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I think Kaduna Nzeogwu was a biased hero, although a brave man, and a tactician in his summary execution of The Prime Minister, a federal minister, two regional premiers, along with top Army officers from the north and western regions of the nation. Where he fell flat was he should have finished the job killing top eastern politicians and top eastern military officers. That way his neutrality to any tribe in the country would have enhanced his image as a crusader against corrupt politicians. He would have been up there with the likes like Fiedel Castro and Che Guevara the Argentine born Cuban revolutionary. Unfortunately he got disillusioned and fell for that evil called tribalism. My conclusion is he was a rebel without a cause and that is where he lost it.

I refuse to agree with you.

First I can see you do not have enough details of the events to make sounds judgements. I urge you to read 'Why we struck by Ademoyega. I am not sure I got the author's name correct.

Nzeogwu by all account was a hero. But he trusted double faced individual like, in particular Major Ifeanjuna. Nzeogwu was only responsible for killing Amadu Bello who happened to be his mentor. It will also do you well to read some account of Nzeogwu's documentation on Amadu Bello.

Nzeogwu also was deceived by Ironsi and the likes of Ojukwu.

He was only responsible for the execution of the coup in the North which he did faithfully, working with Northern military officers. His friends in the south - Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, Major Okafor and the rest let him down. When Ironsi took over the south with Nzeogwu in the North, the likes of Ojukwu and one of his friend played a role in drawing him into an agreement to hand over power to Ironsi.

For want of space, I will not go into details here. But he was arrested at a very odd moment. And the cabals took over.

The same Ojukwu denied him any role during the Biafran war because he was afraid of his popularity. And also because the guy as at then believed in the ,as he called it, the uncompleted January coup. Till date there is enough speculation that his death was arraged by elements on the Biafran side.

What else do you want from a true HERO.

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KnowAll:

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I think Kaduna Nzeogwu was a biased hero, although a brave man, and a tactician in his summary execution of The Prime Minister, a federal minister, two regional premiers, along with top Army officers from the north and western regions of the nation. Where he fell flat was he should have finished the job killing top eastern politicians and top eastern military officers. That way his neutrality to any tribe in the country would have enhanced his image as a crusader against corrupt politicians. He would have been up there with the likes like Fiedel Castro and Che Guevara the Argentine born Cuban revolutionary. Unfortunately he got disillusioned and fell for that evil called tribalism. My conclusion is he was a rebel without a cause and that is where he lost it.

How is his cause an Igbo cause? He was responsible for the coup in the North which he executed faithfully. As for the choice of people he worked with, the coup was executed with Hausa soldiers in the North. He was only but the leader. The killing that took place in Lagos was not planned in the making of the coup. They happened out of carelessly and selfish personal agenda on the part of the Lagos boys(Ifeajuna and the rest). Akintola happened to be the only one killed in the west because he opened fire on the coup plotters first. As for the only Yoruba general then who was killed, I doubt if Nzeogwu would have approved of his death. Though the man made himself a tool for the then Government. He lead soldiers to the killing of Tivs during the Tivs uprising; all in an attempt to be made the commander of the army, out of the then three brigadiers.

The other Brigadier who happened to come from the North, Malamari was also killed during the coup. His death and that of Belewa is the most regretable event of the coup. Both are core gentlemen on all account. Nzeogwu would not have approved of the killing. Malamari as at then was well respected even by the core of the Igbo Officers. It was based on his recommendation that Ironsi was made head of the Nigerian army.

You should also know that it is natural for honest people to be driven more by their ideals than the manipulation of human character. That I call the greatest fault of Nzeogwu. That also accounts for why he failed to take appropriate care during the war that allowed elements from the Biafran army to set him up.

Also remember that Nzeogwu did not involve Obasanjo who happened to be his friend in the coup, probably because he knew Obasanjo for being what we have seen him to be today. In coup plotting, as in governance, you must work with people and it is impossible to read people intention with accuracy.

Nzeogwu is a pure hero that was let down by people. As for Nzeogwu having an Igbo agenda, you should know that he grow up in the north and having come from the western Igbos would have had more Hausa friends than Igbos from the East. That will probably account for why he was given a national burial in the North even in the midst of the war, by the Nigerian soldiers.

You have failed to show me any element of tribalism in his actions. Remember also that whenever there was coup, those at the corridors of power will be at risk. The only Igbo man at the corridor of power then was Azikiwe. I personally suspect that elements of the coup leaked the information to him. I suspect Ifeajuna who I have read in some books is his cousin.

I have read that Malamari was killed because the boys were afraid that he will react badly if he finds out the death of an Igbo Cornell called Unegbu. Unegbu happened to be the only Igbo man killed in the coup, but stories has refused tell us this. Because they want us believe it was purely an Igbo coup.

Amadu Bello was the main man in that government and there is no way the coup will succeed if he was around. Akintola was a terror in the West. You need to read Ademoya's account on how they ended up killing Belewa unplanned.

Do not just conclude based on what they told you or what is easier to believe. Read all sides of the account and find the truth.

It all lies in the likes of Ironsi and his Igbo adviser including in particular Ojukwu for mismanaging the coup. They hijacked his coup the way IBB ended up hijacking Buhari's coup.

Kaduna Nzeogwu and his group were real heros. The rest rest of the so- called National hero's are worked to acheive sectorial goals to the detrement of National ones, the result of which we are still grappling with today.

Yes, Kaduna Nzeogwu was a hero. If you read the books "WHY WE STRUCK" by Adegboyega and "LET TRUTH BE TOLD" by Fredrick Forsythe, you will see clearly that Nzeogwu was a highly detribalised Nigerian who was out to flushout those polticians who were practicing nepotism, favouritism, godfatherism and collectors of 10% from contractors (the same things happening today). Unfortunately, his intention was twarted by some of his colleagues who failed to execute their own role in the coup plan. The failure of some of his colleagues to fulfil their role made the coup look lopsided which triggered the subsequent sectional coups in Nigeria. Adieu, gallant soldier, Adieu, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu.

Yeah right. Killing people without warning in cold blood is a sure sign of true heroics, eh?

Dissatisfied armed personnel have long used the excuse of 'curbing corruption' to seize power for himself.
His actions and that of his cohorts set in motion a chain of events that plunged this country not only into civil war, but into millitary rule and a heightened sense of tribalism.

Villain.

While his AIMS may have been noble (fighting corruption), his methods were not so. Killing unarmed civilians in the middle of the night is not particularly heroic.

there is nothing heroic about military men interfering in politics. stick your ass in the barracks