Fajuyi- The Forgotten Nigerian Hero

You said it all, sacrifice. Lack of emphasis on personal and group sacrifice remains the missing element in Nigeria's quest for nationhood. Fajuyi, (and a few others) is a ready example we could use to teach future generations about sacrifice.

You're very entangled in this Danjuma mindset that you fail to appreciate the difference between the circumstances of Fajuyi's death and other life threatening situations of everyday life and job.

Finally, you've come out of your shell: so Danjuma is a better hero than Fajuyi? How about Dimka, and Bisalla?

You're so hopelessly stuck on western region, you refuse to understand that he ruled for less than 6 months, you refuse to see his importance from a national, philosophical, and even biblical perpesctive. I can't help you.

This is just nothing but distortion of Facts You can do better by getting your facts right about the Ore Battle and the role Victor Banjo played

Fajuyi understood that coup was the wrong thing for Nigeria, he tried to persuade the junior officers against it to the extent that he put his life on the line. He could have walked away, he could have aided the junior officers to do a thing he knew was wrong, yet he spoke up.

Like every successful coup, the heros are usually those that sabotaged their senior officers through extra-judicial means. Unsuccessful coups are the opposite, the heros are those "killed while defending the honor of the nation"

These interpretations are usually biased and on the short run, however on the long run, when personal and subjective bias wean, the real and truthful history will be written. Do you really expect an unbiased evaluation of events when Danjuma and the other boys are still around and continuosly campanigning to justify their their 1966 coup? Remember, they see themselves as winners of that war who should write the history. But history should be written later and by unbiased parties.
When that is done, I bet you Fajuyi will be among those kindly remembered by history.

Gentleman, a little note for posterity.  Fajuyi did not give his life for Ironsi.  It seems he was a target of the northern mutineers all along and would have been killed with Ironsi regardless.  It was the Western Region publication "Fajuyi The Great" that started the myth that Fajuyi "chose to die with Ironsi". The myth was later embellished in subsequent publications. One of the most ridiculous of which was Fajuyi: The Martyred soldier, by Sanmi Ajiki. Ajiki claimed that Fajuyi told Ironsi: "I make bold to declare to you that,  I am with you soul, spirit and body. And mark my words, whatever happens to you today, happens to me. I am your true friend, dear J.U.T like the dove to the pigeon, and by the grace of our good God, so will I humbly yet proudly remain till the very end." According to Ajiki, Ironsi replied "Yes! Francis, I retain my absolute confidence in you. I have never for once doubted your integrity." That might sound nice and heroic for their family members, but the accounts given by the soldiers that were present suggest that no such fluffy dialogue took place.

William Walbe (one of the officers that led Fajuyi and Ironsi to their death in Ibadan) publicly confirmed in an interview that Fajuyi was destined to share Ironsi's fate and that they (the northern mutineers) wanted Fajuyi dead because they were convinced he was an ally of the Janaury 1966 Majors and helped them plan their coup. The interview is quoted in Gowon's biography entitled "Gowon: Biogrpahy of a Soldier Statesman".

Lt-Gen Danjuma later corroborated Walbe's account in an interview with a Nigerian army civil war historical team. Danjuma went even further than Walbe and said that the soldiers that killed Ironsi and Fajuyi could not stand Fajuyi. They felt he deserved to die even more than Ironsi.

Yes, o, I have read that.

I have also read that I'm not the only person that thinks Fajuyi is a hero. Unfortunately, Max Siollun's reversionist account doesn't even remove the facts of this matter. He's based his logic on the accounts of the protagonists of this case, ie Walbe and Danjuma. Did you really expect them to proclaim Fajuyi a hero after they cowardly killed him in cold blood?

In a normal and progressive society, Danjuma and all those boys that breached the confidence reposed on them by Ironsi, Fajuyi, and the nation would have been hanged, or be wasting away in jail. No, not in Nigeria, because their coup "succeeded" they're running around making us forget what they actually did.

Until, Max Siollun or any other stupid reversionist can come up with a better account to dispute the circumstances as documented, we really don't want to hear from Danjuma, Walbe, or their apologists.

@Max Siollun
I take strong exception to cut and paste journalists trying to pull a wool over our eyes. You're not really serious about making us believe that you're presenting a balanced arguement on this issue, or are you? You're trying to make the case for Walbe and Danjuma, as to the main reason why they killed Fajuyi- unfortunately the victims can't present their own side of the story. I would take the account of neutral or Fajuyi sympathizers at the scene before I listen to Danjuma/Walbe who have everything to gain by reversing history

If you're charitable enough to consider both sides of this topic, you will arrive at the same conclusion: No matter how one looks at it, most people will agree that despite any prevailing animosity towards Fajuyi, he has an opportunity to even attempt to save his own head. My friends, he did not
That's what makes him a hero.

Thanks, I share your opinon about Fajuyi's bravery and heroism. However, and as an Igboman, I must disagree with your later statement. The truth of the matter is that the civil war era exposed Nigerians for what they really are: human beings- some good, some bad; some brave, some cowardly; the Fajuyis/Soyinkas/Gani Fawehinmis vs. the Awolowos/Obasanjos. Some Igbos tend to look at only one side of this human equation-- which is not always correct. Even as we speak I don't know many Igbo men who would sacrifice their lives for another Igboman, not to talk of a Yoruba man; also I don't know many Yorubas who would repeat Fajuyi's bravery even to their own kit and kin.

The Igbo view of their Yoruba cousines is very characteristically human, some view the glass as half empty while other view it as half full. Similary, some Igbos see Yorubas from the point of view of Awolowo, while others view them from the point of view of Fajuyi and Soyinka. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

History slowly and surely reckons the heros of our time, whether Yoruba, Igbo, or even Hausa. The majority of Igbos openly expressing adoration for Fajuyi may not seem much, but trust me many igbos worship Fajuyi. For the few years I spent in Nigeria, in elementary school to be specific, I remember our very stern/mean/authorithative headmaster break down in tears during a civic lesson about heros.

After Jesus Christ, he placed Fajuyi next, because according to him offering ones life for whatever reason was the ultimate sacrifice.  He started by asking who could afford to give up their lunch money so that one of our classmates would eat, only one person (who probably didn't hear the question) raised his hand, then he asked who give up their shoe for somebody without shoes, of course no body volunteered, then he asked who would offer their lives to save their friends. When nobody raised their hand, a teacher said, 'only Jesus did that'.

The headmaster added that a brave Yoruba soldier called Fajuyi offered his life for Ironsi--- he went on tell the story as he understood it with surprising showing of emotions.

The next week, not less than 7 boys opted to be nicknamed Fajuyi in my school.

A man named Victor Banjo led the Biafra Army for some time before Ojukwu executed him yet Some Igbo's would always say Yoruba's betrayed them. So who betrayed who?

Many Igbos remain ignorant of the activities of Fajuyi, but as far as one Igbo man, one Yoruba, or one Nigerian remembers the heroism of Fajuyi, that's ok.

The fact that people like Fajuyi don't feature prominently on the annals of Nigeria examplifies the problem with us. We tend to worship temporal things that lead to corruption and misplaced values such as ill-gotten wealth; unreasonable, but successful coups; successful fraudsters. When we as a nation start appreciating the publicity-shy, pious, honest, and silent heros of our time, then Nigeria will become a better place.

Thank you.