Historian in the saddle, undetected by history. Trained by the Brits, full of revolutionary energy. It is strange we are yet to see Major Adewale Ademoyega as the brain behind the January 15, 1966 coup d’etat.
Dim Emeka Ojukwu thought Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the unseen boss.Some give it to Chukwuma Nzeogwu. Uninformed compatriots still refer to it as an Igbo coup. All these assertions, have over the years shielded the man who worked it all out.
Ademoyega, from Ode Remo in today’s Ogun State, was 32 at the time the young Majors struck. By young majors, I mean Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Christian Anuforo, Donatus Okafor, Humphrey Chukwuka, Timothy Onwuatuegwu and Adewale Ademoyega.
Like Ifeajuna, Ademoyega also graduated from the University. Both also attended the Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot-England, like Okafor. While Ifeajuna earned a degree in Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Ademoyega possessed a degree in History from London University.
Nzeogwu, Anuforo, Chukwuka and Onwuatuegwu were bred at the elite Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. All the other majors were Ademoyega’s seniors militarily because he enlisted in 1961 and was commissioned in 1962. Nzeogwu was 29, Ifeajuna, 31.
What stood Ademoyega out was political experience. He joined the Army as a District Officer[D.O.] Ifeajuna had little administrative experience having worked as a senior clerical officer and teacher. Nzeogwu’s best was a secondary school certificate.
Ademoyega enlisted with one thing on his mind: to grab political power. “ I came to the Army with a heart pointed towards finding a solution to Nigeria’s political problems,” he said in his book, Why We Struck.
The day Ademoyega faced the Military Selection Board, he made friends with Lt. Ifeajuna. The other civilian who turned up for the interview was, Uche Chukwumerije, who was at the University of Ibadan with Ifeajuna.
According to the Historian: “ Ifeajuna received Uche and me particularly well. We discussed the political turn of events in Nigeria and unanimously came to the conclusion that the military was likely to be the only solution.”
Chukwumerije passed the test but failed to join the Army. He had expressed surprise at seeing Ifeajuna in the Army recalling how he developed cold feet after a planned demonstration during their Ibadan years.
At the time, Ben Obumselu, was president of the Students Union while Ifeajuna served as Director of Information. Ademoyega promised Chukwumerije that should Ifeajuna repeat that in the military, he would be appropriately handled.
When Ademoyega reported for training at the Military Depot, Zaria on October 31, 1961, the closest person to him was, Lt. Nzeogwu, Training Officer[Subalterns]. Nzeogwu offered his car to his cadet friend to move about town.
Next phase of training was at Mons Officers Cadet School. Ademoyega was commissioned Lieutenant on April 12, 1962. On return to Nigeria, he was posted to the Second Battalion-Abeokuta. That was shortly before the Western Region went wild.
In the absence of the Fourth Battalion, Ibadan which was in the Congo on a peace mission, the Second Battalion was sent to the regional capital. Later in 1962, Ademoyega’s battalion also served in the Central African nation.
The British were apparently monitoring Lieutenant Ademoyega. After receiving his Commission, he visited the Nigeria High Commission, London. The subaltern tried to let Lt.Col Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, a superior officer and Defence Attache, know that the officer corps of the Army had to be Nigerianised.
He also made this known to another senior officer, Lt.Col. Samuel Ademulegun. For an officer who was yet to be posted, this signaled danger. Thus British officers halted the posting of graduates as combatants after Ademulegun failed to move to the Education Corps.
Lt.Col. Ademulegun, alias ‘Cyintomen,’ was the sixth university graduate to join the Nigeria Army. The first five were Ojukwu, Victor Banjo, Olufemi Olutoye, Ifeajuna and Oluwole Rotimi, all his seniors.
By 1965, Major Ademoyega was ready to hit political power. The man had done his calculations well. He loathed Ojukwu under whom he once served in Kaduna. Both were Historians. Ojukwu graduated from Cambridge and was the son of a millionaire.
Banjo was Ademoyega’s pal and had revolutionary tendencies. Like Ojukwu, he was a Lt. Col. That was not good for ambition because both Ojukwu and Banjo were also nursing presidential plans. They could have known about the Majors’ plan.
Olutoye got to know, from Nzeogwu, in far away India when they went for a course with Major Gabriel Okonweze. It is like Ademoyega deliberately kept away fellow Yoruba officers. Lt. Fola Oyewole was only called up by Ifeajuna a day to the coup.
Major Olusegun Obasanjo shared apartment with Ademoyega in Kaduna and was fondly called ‘Ezigbo Obam’[My good Oba] by Nzeogwu. Neither Major Ademoyega nor Major Nzeogwu exposed the plot. Captain Ganiyu Adeleke was drafted in the last minute.
Major Ademoyega looked at Ifeajuna’s credentials as Nigeria’s first Commonwealth gold medalist. He picked Nzeogwu as the country’s first Military Intelligence Officer and banked on the Sandhurst training of Anuforo and Onwuatuegwu.
Ademoyega also made sure the Igbo officers he picked were highly detribalized. Nzeogwu spoke fluent Hausa and attended St. John’s College, Kaduna with Anuforo. Okafor who was born in Kaduna and was said to have a Tiv mom.
Ifeajuna taught at Ilesha Grammar School & Ebenezer High School, Abeokuta. Ademoyega monitored all these people and the plan was to free Chief Obafemi Awolowo.The officer who organized the aircraft that would bring Awo from Calabar Prison was Major Theophilus Nzegwu, the first Igbo Air Force officer, whose wife bore a Yoruba name, Aina.
Ademoyega and Nzeogwu fixed January 15, as D Day. He was in Kaduna for that. And Major Ademoyega was supposed to broadcast to the nation. He did not task himself with the arrest of anyone.
The coup failed in Lagos. He blamed Major D.Okafor. Ademoyega ran to Kaduna. Then found himself in Biafra. He punched Ifeajuna in prison, survived the war.At the end he was bold enough to admit it was not an Igbo coup. That followed him to the grave in 2007.
"People were told that it was an Igbo coup but that is not correct. It is a very interesting part of the Nigerian story. In the first place, there have been many serious lies that have been told by our leaders in the last 45 years of Nigeria's history. Our leaders have not been bold enough to tell us the truth...the plan of the coup makers was to release Awolowo from jail and make him their own leader." Odia Ofeimun, former Secretary to Obafemi Awolowo in Guardian Newspapers Sunday May 6, 2007.
Let histroy be taught in our schools they said no and disallowed it because of wicked intentions.However, the truth continue to resound itself throughout the ages.
“There was no intention on Chukwuma’s part, to collude or conspire with Ibo officers in the army and with Ibo politicians and academics, to lead a coup for the purpose of ensuring the political leadership of Nigeria by Ibos. No doubt, Ibos and non-Ibos, gave a sigh of relief when the coup took place.”
Olusegun Obasanjo in his book “Nzeogwu” page 107 published January 1987(Spectrum Books Limited Ibadan, Nigeria).
You were in the army when the first coup happened in Nigeria. Can you tell us your experience?
I hope that I will have time to write more about that coup but I am doing something on it right now. The coup was led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. He was a Major in rank and of course, I was a Major then too but I was his senior. So I knew about that coup.
I can say that now but I could not say that then because, in the army, the mere knowledge of a coup is a problem. We were together in India. So, he informed me about it and I enquired more on how he hoped to carry out the plot.
Was he the one that personally approached you to inform you about the plan?
Yes, he personally came to inform me about it in 1964 when we were in India and the coup was carried out in 1966. There are few other things that happened which we cannot say now until the time is ripe.
The coup seemed to have been targeted at military officers from a particular part of Nigeria and it was also tagged, ‘Igbo Coup’. Why?
It later turned out to be so, although all the six majors who plotted it were Igbos except one Major Adewale Adegboyega from Remo, Ogun State. I want to assure you that, that was not Nzeogwu’s intention.
As I told you, the coup was planned as far back as 1964. Maybe between 1964 and end of 1965, he changed his mind. I can’t say why he did so but those that showed interest in the coup turned out to be Igbos.
Even his utterances when the coup took place on January 15, 1966, showed that he didn’t mean it to be an Igbo affair but unfortunately, it turned out to be so that an Igbo man could also become the Head of State.
Did he tell you that he planned the coup to become the Head of State?
No. Infact what attracted me to Nzeogwu at the early stage when the coup was being planned was that I asked him if he was going to make himself the Head of State and he said no. He said he was going to bring a civilian who was more knowledgeable and who had what it took to make Nigeria great.
I then asked him who that person was and he said the man was in Calabar prison. I said is it Chief Obafemi Awolowo? He said yes. That was why I gave him my support but when he told me it was going to involve killings, I said no I was not interested again.
If the coup had been successful, do you think Nigeria would still be where we are today?
Because I happened to have known the whole genesis of the coup, my answer to that question is, Nigeria would have become a changed place now. Nigeria would have been one of the top countries in the world today.
When he informed me about the plan when we were in India, I brought him to my room and asked many questions. I asked him why he wanted to do such a thing, what he hoped to achieve and he made some very good points.
I then said let me help you write out some things. I wrote some of the papers for him because I was more knowledgeable than a some of them. Like I said earlier, he was my junior, though we wore the same rank. I was older and more educated than he was. Our plan for education then was superb, same thing for industrialisation and other good plans for the country.
Front page please so we can have some persons to post provable extracts and exposé on this. @SeunOsewa @Moderators One of the biggest lies I know our clueless past and present leaders are yet to reveal is how Abacha & Abiola really died! I cring whenever I remember that Nigeria's foundation is a bed rock of lies and falsehood in entirety.
I have a copy of the book and I have been guarding it jealousy for more than 15years. Even though the coup failed woefully but I still envy and hold in high esteem those guys that led the assault.
My overall conclusion of that book is; if you believe in a course, be ready to pay the price, even if you fail, your name will be written in the book of time. Also, you are better than those who never adventure their life to explore greatness.
Yet, prominent leaders from North and West only got killed including their premiers while prominent Igbo leaders all escaped with not a single one harmed..
You must think you are talking to kindergarten pupils here who can't think for themselves. Nonsense!
You cannot re write the history of that coup, the end actually justified the means.
Only non Igbo officers were massacred in cold blood. No amount of lies and useless justifications can change the fact that Igbo planned and executed the coup. Igbo also celebrated the killing of Sardauna across northern cities until Hausa descended on them.
Stop trying be clever by half, Igbo will continue to get the knocks for that crime until Nigeria cease to exist.
Everyone knows, the state of emergency in the South west promulgated the coup...
The only person that actually messed things up was Aguiyi Ironsi, he was not sharp he was not ruthless... A definition of a nonchalant coward... If he didn't know what to do, he should have just given the North back the power.
BigSarah: Everyone knows, the state of emergency in the South west promulgated the coup...
The only person that actually messed things up was Aguiyi Ironsi, he was not sharp he was not ruthless... A definition of a nonchalant coward... If he didn't know what to do, he should have just given the North back the power.
Then maybe the country should cease to exist. You cannot judge a person based on the actions of another just because they are from the same tribe. The endsars protest borne out of police brutality especially against youths who were wrongly profiled.
Stop profiling a whole tribe over the actions of a few and using it against them many decades down the line. This is wrong and retrogressive.
Sirjamo: You cannot re write the history of that coup, the end actually justified the means.
Only non Igbo officers were massacred in cold blood. No amount of lies and useless justifications can change the fact that Igbo planned and executed the coup. Igbo also celebrated the killing of Sardauna across northern cities until Hausa descended on them.
Stop trying be clever by half, Igbo will continue to get the knocks for that crime until Nigeria cease to exist.
Then maybe the country should cease to exist. You cannot judge a person based on the actions of another just because they are from the same tribe. The endsars protest borne out of police brutality especially against youths who were wrongly profiled.
Stop profiling a whole tribe over the actions of a few and using it against them many decades down the line. This is wrong and retrogressive.
But this generation of Igbo never distance themselves from the actions of their predecessors, they always defend them and try to justify everything they did.
BigSarah: Everyone knows, the state of emergency in the South west promulgated the coup...
The only person that actually messed things up was Aguiyi Ironsi, he was not sharp he was not ruthless... A definition of a nonchalant coward... If he didn't know what to do, he should have just given the North back the power.
“...the soldiers came out of their hiding in the bush, told me to raise my hands up. When they saw my condition, they realised I hadn't eaten in days. They took me to their camp where jollof rice was being prepared. They put some on plantain leaves and gave me. Also gave me water and said, “One Nigeria”. Tears streamed down my eyes. That day, I realised the Hausa man was not my problem...”
The above paragraph was what my pastor told me. He's Igbo and a senior citizen. He was trekking from Owerri to Onitsha after the war, following bush paths.
He further said, until the day we stop dealing with ourselves on the basis of tribal affiliations, that's when this country would be truly free.
There are Igbos who don't want to secede, even if they are in the minority. BTW, why not try to solve the issues that are leading to secession calls. They feel marginalised. Why not take care of the reasons why they feel that way. If the president had been proactive about solving the issues of herdsmen and farmers by following best practices, at least rational beings would see that he was fair. Instead, he'll act aloof or try to blame opposition, foreign elements, Martians, etc or try to force people to accept his solutions which are mostly against public opinion in the affected areas.
Every side was at fault during the war. If we accept our own wrongs, then we can point out the wrongs of others and maybe we can then properly reconcile and put it behind us. This also means not systematically preventing them from attaining certain positions in govt.
Sirjamo: But this generation of Igbo never distance themselves from the actions of their predecessors, they always defend them and try to justify everything they did.
Historian in the saddle, undetected by history. Trained by the Brits, full of revolutionary energy. It is strange we are yet to see Major Adewale Ademoyega as the brain behind the January 15, 1966 coup d’etat.
Dim Emeka Ojukwu thought Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the unseen boss.Some give it to Chukwuma Nzeogwu. Uninformed compatriots still refer to it as an Igbo coup. All these assertions, have over the years shielded the man who worked it all out.
Ademoyega, from Ode Remo in today’s Ogun State, was 32 at the time the young Majors struck. By young majors, I mean Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Christian Anuforo, Donatus Okafor, Humphrey Chukwuka, Timothy Onwuatuegwu and Adewale Ademoyega.
Like Ifeajuna, Ademoyega also graduated from the University. Both also attended the Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot-England, like Okafor. While Ifeajuna earned a degree in Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Ademoyega possessed a degree in History from London University.
Nzeogwu, Anuforo, Chukwuka and Onwuatuegwu were bred at the elite Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. All the other majors were Ademoyega’s seniors militarily because he enlisted in 1961 and was commissioned in 1962. Nzeogwu was 29, Ifeajuna, 31.
What stood Ademoyega out was political experience. He joined the Army as a District Officer[D.O.] Ifeajuna had little administrative experience having worked as a senior clerical officer and teacher. Nzeogwu’s best was a secondary school certificate.
Ademoyega enlisted with one thing on his mind: to grab political power. “ I came to the Army with a heart pointed towards finding a solution to Nigeria’s political problems,” he said in his book, Why We Struck.
The day Ademoyega faced the Military Selection Board, he made friends with Lt. Ifeajuna. The other civilian who turned up for the interview was, Uche Chukwumerije, who was at the University of Ibadan with Ifeajuna.
According to the Historian: “ Ifeajuna received Uche and me particularly well. We discussed the political turn of events in Nigeria and unanimously came to the conclusion that the military was likely to be the only solution.”
Chukwumerije passed the test but failed to join the Army. He had expressed surprise at seeing Ifeajuna in the Army recalling how he developed cold feet after a planned demonstration during their Ibadan years.
At the time, Ben Obumselu, was president of the Students Union while Ifeajuna served as Director of Information. Ademoyega promised Chukwumerije that should Ifeajuna repeat that in the military, he would be appropriately handled.
When Ademoyega reported for training at the Military Depot, Zaria on October 31, 1961, the closest person to him was, Lt. Nzeogwu, Training Officer[Subalterns]. Nzeogwu offered his car to his cadet friend to move about town.
Next phase of training was at Mons Officers Cadet School. Ademoyega was commissioned Lieutenant on April 12, 1962. On return to Nigeria, he was posted to the Second Battalion-Abeokuta. That was shortly before the Western Region went wild.
In the absence of the Fourth Battalion, Ibadan which was in the Congo on a peace mission, the Second Battalion was sent to the regional capital. Later in 1962, Ademoyega’s battalion also served in the Central African nation.
The British were apparently monitoring Lieutenant Ademoyega. After receiving his Commission, he visited the Nigeria High Commission, London. The subaltern tried to let Lt.Col Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, a superior officer and Defence Attache, know that the officer corps of the Army had to be Nigerianised.
He also made this known to another senior officer, Lt.Col. Samuel Ademulegun. For an officer who was yet to be posted, this signaled danger. Thus British officers halted the posting of graduates as combatants after Ademulegun failed to move to the Education Corps.
Lt.Col. Ademulegun, alias ‘Cyintomen,’ was the sixth university graduate to join the Nigeria Army. The first five were Ojukwu, Victor Banjo, Olufemi Olutoye, Ifeajuna and Oluwole Rotimi, all his seniors.
By 1965, Major Ademoyega was ready to hit political power. The man had done his calculations well. He loathed Ojukwu under whom he once served in Kaduna. Both were Historians. Ojukwu graduated from Cambridge and was the son of a millionaire.
Banjo was Ademoyega’s pal and had revolutionary tendencies. Like Ojukwu, he was a Lt. Col. That was not good for ambition because both Ojukwu and Banjo were also nursing presidential plans. They could have known about the Majors’ plan.
Olutoye got to know, from Nzeogwu, in far away India when they went for a course with Major Gabriel Okonweze. It is like Ademoyega deliberately kept away fellow Yoruba officers. Lt. Fola Oyewole was only called up by Ifeajuna a day to the coup.
Major Olusegun Obasanjo shared apartment with Ademoyega in Kaduna and was fondly called ‘Ezigbo Obam’[My good Oba] by Nzeogwu. Neither Major Ademoyega nor Major Nzeogwu exposed the plot. Captain Ganiyu Adeleke was drafted in the last minute.
Major Ademoyega looked at Ifeajuna’s credentials as Nigeria’s first Commonwealth gold medalist. He picked Nzeogwu as the country’s first Military Intelligence Officer and banked on the Sandhurst training of Anuforo and Onwuatuegwu.
Ademoyega also made sure the Igbo officers he picked were highly detribalized. Nzeogwu spoke fluent Hausa and attended St. John’s College, Kaduna with Anuforo. Okafor who was born in Kaduna and was said to have a Tiv mom.
Ifeajuna taught at Ilesha Grammar School & Ebenezer High School, Abeokuta. Ademoyega monitored all these people and the plan was to free Chief Obafemi Awolowo.The officer who organized the aircraft that would bring Awo from Calabar Prison was Major Theophilus Nzegwu, the first Igbo Air Force officer, whose wife bore a Yoruba name, Aina.
Ademoyega and Nzeogwu fixed January 15, as D Day. He was in Kaduna for that. And Major Ademoyega was supposed to broadcast to the nation. He did not task himself with the arrest of anyone.
The coup failed in Lagos. He blamed Major D.Okafor. Ademoyega ran to Kaduna. Then found himself in Biafra. He punched Ifeajuna in prison, survived the war.At the end he was bold enough to admit it was not an Igbo coup. That followed him to the grave in 2007.
Lt.Col. Ademulegun was never a university graduate. He enlisted in the British West African Frontier Force as a recruit and rose to the rank of a Sergent. By the way, Ojukwu graduated from Oxford.
sapientia: Being an Igbo man brings envy and jealousy from all angle
No one denies it
Rather they will give you reasons why they hate Igbos
How can you hate someone for being proud and resilient?
Even if 100 northern officers carryout a coup today and one single Igbo name is in the list, it will be tagged an Igbo coup
Same people that started killing Igbos because of Nzeogu is going around telling Anioma people that they are not Igbos
#Endsars protest witnessed destruction all over Nigeria but only Igbos were accused of destroying Lagos even with overwhelming evidence of being false
Igbos in Obigbo were killed in hundreds and kidnapped for months
well
As for me
Proudly nwa spare part
Confirmed grateful onye Dot
Evidence below
kanu Ordered IPOB to burn down lagos on live Radio knowing fully well that the fake Lekki Massacre was a Hoax because he and IPOB had deliberately helped to distribute the fake news on Social Media in order to create an excuse to murder Police and attack lagos
AUTHENTIC audio below are nnamdi kanu's orders to ipob on live Radio during endsars Protests
1hr 35Mins Destroy every bridge and kill all Police
1hr 46 mins burn down tinubu’s hotel
1 hr 42 min Burn down Nitel building and all Govt buildings in lagos, burn down Muritala Mohammed Airport
1hr 39 min kanu orders IPOB to Kill Army Officers and manufacture Weapons
1hr 47 min tinubu must go down
1hr 52 min kanu Confirmed information that Cele and Orile police Stations In lagos are on fire and Is delighted
Orders ipob to use green white green and blood as the Nigerian flag.
Tells ipob to target tinubu and Sanwo Olu and their Children
1 hr 56 min block every road kill Sabotuers
2hr.00 min Destroy everything holding the Economy of Nigeria. Burn all pipelines
2.hr09 min Kill the Army in Lekki [/b]Claims 15 people were killed in Lekki.,Set Dangote Trucks on Fire.
2.hr 15 min [b] Burn down Every Federal Govt Building attack Police.
2hr 18 mins Describes again how to make Molotov Cocktail bombs
2hr20min kanu asks where are the ipob People with Double barrel guns in Abuja?
2 hr 22 min ipob will make an example of Ikpeazu and Sanwo Olu all tinubu’s nvestments should be destroyed
2hr 24min build bombs and lay them by the roadside
2 hr 32 min kill any Governor that declares Curfew
2hr 56min kanu says tinubu’s hotel is on fire on his orders
3 hr 09 mins
burn everything tinubu owns and Dangote Trucks the war has started
Every Police Station must go down destroy all Federal Government Property burn down Lekki Toll Gate destroy Dangote refinery burn every Pastors Church that supports one Nigeria
kanu Ordered IPOB to burn down lagos on live Radio knowing fully well that the fake Lekki Massacre was a Hoax because he and IPOB had deliberately helped to distribute the fake news on Social Media in order to create an excuse to murder Police and attack lagos
AUTHENTIC audio below are nnamdi kanu's orders to ipob on live Radio during endsars Protests
1hr 35Mins Destroy every bridge and kill all Police
1hr 46 mins burn down tinubu’s hotel
1 hr 42 min Burn down Nitel building and all Govt buildings in lagos, burn down Muritala Mohammed Airport
1hr 39 min kanu orders IPOB to Kill Army Officers and manufacture Weapons
1hr 47 min tinubu must go down
1hr 52 min kanu Confirmed information that Cele and Orile police Stations In lagos are on fire and Is delighted
Orders ipob to use green white green and blood as the Nigerian flag.
Tells ipob to target tinubu and Sanwo Olu and their Children
1 hr 56 min block every road kill Sabotuers
2hr.00 min Destroy everything holding the Economy of Nigeria. Burn all pipelines
2.hr09 min Kill the Army in Lekki [/b]Claims 15 people were killed in Lekki.,Set Dangote Trucks on Fire.
2.hr 15 min [b] Burn down Every Federal Govt Building attack Police.
2hr 18 mins Describes again how to make Molotov Cocktail bombs
2hr20min kanu asks where are the ipob People with Double barrel guns in Abuja?
2 hr 22 min ipob will make an example of Ikpeazu and Sanwo Olu all tinubu’s nvestments should be destroyed
2hr 24min build bombs and lay them by the roadside
2 hr 32 min kill any Governor that declares Curfew
2hr 56min kanu says tinubu’s hotel is on fire on his orders
3 hr 09 mins
burn everything tinubu owns and Dangote Trucks the war has started
Every Police Station must go down destroy all Federal Government Property burn down Lekki Toll Gate destroy Dangote refinery burn every Pastors Church that supports one Nigeria
Yoruba picked up all necessary armament and fought a war of attrition to destroy Igbo land. Every massacre of civilians in Biafra during Biafra/Nigeria war was orchestrated by Yoruba.
