PhysicsMHD:

1. Then who did abolish the regions? Why do I have the feeling that this is just semantics? This wouldn't be the first time.

2. What was the post-1960 Western region doing spending so much of that cocoa money only on the Western region if some super-powerful federal government was actually controlling each region's resources? To the best of my knowledge, they were not stopped in spending it only on themselves. Same with groundnut for the North.

3. A decree with abolishes regional governments has nothing to do with system of government? Please explain.

4. Can you provide any evidence concerning these Emirs exploiting LGA's for nepotistic acts and what relation this could have to the motivations of the July counter-coup plotters?


5. How was the civil service divided in such a way that the Emirs and/or Northern soldiers were separate and able to exploit the system for corrupt or nepotistic practices that they would be unable to practice when the civil service of all the regions were united? If a Northern civilian government came to power at the center after Ironsi's change of civil service and LGA's, what would stop that Northern led federal government from not only re-instituting nepotism, but possibly applying it over a wider spread than just the north - for example, appointing some unqualified Northern relative of an Emir or Fulani nobility as some commissioner or official in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu etc.?

Isn't it obvious that the only way that could possibly be stopped would be if a regional government in the West, East, and Midwest had some degree of independent authority and prevented this northern civilian government from doing so? But when you eliminate all authority independent of the center, no major group can be stopped from doing so - "Hausa=Fulanis." Yorubas, and of course, Igbos. Perhaps you can now see what the Northerners saw. Nobody thought too highly of Ironsi after his governance - not Ojukwu (read Emeka, where he lets Forsyth just portray Ironsi as a dummy), not Nwobosi, not Ademoyega, and Victor Banjo thought Ironsi's actions proved he was so silly he needed to be eliminated (and Banjo attempted to do it himself but was caught) without any concerns about LGA's or nepotism.

Was Lt Col David Ejoor governor of what state? And you thought that coal money was not also spent on eastern region? Did you ever think that war of attrition would have been precipitated on eastern region if crude oil was not struck in the region? Please read the “The Five Majors” by Ben Gbulie and “Why We Struck” by Ademoyaega you will certainly left existence of nefarious nepotism orchestrated by the northern region traditional leaders.

EzeUche_:

The fact remains that Ahmadu Bello should not have been killed.

All the other politicians were expendable. Okotie-Eboh, Akintola, Balewa etc were all expendable, but Ahmadu Bello was a prize and they should have kept him alive, because he would have proved useful as a bargaining chip.

I will repeat. You do not kill the #2 man for the Sokoto Caliphate. Someone who could have been the Sultan of Sokoto. A direct descendant of Uthman Dan Fodio.

His death spelled the end for the Igbo in the Northern region. Akintola was just a stooge for Balewa.

What I don't understand is why the West reacted in such a manner. Awolowo was freed so why the wahala? Opportunistic?

How was Balewa expendable? Do you know anything about the man, to be comparing him to Okotie-Eboh? Furthermore, does this even make any sense? If Balewa was not killed, Ironsi wouldn't have dared to make his administration pass any radical changes and there probably might not have been an Ironsi administration for more than a few weeks as Balewa would have immediately called for British help. Since there would have been no radical changes made (as Ironsi did) there would probably have been no July 1966 counter coup.


Concerning Ahmadu Bello, it's okay to keep alive a feudal lord trying to turn Northern Nigeria into the fiefdom of the Sokoto Caliphate over the protests of the Tiv and using the military as his errand boys but okay to murder Okotie-Eboh for bribing unknown and unsubstantiated persons or using government policy to benefit his factory? There's no way anyone that would murder all sorts of less villainous seeming soldiers and politicians would not kill Ahmadu Bello. And for the record, not even a single one of them should have been murdered. Not even Akintola, who was directly responsible for the loss of so many lives in the Western region and it's even more ridiculous to try to justify murders by saying who was or wasn't "expendable."

PhysicsMHD:

How was Balewa expendable? Do you know anything about the man, to be comparing him to Okotie-Eboh? Furthermore, does this even make any sense? If Balewa was not killed, Ironsi wouldn't have dared to make his administration pass any radical changes and there probably might not have been an Ironsi administration for more than a few weeks as Balewa would have immediately called for British help. Since there would have been no radical changes made (as Ironsi did) there would probably have been no July 1966 counter coup.


Concerning Ahmadu Bello, it's okay to keep alive a feudal lord trying to turn Northern Nigeria into the fiefdom of the Sokoto Caliphate over the protests of the Tiv and using the military as his errand boys but okay to murder Okotie-Eboh for bribing unknown and unsubstantiated persons or using government policy to benefit his factory? There's no way anyone that would murder all sorts of less villainous seeming soldiers and politicians would not kill Ahmadu Bello. And for the record, not even a single one of them should have been murdered. Not even Akintola, who was directly responsible for the loss of so many lives in the Western region and it's even more ridiculous to try to justify murders by saying who was or wasn't "expendable."

+1

EzeUche_:

The fact remains that Ahmadu Bello should not have been killed.


What I don't understand is why the West reacted in such a manner. Awolowo was freed so why the wahala? Opportunistic?

Like Katsumoto asked; What reaction? can you please clarify?

The revolution was messy, because it was thwarted. Nzeogwu didn't succeed, because of the blunders of some of his compatriots. I believe more heads would have rolled if he was allowed to fully implement his revolution.

I really wish Nzeogwu succeeded. Such a brave man. Truly my hero!

Kilode?!:

Like Katsumoto asked; What reaction? can you please clarify?

The violent riots that occurred throughout the Western region. I can understand the riots in the North, but in the Western region, they were totally uncalled for.

Dede1:


Was Lt Col David Ejoor governor of what state?

I'm not getting this. You're claiming military governors serving under Ironsi is proof that he didn't decrease government of regions mostly by the regions? I'm not sure I buy this argument. If the components of the regions don't have the power to form their own administrations, how are they regional governments? Aren't they just geographical areas with a head who reports to the real government (the federal government) at the center?

And you thought that coal money was not also spent on eastern region?

No. I was saying that the regions had control over a good deal of their resources. The East is included in this.

Did you ever think that war of attrition would have been precipitated on eastern region if crude oil was not struck in the region?

It depends. Gowon would have just pursued it just because he actually believed in one Nigeria, but he might have been overthrown by people like Murtala, Danjuma, etc. if they couldn't get enough support against the East from outside sources to pursue that war of attrition.

Please read the “The Five Majors” by Ben Gbulie and “Why We Struck” by Ademoyaega you will certainly left existence of nefarious nepotism orchestrated by the northern region traditional leaders.    

Already read, but I can't recall what matches up specifically with what you said concerning the LGA's and nepotism.

The coup and counter coup events of 1966 was a watershed moment in the annals of Nigerian evolution and that is well supported by many emotional comments that I have read on this tread. I am also impressed by the analytical approaches that many of our compatriots has taken in trying to understand the logic behind decisions that were made literarily in the heat of the moment. I do not know the age of some of the contributors to this topic but I will say one thing, we all get wiser as we get older.

As it affect the January 1966 coup, you have to be naïve to expect an ordinary person from the North or even from the West to view it as anything but Igbo officers orchestrated coup. That is not the same thing as saying that the coupists intention was sectional but; if they were not politically attuned to the interpretation their pouch will take politically, then, they would have been a total failure even if they succeed. To illustrate my point, look at the reasons adduced by subsequent coupists in their maiden broadcast. Even the pivotal reasons adduced – corruption, nepotism, avarice, etc- suggest their limited knowledge of human frailties. Human beings are animals like any other animals; the only way to make him behave is to have sticks and carrots as options. Our erroneous imagination that there are some “angels” with or without guns that will descend into the political scene one day and will solve our problems are precisely the reasons Nigeria is where it is. When each of us take it upon ourselves to safeguard our commonwealth, then, we will start making progress.

Although some of the tribal comments warrant no reply, I will say this much; If each of us examines our lives, can anyone claim that all the benefits that he has gotten in life come from a person from his ethnicity? I have live outside of Nigerian shores for more than twenty years and my conclusion is that we are complex specie. Yes, trust start from person that is closest to us and fan out –Family, neighbors, tribes, and ethnicity- and so on. But to say that the leader of a country can only trust a person from his tribe suggest profound lack of understanding of how things work. You have to build confidence if you want to lead and you cannot do that if you only trust people that you consider to be your tribe. In fact, the events subsequent to 1966 disprove some of the errors that were said to have been committed by Aguiyi-Ironsi. Gowon was removed by officer from the North and Murtala was killed by Dimka. Obasanjo has Yar-Adua as his second in command. Even when he came back as civilian president, some of the key security positions were occupied by the people from the North.

General Ironsi was serves a poison dinner and was giving a poision drink to wash it down. I do not know there was anything he could have done to safe his skin short of abdication. He was just unfortunate. The July 66 coupists have to give some reasons other than vengeance hence the unification decree. If he made any mistake at all, it will be not prosecuting the coup plotters with urgency that it deserves. Had he done that, it would have, at least in part, doused the water on the burning flame of tribalism that engulfs the first coup.

The life of a country parallels the experience of a child. You cannot grow without knowledge and it takes a lot of time to acquire quality knowledge. A lot of attempts are made at standing before a child finally stands. I am not making excuses, but the problems of Nigerian are evident in individual Nigerians. It is less of the problems of the leader and more of the problem of the leads.

EzeUche_:

The revolution was messy, because it was thwarted. Nzeogwu didn't succeed, because of the blunders of some of his compatriots. I believe more heads would have rolled if he was allowed to fully implement his revolution.

I really wish Nzeogwu succeeded. Such a brave man. Truly my hero!

Nzeogwu was a sidekick, like Ademoyega. It was not his revolution.

Anyhow, if he had had his way, he would have gunned down Michael Okpara that you're always praising on here, without a second thought. So much for heroism.

EzeUche_:

The violent riots that occurred throughout the Western region. I can understand the riots in the North, but in the Western region, they were totally uncalled for.

What riots were these? I only know of a few attacks in Lagos.

EzeUche_:

The violent riots that occurred throughout the Western region. I can understand the riots in the North, but in the Western region, they were totally uncalled for.

Violent Riots in western Region after Akintola and co were killed in 1966?

Bros Sir, Are you a Comedian?

Not to derail the thread,
I was in Ibadan during the coup, there were no riots, everybody was on lockdown, nobody knew what had really happened, there were rumors flying all over the places, the redifusion at that time was playing army songs and the WNBC, WNTV stations were like fortresses.
I didn't see any riots or demonstrations, there was a curfew in place

Bookmarked

And only essential people (I forgot the list of profession) were allowed out on the streets. Some people started to place "clergy" decal on their windshield in order to venture out

^^ correct sir.

At worst there was indifference, maybe mild jubilation, Riot in western region after the 1966 coup?

People need to start sharing the good stuff they smoke before typing on NL. It's criminal to hoard good shyyte like that.

bk.babe97y:

Why Katsumoto insists on replying the "Crazy Trio" (Eziachi, Dede1, and Andre Uweh) is still beyond me. If you notice I've giving up on them. They know the truth, they know the world knows. . . . With their blatant lies, they aint aiming for me and you, no sirreee, they aim is innocent Ibo kids that are presently reading all of this, that will buy they lies hook, line, and sinker (maybe cause they've heard their parents, uncles, etc state these same lies in the past) and continue to live in hate after they are dead and gone (Eziachi is almost a thousand years old, so he should be gone any minute). . . . .

The ONLY [/b]ones that tell these same lies day in and day out are the Ibos! They arent that stu*pid to think anyone buys their lies, but these monkeys hope to keep hate alive by spreading lies to their younger generation. But, thats their problem! Next time, kill everyone equally! Thats what I say.

Check this out: Now theyve forgotten the role they played in trying to make sure GEJ did not ascend the throne just because hes part of the Ijaw People (and they didnt want another minority group getting to Aso Rock before them). . . . They've forgotten how they rallied around Ojukwu in supporting Gen.IBB. . . .  Theyve "forgotten" all of this; [b]U THINK GEJ WILL EVER FORGET?! ROFLMAO!!!

Watch 2015, and see them blame the Yorubas again for their gaffes in 2010. . . .

Freaking monkeys!

Brain-dead baboon, stop chatting crap here with your smelly mouth. You are not intelligent enough to be involved here. So get out shitt-eater.

tensor777:

What do you mean by that obfuscating comment? Clearly Bello was already under armed arrest when he was shot. I strongly suspect that the shooting of his wife happened as Nzeogwu decided to eliminate him.

When the coupist came after Ekwueme and Shagari in Dec 1983 coup, did their wives and bodyguards intervene?.
We all no the consequences of their stubbornness.

Kilode?!:

Violent Riots in western Region after Akintola and co were killed in 1966?

Bros Sir, Are you a Comedian?

No I am not talking when Akintola was killed. I am talking about the violent riots that swept through most of Nigeria. Starting with the pogroms in the North. You do know Igbos were targeted in Lagos.

One thing that has been eating at me, is that I feel Ojukwu may have played a role in Nzeogwu's death.

I know Ojukwu seen Nzeogwu as a threat to his power.

PhysicsMHD:

Nzeogwu was a sidekick, like Ademoyega. It was not his revolution.

Anyhow, if he had had his way, he would have gunned down Michael Okpara that you're always praising on here, without a second thought. So much for heroism.

How do you know that he would have gunned down Dr. Michael Okpara? Dr. Okpara was far from corrupt. He was one of the most selfless politicians Nigeria has ever seen. And was much beloved in the entire East.

A man who didn't have a home to his name. Not even in his VILLAGE. And we all know Igbo men take pride in building a home in their village.

EzeUche_:

No I am not talking when Akintola was killed. I am talking about the violent riots that swept through most of Nigeria. Starting with the pogroms in the North. You do know Igbos were targeted in Lagos.

You are joking, right? Was it the civilians that were targeting the igbos or military (Northern military)?

jason123:

You are joking, right? Was it the civilians that were targeting the igbos or military (Northern military)?

It was everyone, I guess you don't know the history. It figures though since you don't even know your village. Igbos were being targeted in the North in Lagos. And civilians participated.

EzeUche_:

It was everyone, I guess you don't know the history. It figures though since you don't even know your village. Igbos were being targeted in the North in Lagos. And civilians participated.

I do not need to read books for that. My parents already told me. How can a people who "attacked" the igbos also offer to protect them and their properties? Infact, my very own parents offered to protect their igbo neighbours but they refused. Instead, they decided to go back to their village and told my parents to look after their property.

Andre Uweh:

When the coupist came after Ekwueme and Shagari in Dec 1983 coup, did their wives and bodyguards intervene?.
We all no the consequences of their stubbornness.

You are being a little disingenuous here to parallel the 2 rebellions. Apparently Nzeogwu had already lost all semblance of reason and temper and decided to summarily execute the Premier of the Northern region in his own home in front of his family!
Moreover he was actually well-known to the family,hence the decision of the wife of Bello to attempt to physically and verbally dissuade Nzeogwu from carrying out his rash act,

EzeUche_:

How do you know that he would have gunned down Dr. Michael Okpara? Dr. Okpara was far from corrupt. He was one of the most selfless politicians Nigeria has ever seen. And was much beloved in the entire East.

A man who didn't have a home to his name. Not even in his VILLAGE. And we all know Igbo men take pride in building a home in their village.

"Ejindu: All right. A lot has been talked and written about the January coup. But how tribalistic was it really in conception and execution?

Nzeogwu: In the North, no. In the South, yes. We were five in number, and initially we knew quite clearly what we wanted to do. We had a short list of people who were either undesirable for the future progress of the country or who by their positions at the time had to be sacrificed for peace and stability. Tribal considerations were completely out of our minds at this stage. But we had a set-back in the execution. Both of us in the North did our best. But the other three who were stationed in the South failed because of incompetence and misguided considerations in the eleventh hour. The most senior among them was in charge of a whole brigade and had all the excuse and opportunity in the world to mobilize his troops anywhere, anyhow and any time. He did it badly. In Lagos, even allowing for one or two genuine mistakes, the job was badly done. The Mid-West was never a big problem. But in the East, our major target, nothing practically was done. He and the others let us down."






Okpara was on the coup plotters hit list. Read the special branch report.


Being beloved in the entire East isn't worth sh1t to a "nationalistic" coup. Balewa and Ahmadu Bello were beloved in the entire North and they were slaughtered like cows. And corruption is not the only reason to eliminate someone if you're a coup plotter. If I recall what I read correctly, the NCNC, under Michael Okpara, stood by the verdict against Awolowo + Enahoro when they were accused of trying to overthrow the government, despite the fact that Awolowo was denied the desired counsel during his trial. Whether Awolowo actually wanted to overthrow the government or just set up a paramilitary wing of the AG is irrelevant since he was viewed as being jailed on trumped up charges and was jailed through an unfair trial.

The coup plotters claimed the reason they didn't kill Okpara was because of the presence of the visiting Archbishop of Cyprus, which shows that those that were in charge of killing Okpara didn't have any guts as they could easily have dragged him away and eliminated him regardless. The coup members in the West and North had no qualms about gunning down people in front of innocent bystanders.

Point is, Nzeogwu would have eliminated people in the East, beloved or not, and Okpara was one of the top people on the chopping block.

PhysicsMHD,

Thanks for putting it in perspective.   

I don't know how I feel about this. Dr. Michael Okpara is someone I had the deepest respect. However, I can see why Nzeogwu would want to do away with the old guard.

They should of got that Igbo traitor Nnamdi Azikiwe. (Personal rant)

Anyway, I still have the deepest respect for Nzeogwu, and I feel that Ojukwu had him killed. (Igbo brethren do not get mad at me).

Katsumoto:

Story teller, you have come again. Why don't you tell us what led to the rest of Nigeria in joining the North in fighting against Biafra? The problem with people like you is that you lack objectivity.

I thought you saw and heared from the film clip- the coup was welcomed/cheered in Lagos, not my word but from the film we both watched, unless it was made by a white Igbo man. The truth is something you cannot hide forever. I totally understood some of you not being happy with every new revelation that punctured what has been ingrained in your psyche from the day your born from your parents to your local teacher that have never left his village all his life.
Suddenlly everything you were thought that formed your basis of illogical dislike of anything Easterners is not actually the case and you don't want to accept it. Its like telling an orthodox Jewish person to accept Jesus as the Messiah- After many years to the contrary?
No chance!

Katsumoto:

So you were expecting the West and mid-west to send goodluck cards to Ojukwu after Biafra invaded the west and mid-west? Also, it is savagery because the other side won and you lost. I bet you have also forgotten that part where Biafra dropped bombs on Lagos. When the bombs were dropped, were they hoping to kill livestock?

If I remember correctly, you are one of the school of thought that Biafra fought with cutlasses and their bare hand, suddenlly the have planes that bombed Lagos. What part of Lagos did this miraculous Biafra plane bombed.
Any Yoruba/Hausa who claimed that he/she saw any sort of war or its effect between 1967-70 but aren't a soldier, a journalist of a sort or an Aid workers is living in a fantasy world.

Eziachi:

I thought you saw and heared from the film clip- the coup was welcomed/cheered in Lagos, not my word but from the film we both watched, unless i was made by a white Igbo man.
I[b]f I remember correctly, you are one of the school of thought that Biafra fought with cutlasses and their bare hand, suddenlly the have planes that bombed Lagos. What part of Lagos did this miraculous Biafra plane bombed[/b].
Any Yoruba/Hausa who claimed that he/she saw any sort of war or its effect between 1967-70 but aren't a soldier, a journalist of a sort or an Aid workers is living in a fantasy world.

Obalende and Fadeyi and I think a place near the Cinema (Forgotten the name of the place but my mother almost died there. I have mentioned this before)

Posted by: EzeUche_

PhysicsMHD,

Thanks for putting it in perspective.   Shocked

I don't know how I feel about this. Dr. Michael Okpara is someone I had the deepest respect. However, I can see why Nzeogwu would want to do away with the old guard.

They should of got that Igbo traitor Nnamdi Azikiwe. (Personal rant)

Anyway, I still have the deepest respect for Nzeogwu, and I feel that Ojukwu had him killed. (Igbo brethren do not get mad at me).

The guy had to die because he was clueless.
You can't be planning the impossible all the time.
If Ironsi had killed him earlier, Ndigbo would have been saved a lot of hassles.

jason123:

Obalende and Fadeyi and I think a place near the Cinema (Forgotten the name of the place but my mother almost died there. I have mentioned this before)

. . . . and Yaba.

Onlytruth:

Posted by: EzeUche_
The guy had to die because he was clueless.
You can't be planning the impossible all the time.
If Ironsi had killed him earlier, Ndigbo would have been saved a lot of hassles.

Come on my brother! Nzeogwu was true patriot and a courageous man.

Now I must say he was brash, but Ojukwu knew that Nzeogwu would always be a threat to him.

Now tell me why Nzeogwu had to die?

PhysicsMHD:

"Ejindu: All right. A lot has been talked and written about the January coup. But how tribalistic was it really in conception and execution?

Nzeogwu: In the North, no. In the South, yes. We were five in number, and initially we knew quite clearly what we wanted to do. We had a short list of people who were either undesirable for the future progress of the country or who by their positions at the time had to be sacrificed for peace and stability. Tribal considerations were completely out of our minds at this stage. But we had a set-back in the execution. Both of us in the North did our best. But the other three who were stationed in the South failed because of incompetence and misguided considerations in the eleventh hour. The most senior among them was in charge of a whole brigade and had all the excuse and opportunity in the world to mobilize his troops anywhere, anyhow and any time. He did it badly. In Lagos, even allowing for one or two genuine mistakes, the job was badly done. The Mid-West was never a big problem. But in the East, our major target, nothing practically was done. He and the others let us down."






Okpara was on the coup plotters hit list. Read the special branch report.


Being beloved in the entire East isn't worth sh1t to a "nationalistic" coup. Balewa and Ahmadu Bello were beloved in the entire North and they were slaughtered like cows. And corruption is not the only reason to eliminate someone if you're a coup plotter. If I recall what I read correctly, the NCNC, under Michael Okpara, stood by the verdict against Awolowo + Enahoro when they were accused of trying to overthrow the government, despite the fact that Awolowo was denied the desired counsel during his trial. Whether Awolowo actually wanted to overthrow the government or just set up a paramilitary wing of the AG is irrelevant since he was viewed as being jailed on trumped up charges and was jailed through an unfair trial.

The coup plotters claimed the reason they didn't kill Okpara was because of the presence of the visiting Archbishop of Cyprus, which shows that those that were in charge of killing Okpara didn't have any guts as they could easily have dragged him away and eliminated him regardless. The coup members in the West and North had no qualms about gunning down people in front of innocent bystanders.

Point is, Nzeogwu would have eliminated people in the East, beloved or not, and Okpara was one of the top people on the chopping block.

Katsumoto really hates this your post because it floored his argument that the coup was an Igbo coup.

The coup was purely nationalistic but failed because of incompetence and lack of bravery.
To be frank, no Igbo man could have shot Okpara; they would have used other non-Igbos among them to do the job.