, Nigerian heaven or hell, we are all one people, let us make our diversity our strength.
For posterity sake, I'm adding a piece from Dawodus site on the five majors.
"
 

Because of the death of most of the principal actors, the true sequence of events during Nigeria’s first military coup of January 15th 1966 have become clouded by rumour, and outright mythology.  Several misconceptions formed in the gossipy aftermath of the coup have assumed the status of fact.  I attempt in this article, to expose some of the primary myths. 

FIVE MAJORS?

 

One enduring myth is that Nigeria’s first military coup was carried out by “five Igbo Majors”.   The source of this myth is the “we were five in number” comment, which the coup’s most visible, participant: Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, made in an interview with Dennis Ejindu (Africa and the world - May 1967) after the coup.    The “five Majors” myth was later perpetuated by Captain Ben Gbulie’s book on the coup entitled “Nigeria’s Five Majors”, the title of which he recently admitted borrowing from a BBC play of the same name. 

When Nzeogwu made his infamous “we were five” comment, he made no reference to the rank of the “five”.   He was merely referring to the five designated strategic regional commanders of the coup.  In fact, no less than nine Majors were originally billed to take part in the coup.  These were Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, Okafor, Anuforo, Chukwuka, Obienu, Onwuatuegwu and Chude-Sokei.   Shortly before the coup, Chude-Sokei was posted overseas.  On the coup day itself, Obienu failed to show, leaving seven Majors as participants.   When it came to execution, the Majors designated five officers as regional commanders for the coup’s execution.  Of Nzeogwu’s “five”, there were “the two of us in the North” (Nzeogwu and Major Tim Onwuatuegwu), and three more in the South.   

The head of the Lagos operations was Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.  That makes three Majors so far.   The squad, which killed Chief Samuel Akintola in Ibadan, was led by CAPTAIN Nwobosi.   That makes four (three Majors and one Captain). There was no coup in the Mid-West as no military formation was based in that region.  However, Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to the east to arrest the Premier of the Eastern region: Dr Michael Okpara.  The identity of the fifth member is the most problematic.  Majors Don Okafor and Adewale Ademoyega were given much responsibility for the Lagos branch of the coup, and it is likely that one of these two men was the fifth commander. 

WHO WAS THE LEADER?

 

Major Nzeogwu has since 1966, been touted as the leader of the January 1966 coup.  This has been widely presumed due to the visible role which Nzeogwu played during and after the coup.  Nzeogwu was the only Major to successfully execute the coup in his designated target region.   He then followed up his coup success with his infamous “our enemies are the…..” speech.   Thus the (false) assumption that he was the coup leader spread.    The truth may be somewhat different. It was not until the coup plot reached its logistical stage that Nzeogwu was brought in to the conspiratorial group.  The brains behind the coup was probably Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, however Ifeajuna was chased out of Nigeria’s then capital city of Lagos by Major-General Ironsi.  Realising that Ironsi was rounding up those that took part in the coup, Ifeajuna fled to Ghana, leaving Nzeogwu to hold the fort. 

“THESE BOOKISH PEOPLE”

 

The ideological circle of for the January coup seems to have consisted primarily of officers who had embarked upon military careers after completing university degrees. The late former military governor of the Northern Region: Hassan Katsina once commented on the presence of some “bookish people” who had joined the Army for rather different reasons from the normal military crowd.   Katsina was probably referring to the graduates that had begun to join the Army.   These graduates may have been exposed to the left wing political doctrine which was sweeping across much of Africa, Asia, and South America at the time. In January 1966, the Nigerian Army had six graduates: Ojukwu, Olutoye, Banjo, Ademoyega, Ifeajuna, and Rotimi.  Three or four of these graduates were involved conceptually, or physically in the January coup. Of the direct participants, Ademoyega had a degree in History from the University of London, and Ifeajuna was a graduate of the University of Ibadan. 

Although not physically involved in the January coup, Lt-Colonels Ojukwu and Banjo had been accused of showing a greater than average interest in political matters.   Security reports concerning coup plotting by Banjo were passed to Prime Minister Balewa, who ignored them.   Major Ademoyega claims that the Majors had at some point in time, floated the idea of a coup to Ojukwu and Banjo, along with Lt-Colonels Hilary Njoku and Francis Fajuyi.  The four Lt-Colonels were not opposed to a military coup, but Njoku and Ojukwu were “unsure” about whether to participate (see Ademoyega: “Why We Struck”).   None of the four Lt-Colonels got physically involved when the Majors eventually struck and three (Njoku, Ojukwu, Fajuyi) actually played a role (to varying degrees) in crushing the coup, while Fajuyi and Ojukwu became military governors in  Ironsi’s military administration. 

A MAN CALLED KADUNA

 

Nzeogwu was a devout catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and despite being a bachelor, did not spend much time chasing women.  What possessed a puritanical, bible bashing, innocent young man like Nzeogwu to murder unarmed civilians in the middle of the night?   What is clear is that Nzeogwu had harboured some anti-government sentiment for several years before 1966.  Nzeogwu’s boss at the Nigerian Military Training College: Colonel Ralph Shodeinde, had in the past reported Nzeogwu to Army Headquarters for allegedly disseminating anti-government rhetoric to junior officers.  Shodeinde’s report claimed that Nzeogwu had been attempting to poison junior officers’ minds against the Government (see Obasanjo: “An intimate portrait of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu”).  Nigeria’s current Defence Secretary: Lt-Gen Theophilus Danjuma was aware of Nzeogwu’s coup recruitment policy.   As a former colleague of Nzeogwu, Danjuma noted that “Nzeogwu was a very charming person.  He had his method, he would start by criticizing government and then watch your reaction…..if you joined him in criticising the government…..then he would say well, we would (sic) fix them one day.  That’s how he recruited”.  Tim Onwuatuegwu bought Nzeogwu’s anti-government line.  Onwuatuegwu was a colleague of Major Nzeogwu at the Nigerian Military Training College, where Onwuatuegwu was also an instructor.  Onwuatuegwu was tagged a dull, parade ground “goody two shoes” type by one his own course-mates at Sandhurst but fell under Nzeogwu’s spell and was convinced enough to break into the house of, and shoot his own Brigade commander (Brigadier Ademulegun). One officer that seems to have been unaffected by Nzeogwu’s political rhetoric was a cadet named Salihu Ibrahim.   Ibrahim was training at the Nigerian Military Training College while Nzeogwu (chief instructor at the College) and company hatched the coup plot.  Despite being close to Nzeogwu, Ibrahim matured into a “vintage professional soldier” (Chris Alli: The Siege Of Nation) who abhorred military participation in Government.  Ibrahim retired from the Nigerian Army in 1993 after rising to the rank of Lt-General, and serving as Chief of Army Staff.  Strangely for a man who disliked military coups and military governments, he served as a member of firstly Major-General Buhari’s Supreme Military Council from 1984-85, and in Ibrahim Babangida’s Armed Forces Ruling Council thereafter. 

THE ONLY IGBO TO DIE

 

Many claim that the January 15th 1966 coup was a gigantic Igbo plot to transfer control of the Federal Government from northerners to Igbos.   However, one stumbling block in this argument was that the Majors’ killed an Igbo officer during the coup.   The proponents of the “Igbo coup” argument have tried to rationalize the murder of Lt-Col Arthur Unegbe by arguing that he was not initially a target of the Majors, but was only killed because he refused to surrender the keys of the armoury.  This argument displays an ignorance of military postings and procedure.  At the time of the January coup, Unegbe was the Quartermaster-General of the Nigerian Army at Army Headquarters in Lagos.  Not being in command of a combat unit, he had no access to any armoury keys.  As soldiers, the Majors would have known this.   Also, the fact that Unegbe was SHOT proves that the Majors were already armed when they got to him.  Why kill a man in order to get something you already have?   Additionally, the mutineers in other units outside Lagos managed to get their hands on weapons without resorting to killing the respective Quartermasters of their various units.    What is more probable is that Unegbe was killed because he was known to be close to Brigadier Maimalari.  Thus the Majors probably figured that Unegbe had to be silenced in order to prevent him from raising the alarm. 

THE ROLE OF NORTHERN SOLDIERS

 

Not many realize that several officers of northern origin took part in Nigeria’s first military coup.  The “Igbo coup” tag attached to the Majors’ assault ignores the fact that scores of northern officers took part in the Lagos operations, and even assisted Nzeogwu when he stormed the residence of the Northern Region’s premier: Ahmadu Bello.  Nzeogwu  later described the detachment of troops accompanying him to Bello’s house as “a truly Nigerian gathering” (New Nigerian – 18th January 1966).   Nzeogwu pointed out that the northern soldiers accompanying him “had the chance to drop out.  More than that, they had bullets.  They had been issued with bullets but I was unarmed.  If they disagreed they could have shot me….most of the Other Ranks were Northerners but they followed”.   Among the prominent northern soldiers that helped Nzeogwu to overthrow the Northern Region’s government was John Atom Kpera.  Kpera later became the military governor of Benue State.  Many of the soldiers that accompanied Major Ifeajuna when he abducted the Prime Minister: Tafawa Balewa, were also northerners. 

IRONSI

 

The Majors’ failure to arrest or kill the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Nigerian Army: Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, has led some to believe that he was part of, or was at the very least tipped off about, the coup plot.    Ironsi and other senior officers had in the weeks leading up to the coup become concerned by the possibility of a junior officers’ coup.  These concerns were passed on to the Prime Minister who either did not take them seriously, or chose not to act in response. 

Ironsi was definitely on the Majors’ hit list and Major Nzeogwu later regretted that they did not manage to get him (“We got some but not all.  General Ironsi was to have been shot”).  Ironsi’s escape owed much to good fortune, and the Majors tactical mistake in arresting or killing other senior officers before they got hold of Ironsi.  The commotion caused by the murders of other officers alerted Ironsi to the coup and he was able to rally troops who helped him to put down the Majors’ coup.  Ironsi had been tipped off about the coup by a telephone call from the Army’s Adjutant-General: Lt-Col James Pam.  Shortly after ending the telephone call with Ironsi, Pam was abducted and murdered by officers involved in the plot.   On his way to commence moves to crush the coup, Ironsi actually came across some junior officers that were involved in the coup.  It is possible that some of these young officers lost their nerve when confronted by the intimidating presence of their GOC.   When he encountered a checkpoint manned by some of the mutineers, Ironsi simply stepped out of his vehicle, and roared “get out of my way!” (an order which was promptly obeyed) before continuing his journey.  After the coup was suppressed, Ironsi met with the surviving members of the federal cabinet.  Even northern ministers present at that meeting conceded that Ironsi seemed genuinely upset by, and wept about the death of his military colleagues. 

As often happens with emotive events, we sometimes allow our judgment, and the facts, to be obscured by rumour and grab hold of any theory – no matter how implausible.  I hope that I have managed to shed more light on the events of that fateful night that so drastically altered Nigeria’s political landscape"

@Poster Carefully re-read what you have posted. The main characters are Igbos. Yes! We can't ignore the involvement of soldiers from other tribes directly or indirectly but the Igbo colouration is damn obvious. The short sightedness of the Five "Majors" have plunged this country into a chaos. And the Igbos looking back ain't proud of their actions.