THE MYSTERY OF JULY 29: A TALE OF TWO GENERALS AND A REBEL
Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi
was 41 years 10 months and 318 days old when he
became the Head of State of Nigeria on January 16,
1966 having been born on March 3, 1924 in Umuahia,
Abia State.

General Yakubu ‘Jack’ Dan-Yumma Gowon was 31 years
10 months and 287 days old when he became the Head
of State of Nigeria on August 1, 1966 having been born
on October 19, 1934 in Kanke, Plateau State.
Major Kaduna Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu was born in
1937 to his Igbo immigrant parents in Kaduna, Kaduna
State. He was an ambitious young military officer and a
Roman Catholic. He was a rebellious military officer and
the forerunner of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps.
He was in charge of counter intelligence; the first
Nigerian to hold the post.

One interesting thing is that the rebel changed the
history of the country that brought the two generals into
power. One unified the country with a decree; the other
unified the country with a bloody civil war which lasted
for 30 months.

Of the two generals, as Head of States, one ruled
Nigeria the shortest (164 days) while the other ruled
Nigeria the longest (9 years). But there are unanswered
questions by historians; what led to this? Are these men
to be celebrated, castigated or forgotten in the annals of
Nigerian history? For the sake of posterity, let’s go back
to the beginning.

When Chief Anthony Enahoro (1923-2010) moved the
motion for independence in 1953, Northern lawmakers
kicked against it. Eventually, it was ratified and April 2,
1960 was approved for independence but Prime Minister
Alhaji (Sir) Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966)
‘begged’ for it to be postponed till October 1 of that year.
In 1963, Nigeria became a republic and all ties with
Britain were cut off. Uniforms and insignia changed to
reflect sovereignty. As expected, Nigerianization of all
posts began earnestly which led the then British GOC
(Grand Officer Commanding) of the Nigerian Army,
Major-General Sir Christopher Welby-Everard
(1909-1996) to hand over to then Brigadier Johnson
Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924-1966) as the first
indigenous GOC in February 1965.

Meanwhile, there were rumours of an imminent coup as
early as January 1965. Five majors led by Kaduna
Nzeogwu (1937-1967) had concluded their plans for the
revolutionary coup as at August, 1965, which was the
mass annihilation of top politicians and senior military
officers in the country, due to the loss of control of
certain part of the country and widespread corruption.
Security reports concerning coup plotting were passed to
Prime Minister Balewa, who ignored them or chose not
to act upon it. On the morning of January 15, 1966, the
nation woke up to the frightening news that Prime
Minister Balewa was missing (he was later found dead),
the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern
Region, Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello (1910-1966), Premier
of the Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola
(1910-1966), Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Samuel
Okotie-Eboh (1919-1966) and a host of others including
senior and junior military officers had been killed in a
military pogrom and putsch. Aguiyi-Ironsi was also
targeted, but he outmanoeuvred the boys, rounded them
up and took official control of the country.

Of the five majors, four were Easterners, while one,
Adewale Ademoyega (1933-2007), was a Westerner. The
new Head of State having dissolved the civilian
government was an Easterner.
These events raised tensions among the Northern elite,
especially in the Army, that the Easterners were behind
the coup, as majority of the coup plotters were
Easterners while majority of the casualties were
Northerners. In a bid to quell contentions in the Army,
Ironsi made Gowon, a Northerner, his Chief of Army
Staff.

But the coup, as the coup plotters demonstrated, was a
revolutionary one to get rid of corrupt politicians and
officers in the country.

But how was the coup revolutionary, when defenceless
men were killed? Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun
(1923-1966) the officer in charge of the Kaduna garrison
was shot dead in bed with his pregnant wife. Ahmadu
Bello was also killed with one of his wives.
How were they corrupt, when only £5 and £10 were left
in the accounts of Balewa and Bello respectively? These
are issues some apologists are still struggling explain.
Whether the coup was Eastern favoured or not, it
brought into fore a united Northern Region in the Army,
regardless of tribe or religion.

Decree Number 34 of May 24, 1966 promulgated by
Ironsi was the beginning of the end for him. The decree
made the centre strong, thereby abolishing the powers
granted to the regions. Interestingly, Nzeogwu, in an
interview he granted in 1967, affirmed that Ironsi shot
himself in the foot with that decree. Another mistake
Ironsi did was the non-trial of the coup plotters of the
January 15, 1966 carnage.

These caused a massive unrest in the Northern part of
the country as the Northerners had gone against
delimiting of regional powers as far back as 1959. In
June 1966, Ironsi began a tour of the country (never to
return to Lagos) and met with Northern elite, assuring
them of a united Nigeria.

On July 28, 1966, he was hosted by the military governor
of the Western Region, Lt. Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi
(1926-1966) in Agodi, Ibadan. As he made to leave for
Lagos, Fajuyi coaxed him in spending the night in the
Government House.

On the wee hours of July 29, 1966, Northern soldiers led
by Major Theophilus Y. Danjuma (b. 1938) came to arrest
Ironsi, and questioned him about his alleged complicity
in the coup which saw the demise of the Sardauna of
Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello and Prime Minister, Tafawa
Balewa. But his host Fajuyi insisted Ironsi would not be
taken away under his watch. The soldiers overpowered
them, and violently stripped off their epaulettes. They
were also stripped naked, beaten and strapped to a
vehicle as they were dragged along to a shallow pit in
Lalupon, near Ibadan, where their bodies were riddled
with bullets.

For 3 days, the country had no leader and the most
senior northern officer in the army was chosen to head
the country.

One major factor that favoured Gowon as Ironsi’s
successor apart from being the most senior northern
officer in the army is that he is a Christian from a
Northern minority tribe. He is an Ngas from Lur, a small
village in the present Kanke Local Government Area of
Plateau State.

In his maiden broadcast to the nation, he promised to
stop further bloodshed and to restore law, order and
confidence in all parts of the country. But the civil war
which happened thereafter claimed more than a million
Nigerians, including innocent Biafran children and
artisans turned soldiers overnight who were ill-trained, in
reference to what happened in the 1967 Asaba
massacre.

Gowon’s role was to keep the nation as one and by
creating 12 states on May 30, 1967, infuriated some
Southerners who had hoped to break away from the
country. This escalated proceedings in the Eastern part
of the country and Biafra was formed. This secession
sparked reactions from the Federal Military Government
headed by Gowon and many lives were lost in a bloody
civil war that lasted from July 6, 1967-January 12, 1970-
a period of 30 months.

After the war, Gowon promised to hand over power to
civilians in 1976. But in 1974, in an Independence Day
broadcast, he reneged. Apart from this, there were
allegations of corruption in his administration as Nigeria
had experienced the oil boom of 1973. Although, he was
never found complicit in the corrupt practices, he was
often accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of
his staff and cronies. These raised agitations amidst the
military hierarchy and top politicians in the country, that
by late 1974, internal moves to remove Gowon had
begun and by June 1975, there were rumours of an
imminent coup.

On July 29, 1975, while attending an OAU summit in
Kampala, Uganda, a group of officers led by Colonel
Joseph Nanven Garba (1943-2002) announced his
overthrow. The coup plotters appointed Brigadier
Murtala Muhammad (1938-1976) as head of the new
government, and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo (b. 1937)
as his deputy.

The 29th day of July remains a significant day in
Nigeria’s history as the three men who changed the fate
of the country met their doom on that day. Only one of
them was lucky to be alive. Johnson Thomas Umunakwe
Aguiyi-Ironsi lost power and his life on July 29, 1966 in a
counter-coup. A year later, on July 29, 1967, Patrick
Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu while fighting on the
Biafran side lost his life in an ambush while conducting
a night reconnaissance operation against federal troops
of the 21st battalion under Captain Mohammed Inua
Wushishi (b. 1940). Also, on July 29, 1975 Yakubu ‘Jack’
Dan-Yumma Gowon lost power when he was toppled in
a bloodless coup.

Is the day July 29 in Nigerian History, especially as it
applies to these three men, a prophecy or coincidence?
Only chronologists can tell.

Source: http://www.historyvilleng.com/2016/07/22/the-mystery-of-july-29-a-tale-of-two-generals-and-a-rebel/

Hmmm...July 29. Who knows what would happen today?

Rejoinder

While it is not a good thing for Military officers to conduct coups, especially against democratically Goverments, the Nzeogwu coup happend at a time of national distress.

The coup took Ironsi by surprise, he was never part of it. Infact, Ironsi put down the voup in Lagos and ensured it faliure

3. The two main reasons given for killing Ironsi is that he did not try the coup plotters and that he promulgated decree 34 which centralised Government. These reasons are indeed silly. There are many coups that have been conducted in the past, both inside and outside Nigeria, were it took longer than six months to bring the perpetrators to book. So, killing Ironsi because he didn't try the perpetrators within the shortest time is ridiculous. As for decree 34, Military Government practices 'true federalism'

4. The second coup was far more bloody and was the perfect excuse for the North to step and control Nigeria via the same unitary system the accused Ironsi of

gartamanta:
Rejoinder

While it is not a good thing for Military officers to conduct coups, especially against democratically Goverments, the Nzeogwu coup happend at a time of national distress.

The coup took Ironsi by surprise, he was never part of it. Infact, Ironsi put down the voup in Lagos and ensured it faliure

3. The two main reasons given for killing Ironsi is that he did not try the coup plotters and that he promulgated decree 34 which centralised Government. These reasons are indeed silly. There are many coups that have been conducted in the past, both inside and outside Nigeria, were it took longer than six months to bring the perpetrators to book. So, killing Ironsi because he didn't try the perpetrators within the shortest time is ridiculous. As for decree 34, Military Government practices 'true federalism'

4. The second coup was far more bloody and was the perfect excuse for the North to step and control Nigeria via the same unitary system the accused Ironsi of

Are you saying Ironsi knew nothing about the coup?

Suurulere:


Are you saying Ironsi knew nothing about the coup?

Of course Ironsi knew nothing about the coup. Those who conducted the coup were from the ranks of major downwards and Ironsi escaped death by the whiskers because he was on there hitlist. Why would Ironsi wait for a coup were he was a target to start before fighting the same coup?

Historian..... on nigerian matter