Qelvin:

Tonye as a student of history I believe you to be, can you honestly say the coup wasn't hailed as a success by all tribes?

IT WASN'T!

One of the reasons Major Isaac Adaka Boro and his militia struck the following month to seek secession is because it was felt that with the death of the Prime Minister, the agitations of the Niger Deltans(Ijaws) has suffered heavy setback, and marginalisation deepened. They assumed and rightly so that it was best to secede Ijaw from Nigeria. Unfortunately, the agitation was crushed just after 12 days after Boro surrendered.

I am yet to see where the middle belt, the Yoruba, Urhobo, and others hailed the coup.

It was indeed a huge setback!

Qelvin:

Tonye as a student of history I believe you to be, can you honestly say the coup wasn't hailed as a success by all tribes?

I think initially some people hailed it until reality sunk in and other ethnicities put 2 and 2 together and smelled foul play.

TonyeBarcanista:
IT WASN'T!

One of the reasons Major Isaac Adaka Boro and his militia struck the following month to seek secession is because it was felt that with the death of the Prime Minister, the agitations of the Niger Deltans(Ijaws) has suffered heavy setback, and marginalisation deepened. They assumed and rightly so that it was best to secede Ijaw from Nigeria. Unfortunately, the agitation was crushed just after 12 days after Boro surrendered.

I am yet to see where the middle belt, the Yoruba, Urhobo, and others hailed the coup.

It was indeed a huge setback!

Interesting you mentioned Isaac Boro, who really killed him? various accounts of his death stated he was killed by Adekunle...others Biafran troops, maybe you would know better as an Ijaw

TonyeBarcanista:
IT WASN'T!

One of the reasons Major Isaac Adaka Boro and his militia struck the following month to seek secession is because it was felt that with the death of the Prime Minister, the agitations of the Niger Deltans(Ijaws) has suffered heavy setback, and marginalisation deepened. They assumed and rightly so that it was best to secede Ijaw from Nigeria. Unfortunately, the agitation was crushed just after 12 days after Boro surrendered.

I am yet to see where the middle belt, the Yoruba, Urhobo, and others hailed the coup.

It was indeed a huge setback!

I think some people hailed, some were indifferent, while some smelled foul play from the get go. But it wasn't long before reality dawned on most non-easterners that it was at best a selective justice. That set the stage for the follow-up by the Northerners.

Qelvin:

Interesting you mentioned Isaac Boro, who really killed him? various accounts of his death stated he was killed by Adekunle...others Biafran troops, maybe you would know better as an Ijaw

I have discussed this several times as to how Boro was killed. It wasn't Adekunle that killed him, it was fleeing Biafra soldiers.

This account was given by the men (Ijaws) that were with him in Okrika before he was killed.

But that isn't the discussion here and it doesn't relate with the subject

afroniger:


I think some people hailed, some were indifferent, while some smelled foul play from the get go. But it wasn't long before reality dawned on most non-easterners that it was at best a selective justice. That set the stage for the follow-up by the Northerners.

I have always argued that the coup, like the pogrom was a bad omen to Nigeria.

You can't build a country with the blood of another group in the name of retaliation. it doesn't work that way!

TonyeBarcanista:
While I wouldn't love to tag the 1966 Coup an "Igbo coup", yet it won't changed the fact that the primary planners and leaders were of Igbo ethnic group. The beneficiary of the coup was also of Igbo ethnic group, while the victims were non Igbos save for one. The man that refused to handover power to an acting Prime Minister was also from Igbo tribe.

That shows that the coup had tribal connotation. FACT!
But I will always be of the opinion that it was wrong to blame an entire tribe for the action of a negligible few.

We should desist from trying to rewrite history but learn from our past, and move on.

As for ceding Lagos to Yoruba, that part is funny tho...

Tonye Gbasibe, wa gbayi. That's why i always like you. Whenever you want to come up with an issue or cover up, you do it intelligently. I'll advice all these Igbos to hire you in all their defences, you'll definitely do better than they've been doing.

TonyeBarcanista:

I have discussed this several times as to how Boro was killed. It wasn't Adekunle that killed him, it was fleeing Biafra soldiers.

This account was given by the men (Ijaws) that were with him in Okrika before he was killed.

But that isn't the discussion here and it doesn't relate with the subject

But I read from an article written by an Ijaw that it was Adekunle that killed Boro out of jealousy or something of that sort...will pull it out for you to read but I digress, now we all know the principal masterminds of the coup were in majority Igbos, but they were mostly by ethnicity alone, lots of the officers that carried out that coup were more Hausa in their culture and bearing than even Igbo, an example would be Nzeogwu whom many described as more Hausa than even Igbo.. I strongly believe the coup was beyond just ethnic sentiments as the kill ratio per region does suggest, apart from been a grudge match between disgruntled officers, the only explanation as to how no top Igbo leader was killed would be more of circumstance and inefficiency on the part of some of the coupist, Ademoyega described how the coup was a complete success in the North but a failure in the South...and another credible account stated that the likes of Ironsi got wind of the coup beforehand and even warned the primary targets to exercise caution, but some things will never make sense to me though...lots of Igbo and Eastern Nigerian officers and men knew a counter coup was in the offing but refused to take measures to protect themselves and just let the rage reach its boiling point until the Northerners decided to strike.

TonyeBarcanista:
I have always argued that the coup, like the pogrom was a bad omen to Nigeria.

You can't build a country with the blood of another group in the name of retaliation. it doesn't work that way!

If the counter coup was a strictly military affair as it initially was,
that would have been understandable, but the killing of innocent civilians who may not have even known or cared about a damn coup is what baffles me more, the bloodbath was very unnecessary in that pogrom.

Qelvin:

Tonye as a student of history I believe you to be, can you honestly say the coup wasn't hailed as a success by all tribes?

Your worst mistake is trying to reason with that seasonal colorless snake-man..

He hates you but has a funny way if expressing it..

Insult him if you can and move on.. Never try reasoning with him on ethnic grounds..

This Story is as told by Satan who as Serpent thought he could cajole Jesus to turn stones into Bread.

Qelvin:

Interesting you mentioned Isaac Boro, who really killed him? various accounts of his death stated he was killed by Adekunle...others Biafran troops, maybe you would know better as an Ijaw

Go and read Brig.general Godwin Alabi Isama'book 'The tragedy of Victory' u will see the picture of the biafran soldier that shot Adaka-boro.

Who Killed Adaka Boro?
By
Hosiah Emmanuel

Isaac Jasper Boro was born to a Kaiama family in present day Bayelsa State of Nigeria, in 1938 and died in mysterious circumstances on May 16, 1968 while fighting to unite Nigeria. [1,2]

Boro was he who shortly after the Jan. 1966 coup declared the first Republic within Nigeria called the Niger Delta Republic that lasted for 12 days. It was an attempt to liberate the Niger Delta people from the socio-economic oppression by the then eastern regional govenment. He was a chemistry undergraduate and the president of the students' union of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a police officer and at his death, a commissioned officer of the Nigerian Army. See [4] for more details about this aspect of his life as I concentrate on the subject matter of this piece.

It is no use to repeat that Isaac Boro who was jailed by the Maj. Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi government on recommendation by the supreme court of Nigeria was pardoned by Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon's government and later commissioned by the Nigerian Army as an officer to help liberate southern territories under Biafran control. He recruited Rivers men who volunteered to serve under him and gave them brief training at Escravos. According to Obasanjo on page 47 of [1], Boro's one-thousand Rivers men were "hurriedly and poorly trained with little or nothing in the way of training facilities and resources". His group was then attached to the 3 Marine Commando Division (then 3 Marine) under the command of Col. Benjamin Adekunle. Adekunle's post-war political ambition was captured aptly by Obasanjo in his book "My Command" thus:

"Col. Adekunle, at this point saw the war not only in terms of crushing a rebellion, but also as a means of building himself up for any future political position or responsibility which he might wish to seek, I knew of people of Western State origin who had felt politically victimized and who saw in Col. Adekunle a saviour and told him so, and he believed them."

Is it possible that Adekunle planned the events that led to Boro's death as a scheme to take all the credits of the successes of the division at the time and permanently disconnect Boro's relationship with Federal headquarters?

Hear Obasanjo again: "At the entrance to my office (Adekunle's former office) there was a warning signboard ' Enter at the pain of Death', I removed the notice and flung it some fifty metres, "

If you are following the foregoing, you will notice that the 3 Marine was not making progress at the time Boro and his men joined them. This informed the "hurried" training. But the fortunes of the group was changed by Boro's men and again Obasanjo who showed some disdain towards Boro in the style of his writing about Boro in his book, probably because he did not want to give too much credit to a commissioned officer who did not receive formal military training in order to protect the millitary instutution, captured it this way (page 50 of [1]):

"Eket. Here, Isaac Boro and his Rivers men of 'Sea School Boys' had become a significant factor in the operations of the Division. Their knowledge of the riverine areas, their understanding of the local languages, their ability to live off the land and their SWIFT though tactically less accomplished (?) movement accounted for their HUGE success in areas around Opobo, Andoni, Obodo, Opolom, Oranga, Buguma, etc"

The "etc" in the above statement is Obasanjo's which I take to mean that the list of areas where Boro's men recorded HUGE SUCCESSES was endless. If you recollect that the then Col. Obasanjo was the head of a division at Ibadan at the time and eventually replaced Col. Adekunle as head of 3 Marine Commando, you will take his words seriously. The gravity of his words weighed heavily on me as I realized (by reading the book) that he was not a fan of Boro. Boro and his men were responsible for the huge success of the 3 Marine Commando for which Adekunle took the initial credits.

The fortunes of the 3 Marine Commando dwindled after Boro's deathwhich led to the replacement of Adekunle with Obasanjo. Hear again Obasanjo: [2] " The morale of the soldiers at least of 3 Marine Commando Division was at its lowest ebb. Desertion and absence from duty without leave was rife in the Division. The despondence and general lack of will to fight in the soldiers was glaringly manifest in the large number of cases of self-inflicted injuries thoughout the formation, "

The preceding captures the result of the absence of a winning unit after Boro's death. It is glaring that the division commander did a miscalculation of thinking he could hold it together without Boro.

Getting back to why I suspect that Boro might have been killed in a conspiracy organized by Col Benjamin Adekunle, the then commander of the 3 Marine Commando division, it is noteworthy that a good number of the men of Boro's Brigade had similar suspicion which made them uncontrollable after his death and subsequent dissolution by the powers that-be. Hear Obasanjo: [1]

"It was here in Okrika that Maj. Isaac Adaka Boro was killed, APPARENTLY (emphasis mine) by a fleeing rebel soldier whom he encountered during a private visit. His death led almost immediately to the dissolution of 19 Brigade which became uncontrollable without him"

I took proper notice of the word "apparently" used by a very senior officer who later became a military head of state before writing the book. In Obasanjo's mind therefore, the true circumstances leading to death is unknown.

Despite basing my theory on official record of a senior officer of Obasanjo's calibre, some informal account that give credence to this exist. In an article recorded on the web in [3], one Mr. Akpobulokemi B. Oborokumo has the following to say:

"My cousin Jones, a Regimental Sergeant Major during the Nigerian civil war told me over and over again that Major Boro did not die in the heat of battle with the Biafran forces. He said the area had already been captured and secured by his company and Major Boro was on an inspection tour when they came under fire. My cousin swore by the Ijaw gods that it was an ambush by one of Brigadier Adekunle's units under the scorpion's direct command."

There is enough reason for the government of Bayelsa and the legislators from Bayelsa to get the appropriate federal institition to do a fresh investigation to establish true situation that led to his death. All related documents captured in the course of investigation will become useful for further research by interested persons in future.

At the time of putting this together, my copy of Benjamin Adekunle's new book had not arrived and since Boro's death anniversary of May 16 is past, I thought it timely to give this opinion now and rekindle public interest on the need to answer the question of "Who Killed Adaka Boro". I will update this after reading Adekunle's book.

Thank you.

Hosiah Emmanuel


Ref:
1. General O. Obasanjo. "My Command." Heinneman, Ibadan, 1980.
2. Mr. A. L. Tare-Otu. http://www.unitedijawstates.com/boro.htm"
3. Mr. A. B. Oborokumo. "http://www.unitedijawstates.com/boro.htm"
4. Chief G. Fawehinmi. "The Murder of Dikibo. Another Lesson for Niger Delta". http://www.dawodu.com/fawehin1.htm

I think, the Ijaws needs to believe that Boro was killed by Biafrans, to exonerate Nigerians that killed him, to fuel their Igbophobia and unity of purpose, as well as to justify their Igbophobia, even when they know the truth.

Just as the Yorubas needs to believe that Fajuiyi was killed because he was trying to protect the Igboman called Ironsi, so as to exonerate the North that killed him,entrench their "Igbo coup" agenda( as its a known fact that Fajuiyi, was involved in the coup and protected Nzeogwu and co from being punished by Ironsi, when the coup failed) rationalize their Romance with the North during the war, and to continue fueling their Igbophobia.

It's a psychological thing.

In the final analysis.
Boro died for the same reason Wiwa died.

He wanted recognition for himself and for his people, and this didn't sit well with same people who had already declared their region and resources spoils of war.

Maybe at this, rate, in 20 yrs time, we would also be told how Biafrans killed or aided in Wiwa death.

agadez007:
The children of hate from waste-land will surely avoid this thread

Really? U don't know anything yet

TonyeBarcanista:
While I wouldn't love to tag the 1966 Coup an "Igbo coup", yet it won't changed the fact that the primary planners and leaders were of Igbo ethnic group. The beneficiary of the coup was also of Igbo ethnic group, while the victims were non Igbos save for one. The man that refused to handover power to an acting Prime Minister was also from Igbo tribe.

That shows that the coup had tribal connotation. FACT!
But I will always be of the opinion that it was wrong to blame an entire tribe for the action of a negligible few.

We should desist from trying to rewrite history but learn from our past, and move on.

As for ceding Lagos to Yoruba, that part is funny tho...

... Hypocrite. But you now remember that Kaduna Nzeogwu and other South South igbos are igbo people. I thought you have been insisting that there are no indigenous igbos in delta state, rivers state cum South South? Use this new year to make a good name, reputation, consistency for your self. Your image here is really battered, irredeemable and indelible.

StOla:
I love the way Igbos have been seriously pounded against the ropes with facts and now have to lie to deny a coup they were so proud of and boasted about in the North, ultimately leading to an instilling of a murderous respect by their Northern hosts.

I like the way the OP has held back on the names of the actual planners of the coup, save for Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega, and has instead populated the list with all manner of irrelevant foot soldiers who only got orders from their Igbo commanders on the night of the coup.

What about these Igbo names with senior rank who planned and directed the execution of the coup, and the assassination of the victims.
Maj Don Okafor
Maj Onwuatuegwu
Maj Humphrey Chukwuka
Maj Chris Anuforo
Capt Emmanuel Nwobosi
Capt Ben Gbulie.

So of all the 9 names above, how many are Igbo and how many are West or North?

I also read from the OP that Awolowo created Egbe Omo Oduduwa (which metamorphosed into Action Group) as a response to Azikiwe's NCNC winning majority votes in the Western Region elections?
If this bullshit theory is true, under what party did Awolowo and his supporters contest the elections, since the association was yet to be formed, talkless of becoming Action Group?

For a fact, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa had been formed long before the elections of 1952. It was formed in 1945 while Awolowo was a student in London. The association set up Action Group by 1951 in preparation for the regional elections.
NCNC won a majority, while the 2nd placed AG got the support of other parties to form a government with Awolowo becoming the 1st Premier of the Western Region, while Azikiwe who would now be in opposition chose to run back to the East and upstage the 1st Eastern Premier in the person of Eyo Ita, and made sure he became the 2nd Premier of the Eastern Region.

Till today, the NCNC apologists cannot tell us the names of their members that cross-carpeted to swell the ranks of the AG. Azikiwe simply felt he won a majority and would form a government ahead of the AG. He seemed to have forgotten that other parties could team up to achieve a majority seat in a parliamentary democracy. I have ascribed this poor politics of Azikiwe to his American education that exposed him to Presidential Democracy, as opposed to the Parliamentary Democracy Awolowo and other Westerners were exposed to in Britain. Same flaw of Azikiwe would see him opting for the role of ceremonial President, when he could have formed a coalition with the fellow Southern Action Group, such that the NCNC with 2nd majority votes and AG with 3rd majority votes, could have formed the first federal government of Nigeria. Azikiwe's NCNC being the senior party of the coalition would have produced the Prime Minister and the AG would have produced the Deputy. The Northern NPC despite being the 1st majority would have become opposition party since they did not have an exclusive majority to form government.

It is a fact that David Cameron and the Conservative Party formed government with the Liberal Democrats despite both being 2rd and 3rd majority respectively. Labour Party that was 1st majority but not exclusive majority, refused to accede to the demands of the Liberal Democrats, who then teemed up with the Conservatives so that David Cameron could become Prime Minister of the UK ahead of Milliband of the Labour Party who had the highest number of parliamentary seats.


The poetic justice to all these is that the Igbos continue to suffer a lot of misery for the decisions they have made in the past.
They want to be out of Nigeria now, yet they rejected Awolowo's argument to include such clause while fighting for independence.
They detest the present central government where they have no political majority, but they established this unitary government under the Igbo Ironsi, forgetting they would not rule forever.
They detest any fellow Southerner aligning with the North, yet history tells us they forged the very first North-South/Muslim-Christian alliance in Nigeria.
They claim every military coup was to prevent an Igbo from potentially ruling the country, yet they forget they started coups in Nigeria, together with assassination of political and military leaders of other regions.

Other points stated by the OP only reflects the misery occasioned by the onset of the Ipobic Plague Disease.





Of note is the statement that "Lagos a city built by the Igbos was ceded to the Yorubas".
Igbos are truly jokers. So as at 1967, Igbos had built Lagos as houseboys to my family?

I guess having served as houseboys to the British and Wealthy Yorubas in Lagos, the city should have been ceded to the refugee Igbos?
Yet they claim Azikiwe was wronged by Yorubas?
If he had become Premier of the West, I reckon Yorubas would be speaking Igbo now and with Igbo names?

They also hated Sir Ahmadu Bello for wanting what was best for his own people within their own region. This was a man who never pretended not to know the Igbos and their greed to claim everything as theirs.

Now here is tge real P.I.M.P
Teach us o. Cos op sometimes can coat ignorance with plenty English