Guy who are you referring to as "you guys"? I find that a rather uncouth way to refer to a single person you are discussing with. Or are u referring to ny ethnic group?
That aside.
Why would u describe max siollun's take as "dispassionate". Gunmen arrived at okparas house and met him in the company of his guest, Archbishop Makarios the ruler of Cyprus and shrank away. Probably to avoid an international incident. Its funny how you skipped almost all my points and based your emphasis on a soft issue like the rank of the officer who was sent to Okpara's residence. You said there was no igbo phobia and I'm telling you the allegations levelled against igbos to justify allegations of an igbo conspiracy. Or are u now claiming that u are not aware of the despicable lies against igbos over their conduct after the coup?
Useni made mention of how they noticed that plateau officers were behind the murder of murtala muhammed and that when they noted the ethnicity of the people they were confused but with igbos they knew what to think.
Apologies for referring to you as you guys.
Who led the gunmen? What accounts provide gunmen arriving at Okpara's house?
Certainly Ifeajuna was alone when he arrive at Enugu. And only a Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to arrest Okpara but he never arrived at Okpara's house.
Please furnish us with details of the gunmen and the leader of the said gunmen. I can furnish you with the names and rank of all those that were killed in the North and the West.
What can one do? I consider it my Social Responsibility to ensure that those who aren't familiar with the subject aren't fed a bunch of lies. I really careless about those who refuse to educate themselves or just want to be plain evil and dumb.
You have been doing a good job really. @the bolded: That is exactly what the problem is with the people you've been schooling so far. They themselves have been fed with bunch of lies and conjectures (The Jan coup and the civil war especially) - no thanks to family/lineage stories passed on from generations to another. And when these falsehoods get debunked they get emotional because they'll find it hard to breakaway from what they've been brainwashed with which automatically means their elders were/are liars!
I really wish I could add but there's no aspect you've not touched. Keep up the good work sire. God bless!
You have been doing a good job really. @the bolded: That is exactly what the problem is with the people you've been schooling so far. They themselves have been fed with bunch of lies and conjectures (The Jan coup and the civil war especially) - no thanks to family/lineage stories passed on from generations to another.
I really wish I could add but there's no aspect you've not touched. Keep up the good work sire. God bless!
Atimes, I wish Nigeria will just divide and everybody should go it alone, infact, I will rather we stayed with the Northerners than with any other group in the South, at least, with the northerners, what you see is what you get.
Atimes, I wish Nigeria will just divide and everybody should go it alone, infact, I will rather we stayed with the Northerners than with any other group in the South, at least, with the northerners, what you see is what you get.
I believe the system which existed at independence was close to the best system. I would have weakened the center a bit more to make it less attractive. Outside of foreign relations, central banking, and defence, each region should be responsible for its laws, policing and judiciary. A nation with just Northerners would have been unbalanced and would have led to more conflict.
I believe the system which existed at independence was close to the best system. I would have weakened the center a bit more to make it less attractive. Outside of foreign relations, central banking, and defence, each region should be responsible for its laws, policing and judiciary. A nation with just Northerners would have been unbalanced and would have led to more conflict.
The problem is you have the SW and the North that understand appreciating the cultures and traditions of their hosts, then you have our brothers from the East who are more interested in trampling on the hosts and denigrating their culture (maybe it is the online ones sha). We can not go back to that system because everybody is gunning for the center and they can see it is very sweet. On the Ironsi death and the January coup, what our brothers from the east do not understand is that Okpara or Zik needed to die or should have been sacrificed, there was no way the July coup would not have happened, Ironsi was very naive and unprepared as an administrator; the same traits we see in our dear president.
The problem is you have the[b] SW and the North that understand appreciating the cultures and traditions of their hosts[/b], then you have our brothers from the East who are more interested in trampling on the hosts and denigrating their culture (maybe it is the online ones sha). We can not go back to that system because everybody is gunning for the center and they can see it is very sweet. On the Ironsi death and the January coup, what our brothers from the east do not understand is that Okpara or Zik needed to die or should have been sacrificed, there was no way the July coup would not have happened, Ironsi was very naive and unprepared as an administrator; the same traits we see in our dear president.
1. The North and the SW had had battles in the first half of the 19th century. I still believe it would have been a thorny relationship if there was no 3rd party to provide balance
2. If there are no portfolios in the center, what would make it attractive? If a region is in charge of its policing, education, resources, agriculture, etc and the contribution to the center is small, administrators would prefer to be in charge of their regions.
1. The North and the SW had had battles in the first half of the 19th century. I still believe it would have been a thorny relationship if there was no 3rd party to provide balance
2. If there are no portfolios in the center, what would make it attractive? If a region is in charge of its policing, education, resources, agriculture, etc and the contribution to the center is small, administrators would prefer to be in charge of their regions.
This is just my opinion anyway.
I absolutely agree with you. Nigeria would be better off with regionalism. We have tried to run away from it but it sin't working. All these noise about 2015 is because northerners believe that they would die if they don't have control of the center to milk. If the center is made less attractive, the tension would ease.
On the Jan. 1996 coups (I used "Coups" because there were 2 coups - one by the five majors and the other by Ironsi against the parliament), only a fool would argue that it wasn't an Igbo coup. For those asking that the perpetrators' stories be believed, I say don't believe what they said or wrote. Just follow the actions and the motive would become glaring.
Katsumoto, you have done well in educating the "never did anything wrong" Igbos. But if you know them well you won't go this far trying to open their eyes and brains. They won't listen. They are wired that way. It is just unfortunate that everyone is suffering from the sins of their fore-fathers.
slimghost: Of course, am always the first to accept that the coup was flawed but terming it a power grab by igbos is unacceptable.
So if YOU ACCEPT that it was flawed but not as a power grab, so what is it? -1, 0 or 1, if you are mathematically inclined? It cannot be something and be that same thing as the same time. So tell us what exactly it is??
1. Yeah, Ironsi's advisory team was set up impromptu and since the most competent administrators were Igbo, it made sense for the four man team to be all Igbo (sarcasm all the way).
2. The mood in the nation was very sombre. Coup plotters who were predominantly Igbo had not been tried, instead the Igbo head of government immediately lifted the moratorium on promotions and low and behold, 76% of those promoted were Igbo. Not only was the decision insensitive to the sensibilities of non-Igbos, it also smacked of nepotism. How does the lift you provided aid your case? Ndigbo contributed approximately a third of the combatant officer corp as at January 1966 (Robin Luckham - The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt 1960-67) but benefited from 76% of the promotions.
What do you mean by military is fundamental regimental? What are you on about? Don't for one second think that because you served in the military for a few years you automatically become an expert. As for your question, obviously it was the government that was overthrown.
Lastly, my copy and paste has been kicking your behind for the better part of 4 years. When are you going to start providing your own sources?
You are a typical case study of drawback that has besieged Africa’s development efforts which could be found in tribal bias and intellectual laziness. As for your goofy statistics about disproportionate dent in promotion of officers in Nigerian armed forces, which you erroneously claimed favored Ndigbo, I have listed number of Igbo officers in Nigeria armed forces as of January 15, 1966 and asked you to do the same by listing Yoruba officers. It has been close to a decade you have woefully failed to oblige rather you kept invoking the name of a goofy British hack writer named Robin Luckham.
No wonder the vandals in Nigerians could not gather intelligence during Nigeria/Biafra civil war unless the British did it for them. One of the reasons that precipitated the coup of January 15, 1966 was the nepotistic moratorium on promotions of officers by Tafawa Balewa’s government. In order to calm down the nerves of the officers, such idiotic moratorium on promotions was lifted by Ironsi.
Only a basement fool will think six months is too long a time for gathering of evidences in order to prosecute the culprits of Janaury 15, 1966 coup which spanned across ethnic barriers by a government that adhered strictly to the military code of conduct during the era in discussion.
Again, those who were due for promotion under Ironsi’s regime were promoted and some were left out without malaise. It happens in everyday life endeavor that wind of change may not affect all that it was intended to reach. Most Igbo officers were equally overlooked.
Suppose a group of Hausa-Fulani (with one Yoruba officer) officers staged a coup and killed GEJ, Ihejirika, Alams, Clark, all the SE and SS governors, etc meanwhile Sambo was out of the country and no Northerners were killed. The coup either ends up being crushed and Sambo becomes president or the coup succeeds and a Hausa-Fulani officer emerged president - would we call such a coup a power grab by the Hausa-Fulani?
People celebrated because they hadn't realised who the plotters were and the ethnicity of the victims. As news filtered in, it dawned on them what had happened.
The above scenario is a silly postulation concocted to mislead pitiful and gullible Nigerians. Unfortunately, there is no ethnic group in Nigeria tagged “Hausa-Fulani”. I can not remember any coup in Nigeria staged or led by Igbo-Ibibio (with one Yoruba) officers.
I had been worriedly dumbfounded to notice that your “copy and paste” skills have failed you in bringing to the fore that Ironsi appointed all northerners as the constituted tribunal to bring formal charges against the January 15, 1966 couple plotters.
Only a basement fool will think six months is too long a time for a government that adhered strictly to the military code of conduct during era in discussion for gathering of evidence in order to try the culprits of Janaury 15, 1966 coup which spanned across ethnic barriers,
If everything that happened under ironsi should be tied to him alone, why then are we blaming the northerners for crimes committed by Abacha and IBB? By the way, Just like the way Achebe refused publishing the memo of Ifeajuna and even tried hard to northernized Nzoegwu, you ibos can keep on deceiving yourselves by the repetition scripted lies, thinking others won't see through it.
NIgeria was a sane country, until the power grabbing greedy ibos came into the scene.
I absolutely agree with you. Nigeria would be better off with regionalism. We have tried to run away from it but it sin't working. All these noise about 2015 is because northerners believe that they would die if they don't have control of the center to milk. If the center is made less attractive, the tension would ease.
On the Jan. 1996 coups (I used "Coups" because there were 2 coups - one by the five majors and the other by Ironsi against the parliament), only a fool would argue that it wasn't an Igbo coup. For those asking that the perpetrators' stories be believed, I say don't believe what they said or wrote. Just follow the actions and the motive would become glaring.
Katsumoto, you have done well in educating the "never did anything wrong" Igbos. But if you know them well you won't go this far trying to open their eyes and brains. They won't listen. They are wired that way. It is just unfortunate that everyone is suffering from the sins of their fore-fathers.
I just love the underlined parts. As a matter of fact, they will accuse you of the very glaring crime they commited! What do you call that kind of mental disorder? Osodi Osuji pls help me with an answer!
Till this very moment, they still accuse us of "hatred" & "betrayal", and I'm still wondering if Igbos use a different dictionary which no other ethnic groups have seen!
If everything that happened under ironsi should be tied to him alone, why then are we blaming the northerners for crimes committed by Abacha and IBB? By the way, Just like the way Achebe refused publishing the memo of Ifeajuna and even tried hard to northernized Nzoegwu, you ibos can keep on deceiving yourselves by the repetition scripted lies, thinking others won't see through it.
NIgeria was a sane country, until the power grabbing greedy ibos came into the scene.
Who led the gunmen? What accounts provide gunmen arriving at Okpara's house?
Certainly Ifeajuna was alone when he arrive at Enugu. And only a Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to arrest Okpara but he never arrived at Okpara's house.
Please furnish us with details of the gunmen and the leader of the said gunmen. I can furnish you with the names and rank of all those that were killed in the North and the West.
No problem bro. See below my answer to your question about the enugu incident. Ademoyega's detailed account and a couple of links proving that okpara was with the president of cyprus.
In the First Battalion in Enugu, only Major Chude-Sokei threw in his lot with them. His operational briefs were Enugu and Benin since Benin had no army formation then. But Chude-Sokei was posted to India for a course so the plotters had to hastily recruit a young Lieutenant Oguchi. (Ademoyega. pp.56 and 69).
A verbatim though lengthy quotation of Ademoyega's account of what happened on the D-day in Enugu is instructive:
'The story of the Enugu operation was punctuated by a mishap. First, Lieutenant Oguchi did not leave Lagos (he was on a course there) on January 13, as was previously planned, because his military vehicle was not ready. Finally, he left on the 14th but suffered a breakdown on the way. He eventually arrived at Enugu in the early hours of the 15th. He had borne written orders with him from Lagos. However, on his arrival at Enugu, he found the final signal that ordered him to go ahead with the execution of the tasks. He organized a small body of troops with a Land Rover and a 3-tonner.
'He sent a small detachment to the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service (ENBS). This detachment seized the station, stopped the normal programme and ordered the broadcasters to play only military music while awaiting latest news from Lagos. At the same time, Oguchi himself made for the Premier's lodge. Therein, he found that he had not only the Premier, Dr. Okpara, on his hands, but also an august visitor, Archbishop Makarios, the president of Cyprus who, after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in Lagos on January 12, had arrived in Enugu on the 13th on a state visit. With such a man of international repute present, Lieutenant Oguchi could do no more than bide his time. A couple of hours later when the Archbishop had departed, he placed Dr. Okpara under house arrest, deploying his troops to guard the lodge. He himself went to the ENBS and made a tentative announcement that the Army had taken over power. He stopped at that while he awaited more news from Lagos. Later on, his own troops were replaced by those sent on Ironsi's orders and Dr. Okpara was transferred to a prison detention. Because of his lateness to start, Oguchi had not yet sent troops to Benin before Ironsi's men took over.' (Ademoyega. pp.82-83).
An independent source may help sceptics realize that Enugu was not deliberately excluded by the January 15 plotters in order to spare their 'own' and kill others; this comes from Matthew Mbu. In his words: 'I came back on the 6th of January and went to tell Okpara. Nobody took me serious. It was God that saved Okpara (on 15 January). At the Enugu airport the army boys asked him to alight from his official car. He was waiting for Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus who was visiting Nigeria then.
'He defied the soldiers' orders and was about to be shot when Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam (Governor of the Eastern Region) grabbed him and forced him from the car.' ('The Nation' newspaper, 5 September 2010. p.56).
Haha, funny the usage of Igbo or Igbo speaking. So,is Nzeogwu Igbo or Igbo speaking? *grins*
What does it matter then. Did they not all eventually fought on the side of biafra? Most of them in the midwest colluded with ojukwu to facilitate the invasion of the Midwest even when ejoor wanted the mid west to be neutral.
No problem bro. See below my answer to your question about the enugu incident. Ademoyega's detailed account and a couple of links proving that okpara was with the president of cyprus.
In the First Battalion in Enugu, only Major Chude-Sokei threw in his lot with them. His operational briefs were Enugu and Benin since Benin had no army formation then. But Chude-Sokei was posted to India for a course so the plotters had to hastily recruit a young Lieutenant Oguchi. (Ademoyega. pp.56 and 69).
A verbatim though lengthy quotation of Ademoyega's account of what happened on the D-day in Enugu is instructive:
'The story of the Enugu operation was punctuated by a mishap. First, Lieutenant Oguchi did not leave Lagos (he was on a course there) on January 13, as was previously planned, because his military vehicle was not ready. Finally, he left on the 14th but suffered a breakdown on the way. He eventually arrived at Enugu in the early hours of the 15th. He had borne written orders with him from Lagos. However, on his arrival at Enugu, he found the final signal that ordered him to go ahead with the execution of the tasks. He organized a small body of troops with a Land Rover and a 3-tonner.
'He sent a small detachment to the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service (ENBS). This detachment seized the station, stopped the normal programme and ordered the broadcasters to play only military music while awaiting latest news from Lagos. At the same time, Oguchi himself made for the Premier's lodge. Therein, he found that he had not only the Premier, Dr. Okpara, on his hands, but also an august visitor, Archbishop Makarios, the president of Cyprus who, after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in Lagos on January 12, had arrived in Enugu on the 13th on a state visit. With such a man of international repute present, Lieutenant Oguchi could do no more than bide his time. A couple of hours later when the Archbishop had departed, he placed Dr. Okpara under house arrest, deploying his troops to guard the lodge. He himself went to the ENBS and made a tentative announcement that the Army had taken over power. He stopped at that while he awaited more news from Lagos. Later on, his own troops were replaced by those sent on Ironsi's orders and Dr. Okpara was transferred to a prison detention. Because of his lateness to start, Oguchi had not yet sent troops to Benin before Ironsi's men took over.' (Ademoyega. pp.82-83).
An independent source may help sceptics realize that Enugu was not deliberately excluded by the January 15 plotters in order to spare their 'own' and kill others; this comes from Matthew Mbu. In his words: 'I came back on the 6th of January and went to tell Okpara. Nobody took me serious. It was God that saved Okpara (on 15 January). At the Enugu airport the army boys asked him to alight from his official car. He was waiting for Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus who was visiting Nigeria then.
'He defied the soldiers' orders and was about to be shot when Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam (Governor of the Eastern Region) grabbed him and forced him from the car.' ('The Nation' newspaper, 5 September 2010. p.56).
Atimes, I wish Nigeria will just divide and everybody should go it alone, infact, I will rather we stayed with the Northerners than with any other group in the South, at least, with the northerners, what you see is what you get.
talktimi: truth is Ojukwu decided to secede because of the progrom going on especially in the northern part of Nigeria ie the mass killing of igbos in a genocidal fashion. Many at times, people on nairaland dont take Musiwa seriously but he actually mixes his craziness with valid truth. The eastern region as well as ANY other region in Nigeria then had a right to pull out of this nation if the terms of unity were no longer conducive. Gowon knows Ojukwu had the right and the Aburi conference in Ghana further legalized Ojukwu's stance as the ibos were being killed in droves, many selected from trains and lorries whilst escaping only to be shot by northern soldiers. These facts are documented, its not as if im just whipping up sentiments & the crux of the matter is, the original coup plotters did not carry out their original plan to the letter which involved killing ALL the top regional politicians. Ok
Is still repeat the fact that Gowon blew the opprtunity the Aburi accord offered. The Aburi accord put to rest all the questions and tension that arose then. The tapes are available for anyone who cares. Like i said before, the union called Nigeria was based on injustice and greed. Here a speech by the Late Sarduana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WSosECbcmM You can check out this documentary on Nigeria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPEd8xujG4Y
No problem bro. See below my answer to your question about the enugu incident. Ademoyega's detailed account and a couple of links proving that okpara was with the president of cyprus.
In the First Battalion in Enugu, only Major Chude-Sokei threw in his lot with them. His operational briefs were Enugu and Benin since Benin had no army formation then. But Chude-Sokei was posted to India for a course so the plotters had to hastily recruit a young Lieutenant Oguchi. (Ademoyega. pp.56 and 69).
A verbatim though lengthy quotation of Ademoyega's account of what happened on the D-day in Enugu is instructive:
'The story of the Enugu operation was punctuated by a mishap. First, Lieutenant Oguchi did not leave Lagos (he was on a course there) on January 13, as was previously planned, because his military vehicle was not ready. Finally, he left on the 14th but suffered a breakdown on the way. He eventually arrived at Enugu in the early hours of the 15th. He had borne written orders with him from Lagos. However, on his arrival at Enugu, he found the final signal that ordered him to go ahead with the execution of the tasks. He organized a small body of troops with a Land Rover and a 3-tonner.
'He sent a small detachment to the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service (ENBS). This detachment seized the station, stopped the normal programme and ordered the broadcasters to play only military music while awaiting latest news from Lagos. At the same time, Oguchi himself made for the Premier's lodge. Therein, he found that he had not only the Premier, Dr. Okpara, on his hands, but also an august visitor, Archbishop Makarios, the president of Cyprus who, after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in Lagos on January 12, had arrived in Enugu on the 13th on a state visit. With such a man of international repute present, Lieutenant Oguchi could do no more than bide his time. A couple of hours later when the Archbishop had departed, he placed Dr. Okpara under house arrest, deploying his troops to guard the lodge. He himself went to the ENBS and made a tentative announcement that the Army had taken over power. He stopped at that while he awaited more news from Lagos. Later on, his own troops were replaced by those sent on Ironsi's orders and Dr. Okpara was transferred to a prison detention. Because of his lateness to start, Oguchi had not yet sent troops to Benin before Ironsi's men took over.' (Ademoyega. pp.82-83).
An independent source may help sceptics realize that Enugu was not deliberately excluded by the January 15 plotters in order to spare their 'own' and kill others; this comes from Matthew Mbu. In his words: 'I came back on the 6th of January and went to tell Okpara. Nobody took me serious. It was God that saved Okpara (on 15 January). At the Enugu airport [/b]the army boys asked him to alight from his official car. He was waiting for Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus who was visiting Nigeria then.
'[b]He defied the soldiers' orders and was about to be shot when Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam (Governor of the Eastern Region) grabbed him and forced him from the car.' ('The Nation' newspaper, 5 September 2010. p.56).
First, this are after the event lies stories. Ademoyega who wasn't in Enugu is telling us that Oguchi found Okpara in the Premier's lodge but Mbu is telling us that the soldiers attempted to shoot Okpara at the airport. Which is it really? Neither Mbu nor Ademulegun was at the airport and both are telling stories that contradict one another ostensibly because they weren't really witnesses to the events. It is very obvious that these lies were concocted after the coup failed to make it seem like an attempt was made.
Second, let us look at the manner in which some non-Igbos were killed
Bello
'After losing his temper at his initial failure to locate him, Nzeogwu found Bello hiding with his wives. Bello was shot by Nzeogwu. Bello’s faithful bodyguard who came to defend him with a bow and arrows was also shot, as well as one of his wives who tried to shield him with her body.'
Ademulegun
'According to the Majors’ version of events, Ademulegun reached for a drawer beside his bed, and as he did so, Onwuategwu shot him dead in his bed, along with Ademulegun’s wife who was lying beside him.'
Source: The Inside Story of Nigeria’s First Military Coup - Max Siollun
Shodeinde
164. By this time the Colonel was awake and sitting up in bed. Mrs. Shodeinde started to cry and beg for her life. Nzeogwu assured her that they had not come to kill her but her husband the Colonel. When she continued shouting, the other soldiers shot at her legs, wounding her several times.
165. Major Nzeogwu and the others then commenced firing at the Colonel whilst still in bed, who fell down dead or dying by the side of the bed. Mrs. Shodeinde then fled from the room and ran for shelter to the servant's quarters where she remained until theattackers left.
Source: Special Branch Report: "Military Rebellion of 15th January 1966"
Reading the above, one can conclude that the Igbo officers had no regards for the lives of non-Igbo human beings and didn't hesitate to waste their lives. Contrast these three stories with the bogus lie told by Mbu and you will see that these are some of the worst instances of evil and deadly tribalism. Three men and their wives were shot at. The three men died, two of the women died (one was pregnant), while another PREGNANT woman was wounded in the legs through gun shots.
Third, it is obvious that tribalism played a part in the planning for the murders. How does one explain armed units going led by majors, two in some cases, going after non-Igbo targets but only a lieutenant was sent after Okpara? I don't buy the excuse of Chude-Sokei going abrood. If Chude-Sokei was going abroad, why wasn't he replaced by one of the other majors?
You are a typical case study of drawback that has besieged Africa’s development efforts which could be found in tribal bias and intellectual laziness. As for your goofy statistics about disproportionate dent in promotion of officers in Nigerian armed forces, which you erroneously claimed favored Ndigbo, I have listed number of Igbo officers in Nigeria armed forces as of January 15, 1966 and asked you to do the same by listing Yoruba officers. It has been close to a decade you have woefully failed to oblige rather you kept invoking the name of a goofy British hack writer named Robin Luckham.
No wonder the vandals in Nigerians could not gather intelligence during Nigeria/Biafra civil war unless the British did it for them. One of the reasons that precipitated the coup of January 15, 1966 was the nepotistic moratorium on promotions of officers by Tafawa Balewa’s government. In order to calm down the nerves of the officers, such idiotic moratorium on promotions was lifted by Ironsi.
Only a basement fool will think six months is too long a time for gathering of evidences in order to prosecute the culprits of Janaury 15, 1966 coup which spanned across ethnic barriers by a government that adhered strictly to the military code of conduct during the era in discussion.
Again, those who were due for promotion under Ironsi’s regime were promoted and some were left out without malaise. It happens in everyday life endeavor that wind of change may not affect all that it was intended to reach. Most Igbo officers were equally overlooked.
First, the problem with debating with someone who hasn't developed completely is that you run the danger of shouting yourself hoarse. You made a claim that Ndigbo constituted 87% of the officer corp at January 1966. After I challenged you, you revised it to 67%. I then provided the stats in Robin Luckham's book (The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt 1960-67) which provides that Ndigbo constituted about a third of the officer corp. I subsequently provided stats from Norman Miners book (The Nigerian Army 1956 - 1966) as a second source. As typical of you, you challenged both authors and provided a list of Igbo officer names. Now I have to be careful because I don't know the level of your education but you see, to arrive at a percentage, you need a numerator and a denominator. You provided the numerator (number of Igbo officers) but how can we arrive at a percentage if you don't provide the denominator (the names of all soldiers)? The debate was never about who had more officers in the army. You told an idiotic lie and I challenged you. And then I provided two CREDIBLE sources to prove that you were telling bigger fibs than Pinocchio. See link below for all the quotes Dede1 made (87%, 67% and 50%)
Second, you are exhibiting the same sort of obdurate insensitivity exhibited by Ironsi and his advisory council of ALL Igbo men when they decided that 76% of promotions were going to be filled by Igbo soldiers. Igbo officers had killed the PM, the Northern and Western Premiers, a number of distinguished soldiers, pregnant women, etc and you think that a few months after these murders and also considering the fact that the plotters had not being tried, was satisfactory for a moratorium to be lifted? And yet you lot wonder why the Northerners struck 6 months. It is this sort of cluelessness that put Ndigbo into trouble. When you justify a stupid action, others will commit a stupid action as well and justify it.
First, the problem with debating with someone who hasn't developed completely is that you run the danger of shouting yourself hoarse. You made a claim that Ndigbo constituted 87% of the officer corp at January 1966. After I challenged you, you revised it to 67%. I then provided the stats in Robin Luckham's book (The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt 1960-67) which provides that Ndigbo constituted about a third of the officer corp. I subsequently provided stats from Norman Miners book (The Nigerian Army 1956 - 1966) as a second source. As typical of you, you challenged both authors and provided a list of Igbo officer names. Now I have to be careful because I don't know the level of your education but you see, to arrive at a percentage, you need a numerator and a denominator. You provided the numerator (number of Igbo officers) but how can we arrive at a percentage if you don't provide the denominator (the names of all soldiers)? The debate was never about who had more officers in the army. You told an idiotic lie and I challenged you. And then I provided two CREDIBLE sources to prove that you were telling bigger fibs than Pinocchio. See link below for all the quotes Dede1 made (87%, 67% and 50%)
Second, you are exhibiting the same sort of obdurate insensitivity exhibited by Ironsi and his advisory council of ALL Igbo men when they decided that 76% of promotions were going to be filled by Igbo soldiers. Igbo officers had killed the PM, the Northern and Western Premiers, a number of distinguished soldiers, pregnant women, etc and you think that a few months after these murders and also considering the fact that the plotters had not being tried, was satisfactory for a moratorium to be lifted? And yet you lot wonder why the Northerners struck 6 months. It is this sort of cluelessness that put Ndigbo into trouble. When you justify a stupid actions, others will commit a stupid action as well and justify it.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately the likes of dede1 are more suited to fiction than physics.
Please provide your sources. No one is buying this.
What source are you looking for? Those are Ironsi appointments as they were, provide an alternative figure to debunk my claims, not everybody is good with copy and paste.
First, the problem with debating with someone who hasn't developed completely is that you run the danger of shouting yourself hoarse. You made a claim that Ndigbo constituted 87% of the officer corp at January 1966. After I challenged you, you revised it to 67%. I then provided the stats in Robin Luckham's book (The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt 1960-67) which provides that Ndigbo constituted about a third of the officer corp. I subsequently provided stats from Norman Miners book (The Nigerian Army 1956 - 1966) as a second source. As typical of you, you challenged both authors and provided a list of Igbo officer names. Now I have to be careful because I don't know the level of your education but you see, to arrive at a percentage, you need a numerator and a denominator. You provided the numerator (number of Igbo officers) but how can we arrive at a percentage if you don't provide the denominator (the names of all soldiers)? The debate was never about who had more officers in the army. You told an idiotic lie and I challenged you. And then I provided two CREDIBLE sources to prove that you were telling bigger fibs than Pinocchio. See link below for all the quotes Dede1 made (87%, 67% and 50%)
Second, you are exhibiting the same sort of obdurate insensitivity exhibited by Ironsi and his advisory council of ALL Igbo men when they decided that 76% of promotions were going to be filled by Igbo soldiers. Igbo officers had killed the PM, the Northern and Western Premiers, a number of distinguished soldiers, pregnant women, etc and you think that a few months after these murders and also considering the fact that the plotters had not being tried, was satisfactory for a moratorium to be lifted? And yet you lot wonder why the Northerners struck 6 months. It is this sort of cluelessness that put Ndigbo into trouble. When you justify a stupid action, others will commit a stupid action as well and justify it.
You are not making any sense, just provide the damn list dede asked for or keep quite,stop beating around the bush. You claimed igbos constituted one third of the mlillitary officers,but when asked to provide the full list of the military corp so that we can acertain the Igbo percentage, you just ended up quoting robin luckham,who commited the same blunder you are doing,by saying that igbos constituted one third of the army,without providing a full list for us to verify his claims.
Now I see why Hausas and Igbos will always be mortal enemies.
They both just don't have the grounds nor the temperament for reaching compromise.....and their differences are so huge and wide that it cannot be papered over.
Honestly, the bolded part appears funny to me. 'About to be shot' - what stopped them from pumping bullets into him and Akanu?
Still not convincing i tell ya
Nobody is here to convince you,cos your mind is already made up,and nobody can teach an adult to be left handed at old age. We just here to state the facts. Thank you.
I am not responding to your posts because your are not making any sense. I have no time for dullards today; it is Monday morning.
I have provided sources to back EVERY single assertion I have made. Dede1 made a ridiculous claim and I am satisfied that I have proven it was a lie. That much is obvious to any one with half a brain.
As at January 1966, there were 330 officers in the Armed Forces.
Igbo (Other South) Yoruba North Total 104 43 67 116 330
Source: Robin Luckham's book. You can go and verify it yourself
You lot make assertions and when asked to prove your assertions, you runaway or give excuses. You made a bogus claim about the appointments Ironsi made. Provide your source instead you are shouting like a drunken sailor in a LovePeddler house. You either provide your source or you sod off. Don't for one second think that every one attended the same sort of village schools you attended where facts are determined by the strongest men. You simply say it and others accept it.
In intellectual circles, when you make a claim, you supply a source. It is then the prerogative of your peers or tutors to verify your sources. That is the procedure when you write a dissertation or any other similar work.
You either borrow a brain or you ask the brightest person in your village to help with with simple explanations. Maybe if they translate it to you in Igbo, you might understand better.
No problem bro. See below my answer to your question about the enugu incident. Ademoyega's detailed account and a couple of links proving that okpara was with the president of cyprus.
In the First Battalion in Enugu, only Major Chude-Sokei threw in his lot with them. His operational briefs were Enugu and Benin since Benin had no army formation then. But Chude-Sokei was posted to India for a course so the plotters had to hastily recruit a young Lieutenant Oguchi. (Ademoyega. pp.56 and 69).
A verbatim though lengthy quotation of Ademoyega's account of what happened on the D-day in Enugu is instructive:
'The story of the Enugu operation was punctuated by a mishap. First, Lieutenant Oguchi did not leave Lagos (he was on a course there) on January 13, as was previously planned, because his military vehicle was not ready. Finally, he left on the 14th but suffered a breakdown on the way. He eventually arrived at Enugu in the early hours of the 15th. He had borne written orders with him from Lagos. However, on his arrival at Enugu, he found the final signal that ordered him to go ahead with the execution of the tasks. He organized a small body of troops with a Land Rover and a 3-tonner.
'He sent a small detachment to the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service (ENBS). This detachment seized the station, stopped the normal programme and ordered the broadcasters to play only military music while awaiting latest news from Lagos. At the same time, Oguchi himself made for the Premier's lodge. Therein, he found that he had not only the Premier, Dr. Okpara, on his hands, but also an august visitor, Archbishop Makarios, the president of Cyprus who, after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in Lagos on January 12, had arrived in Enugu on the 13th on a state visit. With such a man of international repute present, Lieutenant Oguchi could do no more than bide his time. A couple of hours later when the Archbishop had departed, he placed Dr. Okpara under house arrest, deploying his troops to guard the lodge. He himself went to the ENBS and made a tentative announcement that the Army had taken over power. He stopped at that while he awaited more news from Lagos. Later on, his own troops were replaced by those sent on Ironsi's orders and Dr. Okpara was transferred to a prison detention. Because of his lateness to start, Oguchi had not yet sent troops to Benin before Ironsi's men took over.' (Ademoyega. pp.82-83).
An independent source may help sceptics realize that Enugu was not deliberately excluded by the January 15 plotters in order to spare their 'own' and kill others; this comes from Matthew Mbu. In his words: 'I came back on the 6th of January and went to tell Okpara. Nobody took me serious. It was God that saved Okpara (on 15 January). At the Enugu airport the army boys asked him to alight from his official car. He was waiting for Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus who was visiting Nigeria then.
'He defied the soldiers' orders and was about to be shot when Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam (Governor of the Eastern Region) grabbed him and forced him from the car.' ('The Nation' newspaper, 5 September 2010. p.56).
First, this are after the event lies stories. Ademoyega who wasn't in Enugu is telling us that Oguchi found Okpara in the Premier's lodge but Mbu is telling us that the soldiers attempted to shoot Okpara at the airport. Which is it really? Neither Mbu nor Ademulegun was at the airport and both are telling stories that contradict one another ostensibly because they weren't really witnesses to the events. It is very obvious that these lies were concocted after the coup failed to make it seem like an attempt was made.
Second, let us look at the manner in which some non-Igbos were killed
Bello
'After losing his temper at his initial failure to locate him, Nzeogwu found Bello hiding with his wives. Bello was shot by Nzeogwu. Bello’s faithful bodyguard who came to defend him with a bow and arrows was also shot, as well as one of his wives who tried to shield him with her body.'
Ademulegun
'According to the Majors’ version of events, Ademulegun reached for a drawer beside his bed, and as he did so, Onwuategwu shot him dead in his bed, along with Ademulegun’s wife who was lying beside him.'
Source: The Inside Story of Nigeria’s First Military Coup - Max Siollun
Shodeinde
164. By this time the Colonel was awake and sitting up in bed. Mrs. Shodeinde started to cry and beg for her life. Nzeogwu assured her that they had not come to kill her but her husband the Colonel. When she continued shouting, the other soldiers shot at her legs, wounding her several times.
165. Major Nzeogwu and the others then commenced firing at the Colonel whilst still in bed, who fell down dead or dying by the side of the bed. Mrs. Shodeinde then fled from the room and ran for shelter to the servant's quarters where she remained until theattackers left.
Source: Special Branch Report: "Military Rebellion of 15th January 1966"
Reading the above, one can conclude that the Igbo officers had no regards for the lives of non-Igbo human beings and didn't hesitate to waste their lives. Contrast these three stories with the bogus lie told by Mbu and you will see that these are some of the worst instances of evil and deadly tribalism. Three men and their wives were shot at. The three men died, two of the women died (one was pregnant), while another PREGNANT woman was wounded in the legs through gun shots.
Third, it is obvious that tribalism played a part in the planning for the murders. How does one explain armed units going led by majors, two in some cases, going after non-Igbo targets but only a lieutenant was sent after Okpara? I don't buy the excuse of Chude-Sokei going abrood. If Chude-Sokei was going abroad, why wasn't he replaced by one of the other majors?
Furthermore, why was ojukwu the commander of the 5th battalion in kano and , madiebo the artillery commander in kaduna left untouched while tim onwuategwu mercilessly slaughtered shodeinde and ademulegun even when they were not resisting arrest. If the intention was get rid of senior officers that can be an impediment to the coup, why was ojukwu and madiebo in kano and kaduna spared? in hos book, why we struck, , ademoyega expressed doubt as to the ability of the officer assigned to arrest nronsi to carry out the task and pleaded he ne allowed to do it. Of course, ifeajuna and okafor refused because they knew what their ulterior motive was.
Why was it that it was only the Igbo officers and politicians that the benevolence God and act of omission / commission were kind too?
With them....all the plans just failed...while with others....everything went seemingly as planned.
Enjoy your deceits....
Check out the way Maimalari was killed by Ifeajuna
Okafor went into Maimalari's house but Maimalari had heard gun shots in his house so he escaped through the boys quarters and jumped over the fence. Maimalari on foot then sighted Ifeajuna and called out to him. Ifeajuna promptly and without hesitation shot his boss and mentor. There was a plan A and Plan B for all non-Igbo targets but benevolence of God saved all Igbo politicians and soldiers.
