Ngozi123:


I highlighted the contradiction in my previous post. Btw, I did study the Biafran War in depth, that's why I know that the coup was more complex than what was first thought. Let me find that book for you; it was written by an British historian who specialises in the histories of militaries from around the world.

How am I a tribalist for saying that there's no such thing as a 'half-Igbo'? Anyone who has any understanding of the Igbo culture knows this.

SmartyPants:


Okay

Ngozi123:


I found it! It's from Max Siollun's "Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976)".

I advise you to read the whole book but if you don't have much time then I'd direct you to the middle of page 42, where it says that Aguiyi-Ironsi actually circulated a letter, warning other senior officials of the some trouble ahead. It's not his fault that they didn't take the treat seriously. It also says that Aguiyi-Ironsi's wife housed the orphaned Ademulegun children and set up government scholarships for them up to the university level. That's something that's not talked about a lot and suggests that Aguiyi-Ironsi may not have been guilty of what he was accused of.

Edit: Sorry, he's not British, he's Nigerian and he specialises in the Nigerian military, which is probably better. His name caught me off guard.

Bolustic:
Behold the man(Ironsi) that killed regionalism in Nigeria through his selfish Unification Decree 34 of 1966, six months later, the northerners tasted it and saw it good, now they are shouting restructuring.

It just bothers me how our brothers distort history.

zendy:


Ironsi killed Regionalism? If you think that then what will you think of Gowon who inherited the same 4 Regions from Ironsi but went on to divide those 4 Regions into 12 states?

T8ksy:




Ol' boy, I suggest you go and read up on Ironsi's decree 34 and then come back here and tell us what you think it meant.

zendy:


I dont need to read it to know that the four Regions still existed after it was promulgated. They didnt exist after Gowon promulgated his own decree. You dont have to Einstein to figure out who killed the Regions between Ironsi and Gowon.

On 12 May, proposed Decrees 33 and 34 were discussed by the SMC. Decree No. 33 was a list of 81 political societies and 26 tribal and cultural associations that were to be dissolved. Decree No. 34 divided Nigeria into 35 provinces and made all civil servants part of a unified civil service. It is said that there was opposition and that the final version was watered down. Even then, although Ironsi did not legally require approval of the SMC for decisions, there continues to be doubt about whether Ironsi fully appreciated the depths of opposition which Decree 34 would create in the North. How vigorously did Katsina, Kam Salem, and Gowon, for example, forewarn him of consequences? [/b]Had he by then become hostage to a kitchen cabinet outside government?



The answer may have been provided by two sources. According to Brigadier Ogbemudia (rtd) who was then Brigade Major at the 1st Brigade, during a visit to Kaduna, [b]1st Brigade Commander Lt. Col Bassey tried to advise General Ironsi to back off from the controversial decree, but a civilian adviser who came along with the General retorted saying: "Colonel, the General understands Nigerians more than you here. You will find that the people will soon see him as the much sought redeemer of our dreams. Do not worry. Everything is under control." It was claimed that national surveys had been done to show that the decree was welcome all over the country. More recently General Gowon has said the matter was still being discussed in the SMC when the government suddenly promulgated the decree. That said, Eastern region Governor Lt. Col. Ojukwu did not help matters for the General when, the next day after promulgation on May 24, he publicly announced in Enugu that on the basis of seniority, Igbo civil servants would be transferred to other regions and Lagos. Needless to say, he unintentionally sent shivers through the northern civil service because that region was not only educationally disadvantaged but traditionally paid the lowest salaries in the federation, automatically relegating northerners to the bottom of any unified civil service.

MAYOWAAK:


A coup d'état is not a conventional operation of the Army. Preparations for it could not at any time be done in the open or in plain language. Therefore, when we discussed with officers, unless an officer showed serious interest, we always sounded casual and the matter was generally left unspecified and inconclusive. Today, if one were to ask “When did the preparation for the revolution really begin?”, the most accurate answer would be, “from 1961” , because the three of us who formed the nucleus of the revolutionary group had met in that year. Although we had not there and then planned a revolution, we had seen eye to eye and we knew we had a common cause. These meetings were between Ifeajuna and me one hand and between Nzeogwu and me on the other. This pattern remained almost the same throughout. The preparation for the coup started to warm up by July 1965 because by that time, the matter was more seriously and urgently discussed. Moreover, active efforts were made to get in touch with more officers of the Army so as to ascertain their inclinations and loyalties. These contacts were made most quietly and surreptitiously. Moreover, while Nzeogwu and I were making concerted efforts in Kaduna, Ifeajuna was pre-occupied with making similar efforts in Lagos. And the two efforts were not brought together until October 1965.

SOURCE: WHY WE STRUCK: THE STORY OF THE FIRST NIGERIAN COUP BY ADEWALE ADEMOYEGA.

queencalipso:


Was it ojukwu that refused to sign the aburi accord? go and read your history and stop embarrassing your self on social media..

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

Roger3D:
Gowon made thew right call by refusing to fully implement the Aburi accord because Ojukwu outsmarted the FG by insisting that the center remain weak so that he could eventually get his Biafra. Thank God that when Gowon returned to Lagos from Aburi, the senior civil servants saw through Ojukwu's plan and duly advised the supreme commander not to implement the accord

Naajjii:

Ironsi got wing of the coup and others top officers in the north and other regions did not,is that fair? Apart from that Balewa, Ahmadu bello,Akintola and others were killed and Zik was out of the country, apart from that alot of senior military officers from the north were killed, apart from that they were jubilation in the east after the killings. Dont you think the way the coup was executed it would be hard to convince others who lost lot of their leaders that coup was not sectional.That coup was very unfortunate it was root of the issues we are currently grappling with, not just the mutual suspicious and hate but the fact that it abolished the regional structure we had.If that structure was kept it would have been lot easier to solve current problems.

fiizznation:
Hassan katsina was a great man. Read one or two journals about him. He was respected among the rank and field, his superior and inferior fellow soldiers all respected him. Is kind of sad that great men like him are nowhere to be found in today's Nigeria.

gidgiddy:


Then that means that Gowon was at fault. When you sign an agreement, it is expected that carry out what you signed. If at a later date, you look at the agreement and decide to amend it, you must call all the parties together to do so. Nobody forced Gowon to sign the Aburi agreement. In fact, before signing it, the President of Ghana, General Ankrah, asked everybody if they were happy with what was agreed. They all said yes. So if Gowon came back home and decided to back on what he signed, blame Gowon and not Ojukwu.

gidgiddy:


Try to be reasonable in what you are saying. The coup is not the root cause of the problems of Nigeria today and neither was it what caused the abolishment of the Regions. There was mutual suspicion and hate even before the coup. The Jos riots of 1945 where Easterners were targeted and the Kano massacre of 1953 are clear examples that we did not trust each other before the coup.

The abolishment of the 4 existing regions was the work of Gowon on behalf of the North So they could implement 'divide and rule'