Spongia1:
This, my friend is fvcking brilliant. But, don't you think Achebe wrote the book from an Igbo perspective. I do feel to know the real truth about the Civil War, one would have to read an unbiased account from none of the principal actors.

SmartyPants:


What you have presented is an official account of history as told by some of those involved. But there are several reasons to advance the theory that this was indeed an igbo coup:

1. The ringleaders were majorly igbo and almost exclusively southern. Note that the Nzeogwu was a very late addition to the coup and while he seemed to have executed his role with precision and some patriotism, it is thought that his own goals may have differed from those of the original plotters.

2. Aguiyi Ironsi was theoretically to be killed by Immanuel Ifeajuna who was particularly ruthless. Why was he spared? One possible answer is that he was in on it all along. The coup plotters showed very little restraint at bloodletting on that particular night so why didnt they go after Gen. Ironsi?

3. in the aftermath of the coup Igbos in the north openly taunted their hausa counterparts. In fact, a song was made mocking the sardauna's manner of death. The aftermath of the coup was certainly much more pleasing to the Igbo part of the country than to any other.

4. President Nnamdi Azikwe who traveled for health reasons far overstayed the planned duration of his trip because he knew of the coup, having been warned. Yet he refused to tip-off the Prime minister, Sir Abubakar Balewa, his northern counterpart.

5. In the final analysis, an Igbo dominated group of officers executed a group of non-igbo military, political and cultural leaders, taking care t protect their tribesmen of similar political, military and cultural standing, much to the joy and celebration of large numbers of the Igbo population, culminating in the installation of an Igbo officer as president.

How was this not an Igbo coup?

AkinPhysicist:
EVERY evil thing to ever start in this country started with Ugandans. They carried out THE FIRST coup to slaughter SPECIFICALLY Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani military leaders and politicians. Then the country rightfully fought them back and they started crying 'this is not fair.' When Ironsi was head of state they loved one Nigeria, when they lost the war they no longer wanted one Nigeria. When GEJ was president and surrounded himself with Igbos who emptied the national treasury, they were not complaining. Now, that Buhari is president, they want Biafra. These people are jokes.

AkinPhysicist:
EVERY evil thing to ever start in this country started with Ugandans. They carried out THE FIRST coup to slaughter SPECIFICALLY Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani military leaders and politicians. Then the country rightfully fought them back and they started crying 'this is not fair.' When Ironsi was head of state they loved one Nigeria, when they lost the war they no longer wanted one Nigeria. When GEJ was president and surrounded himself with Igbos who emptied the national treasury, they were not complaining. Now, that Buhari is president, they want Biafra. These people are jokes.

zendy:


But they were participants werent they? Now what tribe do these 3 officers come from?

Spongia1:
so There was a country is a book written by a senile, bitter, Biafran minister of misinformation in your words. Achebe was none of that....

T9ksy:



Achebe was more than that...............he was simply a lying toerag. But then lying to you folks is like stinging is to a scorpion.

edudguy:
I disagree First and foremost, Aguiyi Ironsi did not take part in the Coup. He had no idea there was a coup until he got the wind of it. The five Junior Officers otherwise known as The Five Majors with ImNzeogwu as their ring leader also wanted to kill Ironsi as he had killed other officers from other tribefortunately Ironsi got wind of the Coup and botched the Coup, assumed power and decreed a Unitary Constitution. What made the North angry was that after the Coup was botched Ironsi did not Court Martial the Plotters of the Coup instead the Northerners claimed he promoted the Coup Plotters. Ironsi tried to pacify the North by offering the some Northern officers key position in his office and he released some officers who had been thrown in Prison by the Five Majors.. The Northern Officers - humiliated did not care and those released from Prison planned a way to carry out a Counter Coup which was carried out in July 1966.. A very bloody Coup. The Northerners saw the January 15 Coup as an 'Igbo Coup' but in reality Nzeogwu the ring leader of those that carried out the Coup was just an Igbo in paper. Spoke Hausa fluently, dressed like an Hausa when he was not on Uniform had lot of Hausa friends.
Let this be known: Ironsi did not partake in the coup he just got the wind of it as he too would have been killed..
When the Northerners staged a Counter Coup Igbo Officers were killed in hundreds including Ironsi The Northern Officers demanded that Gowon be made Head of State although he was not the most superior officer, a Yoruba Officer - Ogundipe was but the North rejected him and made Gowon Head of State.
After the Coup, Progroms were going on in Major cities in Nigeria, Northerner killed the Igbos and the Yoruba's jeered were the Igbos.. Ojukwu, the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria alerted Gowon. Gowon promised an end to the Progroms but it did not stop it only got worse... Ojukwu, seeing that the safety of the Igbos could not be assured declared the state of Biafra.. The rest is history

One can clearly see that the wounds of days preceding the war and after the war are yet to be healed. That's why when I see tribes insulting each other I kind of feel sorry for them..
To understand the Nigeria 'story' better, read 'There Was A Country' by Chinua Achebe

edudguy:
[s]This one will just be saying what he does not know.. I like people that talk facts. Unfortunately you like ranting everytime without stating facts like others did in this thread. Please, educate us when and how has Achebe lied
[/s]

mayorchelsea:
Without being tribalistic or sentimental,I think Easterners gave the North the first taste of blood.How do you justify the killings of the military and political leaders of other regions and preserve yours and say the coup was meant to eliminate corrupt politicians? So,only the North and West had corrupt politicians? How did Okpara escape?How did Azikiwe escape this coup too?If only Azikiwe had supported Awolowo in accepting that Nigeria wasn't one culturally and religiously and fought to include secession clause in our first constitution,maybe all these would have been avoided.

edudguy:
I disagree First and foremost, Aguiyi Ironsi did not take part in the Coup. He had no idea there was a coup until he got the wind of it. The five Junior Officers otherwise known as The Five Majors with ImNzeogwu as their ring leader also wanted to kill Ironsi as he had killed other officers from other tribefortunately Ironsi got wind of the Coup and botched the Coup, assumed power and decreed a Unitary Constitution. What made the North angry was that after the Coup was botched Ironsi did not Court Martial the Plotters of the Coup instead the Northerners claimed he promoted the Coup Plotters. Ironsi tried to pacify the North by offering the some Northern officers key position in his office and he released some officers who had been thrown in Prison by the Five Majors.. The Northern Officers - humiliated did not care and those released from Prison planned a way to carry out a Counter Coup which was carried out in July 1966.. A very bloody Coup. The Northerners saw the January 15 Coup as an 'Igbo Coup' but in reality Nzeogwu the ring leader of those that carried out the Coup was just an Igbo in paper. Spoke Hausa fluently, dressed like an Hausa when he was not on Uniform had lot of Hausa friends.
Let this be known: Ironsi did not partake in the coup he just got the wind of it as he too would have been killed..
When the Northerners staged a Counter Coup Igbo Officers were killed in hundreds including Ironsi The Northern Officers demanded that Gowon be made Head of State although he was not the most superior officer, a Yoruba Officer - Ogundipe was but the North rejected him and made Gowon Head of State.
After the Coup, Progroms were going on in Major cities in Nigeria, Northerner killed the Igbos and the Yoruba's jeered were the Igbos.. Ojukwu, the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria alerted Gowon. Gowon promised an end to the Progroms but it did not stop it only got worse... Ojukwu, seeing that the safety of the Igbos could not be assured declared the state of Biafra.. The rest is history

One can clearly see that the wounds of days preceding the war and after the war are yet to be healed. That's why when I see tribes insulting each other I kind of feel sorry for them..
To understand the Nigeria 'story' better, read 'There Was A Country' by Chinua Achebe

T9ksy:



Achebe was more than that...............he was simply a lying toerag. But then lying to you folks is like stinging is to a scorpion.

T9ksy:



Ol' boy, can you please stop regurgitating this asinine propaganda, Nzeogwu was never the ring leader though he headed the coup plot in the north as he was based in the region. He was actually recruited by Major C. I. Anuforo, 2months into the plot.

Of course, Nzeogwu was just ibo on paper only however when the biafran war commenced he fought with side by side with his fellow ibo people.

Lastly, don't insult our collective intelligence by referring to that pile of junk penned by a senile, bitter, biafran minister of misinformation as the the true history of nigeria.

T9ksy:



Haba! don't you inherently mischievous folks ever get tired of telling tall tales? None of the names you mentioned above were part of the ring leaders of the Jan. 15th 1966 coup. The actual ringleaders were Major Okafor, Major Ifeajuna and Captain Oji who began hatching their dastardly plot in August 1965. In actual FACT, Major Ademoyega was the last to be recruited by the group in late October by Major Nzeogwu. The other two didn't get to know about the coup until the night of the 14th, January 1966 at the meeting held in ifeajunna's residence in Apapa.




source=====> SPECIAL BRANCH REPORT: Military Rebellion of 15th January 1966

Truman155:
I know you must be one of those hateful deceptive and cruel tribal bigots.
keep your opinion to yourself I am satisfied with not arguing with nitwits

T9ksy:



Oh i suppose, in your neck of the woods, participants is synonymous with "ring leaders"?

There's no doubt, these two partake in the coup but it was quite mendacious of you to now call them ring leaders.

ceejay4real:


Why do you people always like distorting history? Go and read Adewale Ademoyega's WHY WE STRUCK. Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega were the originators of the coup! Stop misinforming the public ok? On the question of Igbo coup or not, don't the Igbo have a right to stage a coup or revolution in their own country? Or are they not Nigerians again? So all the other coups that occurred in Nigeria were what? Maybe the Dimka coup was a Plateau coup, Orkar's coup was a Tiv coup, Vatsa's coup a Gwari/Nupe coup abi? You people are just mad! Let it be on record that the Nzeogwu group never planned to eliminate any particular tribe, all the killings were done to facilitate and enable their coup gain momentum. Just a twist of fate that Ironsi slipped through their fingers! You guys should stop hating the Igbos unduly, it's becoming nauseating! Go read Why we struck and Nigeria's Five Majors by Ben Gbulie another of the Nzeogwu boys. Get informed! Knowledge is power my friend! While ignorance is bliss in stupidity! Shalom!

zendy:


So you suddenly dont know how to answer questions? What tribe were Major Ademoyega, Captain Adeleke and Lt Oyewole who all participated in the coup?

SmartyPants:


What you have presented is an official account of history as told by some of those involved. But there are several reasons to advance the theory that this was indeed an igbo coup:

1. The ringleaders were majorly igbo and almost exclusively southern. Note that the Nzeogwu was a very late addition to the coup and while he seemed to have executed his role with precision and some patriotism, it is thought that his own goals may have differed from those of the original plotters.

2. Aguiyi Ironsi was theoretically to be killed by Immanuel Ifeajuna who was particularly ruthless. Why was he spared? One possible answer is that he was in on it all along. The coup plotters showed very little restraint at bloodletting on that particular night so why didnt they go after Gen. Ironsi?

3. in the aftermath of the coup Igbos in the north openly taunted their hausa counterparts. In fact, a song was made mocking the sardauna's manner of death. The aftermath of the coup was certainly much more pleasing to the Igbo part of the country than to any other.

4. President Nnamdi Azikwe who traveled for health reasons far overstayed the planned duration of his trip because he knew of the coup, having been warned. Yet he refused to tip-off the Prime minister, Sir Abubakar Balewa, his northern counterpart.

5. In the final analysis, an Igbo dominated group of officers executed a group of non-igbo military, political and cultural leaders, taking care t protect their tribesmen of similar political, military and cultural standing, much to the joy and celebration of large numbers of the Igbo population, culminating in the installation of an Igbo officer as president.

How was this not an Igbo coup?

T9ksy:
Achebe was more than that...............he was simply a lying toerag. But then lying to you folks is like stinging is to a scorpion.

0xtr200r:


"Secondly at the 1954 Constitutional Conference that was held in Lagos, the Action Group, under the distinguished leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, demanded that the “right to secession” be included in the proposed new constitution.This was rejected by the Colonial Secretary, Oliver Lyttleton."
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/time-think-femi-fani-kayode/

Lying propagandist and notorious history distortionist, find below a brief history of the killings of Igbos in this cesspit:

https://www.nairaland.com/2791382/history-igbo-massacre-across-northern

teufelein post:
History Of IGBO Massacre Across The Northern Nigeria

MASSACRE (City/Town and Year)

1. Jos 1945
2. Kano genocide 1953
3. 1966 pogroms- over 60,000 civilians were killed
4. May 29th 1967- over 200,000 civilians were killed.
5. 1967-70 – over 3,100,0000 killed during the bloody civil war (Including the Asaba Genocide).
6. Kano 1980
7. Maiduguri 1982
8. Jimeta 1984
9. Gombe 1985
10.Zaria 1987
11.Kaduna & Kafanchan 1991
12.Bauchi & Katsina 1991
13. Kano 1991
14. Zangon-Kataf 1992
15. Funtua 1993
16. Kano 1994
17. Kaduna 2000
18. Kaduna 2001
19. Maiduguri 2001
20. Jos Maiden Crisis-Setember 2001
21. Kaduna 2002
22.Jos-November 2008
23. Beheading of Gideon Akaluka in December of 1996 in a POLICE STATION in Kano
24. Saint Moritz killed December 2001
25. Post April 2011 Presidential Election: 10 youth-corps men & women and numerous citizens murdered because a Christian Southerner was elected.
26. Jos Christmas Eve 2010
27. Madalla Christmas day 2011
28. Mubi January 6 2012
29. The many Igbo deaths caused by boko haram(which of course has the full backing of the northern elites).
...

http://www.may30.org/history-of-igbo-massacre-across-the-northern-nigeria/

https://www.nairaland.com/2502880/ibrahim-taiwo-the-man-that-ordered-asaba-massacre-oct1967

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/revisiting-the-asaba-massacres/

Asaba Oct 7, 1967 Massacre by Murtala,  Awolowo and their Cohorts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEaX9lVVrCM
N.B: The Igbo people of Isheagu, Ogwashi-Uku and Asaba were exterminated by Murtala Muhammed and Ibrahim Taiwo, supported by Yorubas and other Southern stooges.

SmartyPants:


What you have presented is an official account of history as told by some of those involved. But there are several reasons to advance the theory that this was indeed an igbo coup:

1. The ringleaders were majorly igbo and almost exclusively southern. Note that the Nzeogwu was a very late addition to the coup and while he seemed to have executed his role with precision and some patriotism, it is thought that his own goals may have differed from those of the original plotters.

2. Aguiyi Ironsi was theoretically to be killed by Immanuel Ifeajuna who was particularly ruthless. Why was he spared? One possible answer is that he was in on it all along. The coup plotters showed very little restraint at bloodletting on that particular night so why didnt they go after Gen. Ironsi?

3. in the aftermath of the coup Igbos in the north openly taunted their hausa counterparts. In fact, a song was made mocking the sardauna's manner of death. The aftermath of the coup was certainly much more pleasing to the Igbo part of the country than to any other.

4. President Nnamdi Azikwe who traveled for health reasons far overstayed the planned duration of his trip because he knew of the coup, having been warned. Yet he refused to tip-off the Prime minister, Sir Abubakar Balewa, his northern counterpart.

5. In the final analysis, an Igbo dominated group of officers executed a group of non-igbo military, political and cultural leaders, taking care t protect their tribesmen of similar political, military and cultural standing, much to the joy and celebration of large numbers of the Igbo population, culminating in the installation of an Igbo officer as president.

How was this not an Igbo coup?

pentlumpro:

Afonjas like distorting history to suit them
Another afonja called this trash brilliant
Go and read the book why we struck written by your sensible brother ademoyega
If after reading the book you are not convinced then go for deliverance from bigotry

SmartyPants:


Keep quiet!

I am nothing but a keen student of history and that is my only interest in this matter. For your info, i am half Igbo and have no reason to hate on the Igbo people. I have stated before that while we have a historical account from those who were the major players, the historical sequence of facts is available for any keen mind to evaluate for themselves.

The fact of the matter is that January 1966 coup was carried out majorly by Igbos, to the detriment of non-igbos. To butress this point, Aguiyi Ironsi as the GOC, when he quelled the coup, instead of protecting the remaining democratic structure, took over the government with the help of Orizu Nwafor, senate president and dejure head of state, another Igbo. Was this an opportunist move? Or! Was this the plan all along?

All the major players were Igbo. All the major Victims were non Igbo and majorly northern. What does this tell you?

And all the other coups are vastly different in terms of their composition and execution which were based on political ideology, except for the July 1996 coup which was accordingly branded what it was, a northern counter-coup. If the cap fits, then wear it!

Ngozi123:


1) There is no such thing. You're either Igbo or you're not.
2) You contradict yourself here.
I remember reading somewhere that the coup was actually more complex than first thought, in that it was actually conducted by a group of young officers from quite a few tribes, not just Igbo. What united them was their interest in politics and their nationalist outlook, not their ethnicity. I think that most people just call it an 'Igbo coup' because four out of five of the major leaders were Igbo. It wasn't a grand conspiracy from the Igbos as a whole. I'll look for the source to show you.

SmartyPants:


I have no interest in being Igbo. I consider myself a Nigerian and that is it. I do not even speak any Nigerian language so of what interest is your petty tribalism to me? But for the sake of semantics, and to enlighten your misguided sense of ethnocentricity, there is in fact, such a thing as being half Igbo. It is what happens when one of your parents is Igbo.

Now as to what you have labelled no 2, kindly highlight the said contradiction.

Frankly most of you who are arguing with such fervor do not even understand the political landscape of the era we are talking about. When you study your history a little better, you will discover that Nigeria's nascent democracy was plagued by partisan idealogy with each region forming a political party, and the North totally dominating the republic.In light of this, there was immense resentment towards the north, from the East.

Consider the events of 1966 again, in light of this piece of information. It is undoubtable that Nigerians were generally discontented with the system but when the majors acted in January 1966, their pattern of action and the aftermath of that action would leave one with no choice than to question their ulterior motives.

The northern officers who swung into action in July of the same year were not fools. They saw the evidence and they interpreted it in the same way most historians would today: Igbo coup.