donjazet:


You must take into account that Awo was a recognized Yoruba leader jailed by balewa who had just been killed.
Once Ojukwu released Awo to much fan fare, it was very wise of gowon to immediately negotiate with Awo in order to cement his hold on power which he has just gained and secure a powerful ally.

Awolowo was jailed by Balewa a Prime minister
Ironsi ruled as Head of state for 6months did not release Awolowo

So you think if Yar Adua jailed say Nwazuruike, And in 2016, Wike released him without the approval of the FG, Buhari will not re-arrest him or even meet with him?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMNa4671Yuw

“’It was my fortune and I thank God that it was me that had the opportunity to release Papa from prison from Calabar to Lagos and certainly to be able to help us have peace in the West at that time and then we came,” Mr. Gowon recalled.

“Mama was very happy and very grateful for what has happened and I can assure you, that is what earned me the respect of Mama right throughout her life. But yes, what we did was alright.

“There was also a need to get papa involved and that would probably seal what we wanted to achieve, especially in the West, which was at the time pretty dicey.‎
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/191679-why-i-released-awolowo-from-prison-gowon.html

donjazet:


You must take into account that Awo was a recognized Yoruba leader jailed by balewa who had just been killed.
Once Ojukwu released Awo to much fan fare, it was very wise of gowon to immediately negotiate with Awo in order to cement his hold on power which he has just gained and secure a powerful ally.

Secondly, as I stated earlier, that the coup had an ethnic coloration doesn't justify the extinction of a whole tribe.
The bloody counter coup should have been enough revenge for it, not killing entire innocent average men.

In life you can only control your action, you cannot control the other parties reaction

Do you know what caused many wars in history were little disputes and egos of some people bruised? E.g Igwe of Enugu snatch the wife of Igwe of Ohafia, or someone in Oyo Kingdon killed someone important in Bini kingdom, next thing 2 kingdoms are fighting and killing in thousands because of 4 people dead.

From history, what caused world war 1? The killing of 1 person Archduke Ferdinand. Do you know many people killed in that war didnt even know or hear of ArchDuke Ferdinand?

Do you know what caused the ruins of Iraq and Afghanistan? Possibly 9-11. Do you know many Iraqis and Afghans did not support the Talibans and AlQaeda yet they were victims,

Do you think America said since we lost x amount of people, we will also kill the equal amount back as revenge?

Unfortunately Life doesnt work that way

Think of any war and what led to it and you will see that the outcome was never proportionate to the cause

Some foolish Palestinian youths high on tramadol will be throwing stones and bottle at Israel soldiers, next thing dem don roll out tanks and clean out one settlement

That is why wars and any action that could lead to it must be avoided at all cost

nihilistjnr:


What does financial autonomy mean?

It basically means they will be getting their funds directly from source.

larride:


It basically means they will be getting their funds directly from source.

What source?

I'm confused

raumdeuter:


In life you can only control your action, you cannot control the other parties reaction

Do you know what caused many wars in history were little disputes and egos of some people bruised? E.g Igwe of Enugu snatch the wife of Igwe of Ohafia, or someone in Oyo Kingdon killed someone important in Bini kingdom, next thing 2 kingdoms are fighting and killing in thousands because of 4 people dead.

From history, what caused world war 1? The killing of 1 person Archduke Ferdinand. Do you know many people killed in that war didnt even know or hear of ArchDuke Ferdinand?

Do you know what caused the ruins of Iraq and Afghanistan? Possibly 9-11. Do you know many Iraqis and Afghans did not support the Talibans and AlQaeda yet they were victims,

Do you think America said since we lost x amount of people, we will also kill the equal amount back as revenge?

Unfortunately Life doesnt work that way

Think of any way and what led to it and you will see that the outcome was never proportionate to the cause

That is why wars and any action that could lead to it must be avoided at all cost

That is a poor rebuttal in my opinion. A poor attempt to justify genocide.
If the easterners had declared war after the counter coup, then your rebuttal would have strength.
After the counter coup, the regional leaders embarked on a campaign of misinformation and hate. They unleashed a barrage of propaganda against the igbos.
You have to ask yourself why this was? Why did the leaders see fit to stimulate masses against innocent citizens.

And you must never forget that biafra did not declare war.
After most appeals to end the genocide and an abrogation of the aburi accord, Ojukwu had to declare a safe space for the igbos to which the north vehemently opposed,why?
You don't want or like a people but you also don't want to let them go, what sense did that make?

Unfortunately, I have to retire to bed, we can pick up tomorrow.

Ibime abeg wetin be government bonds.

I heard Nigeria is selling cheap bonds and foreign investors are rushing to buy.

nihilistjnr:
Ibime abeg wetin be government bonds.

I heard Nigeria is selling cheap bonds and foreign investors are rushing to buy.

When a government wants to raise money quickly, it issues bonds to the public. Bonds are simply securities backed by faith in a government, typically with the promise to pay periodic and defined interest and then pay the amount deposited after the period of time agreed upon, called the maturity date.
It is a secure investment as governments rarely default on their loans.

BlueRayDick:


Do u know how much power a GCFR weilds? You forget they are officers in the army [b]with Gowon being his superior [/b]and can call for his court martial while eating chicken in his living room.

Forget all those story, military Era is not democracy where Wike will arrest pilots Buhari gave free pass to fly into Rivers state

I think they were of same rank.

Unlimited22:

When a government wants to raise money quickly, it issues bonds to the public. Bonds are simply securities backed by faith in a government, typically with the promise to pay periodic and defined interest and then pay the amount deposited after the period of time agreed upon, called the maturity date.
It is a secure investment as governments rarely default on their loans.

Yeah I know that bit.

My question is really "what's the koko"?

nihilistjnr:


What source?

I'm confused

The source is the Consolidated Federation Account.

Just like what Buhari hope to achieve with the local government financial autonomy. The sharing formula from the federation account is FG: 52.68%, State: 26:72% and LG: 20.60%. The State government cunnily made sure that LGA allocation were paid together with the state allocation directly to the state account and then “they” will credit their respective LGA account. Buhari change that last year June.

Now back to the State HoA and State Judiciary, the executive order mandates each state to compulsorily add their state HoA and Judiciary to their statutory transfer list. The State HoA and State Judiciary will no longer be the mercy of the State government as their salaries and the likes will be paid by themselves according to their budget. The order even empowers State Judiciary to embark on special capital project like building and maintaining of state high court complex, magistrate court complex and the likes.

Any State Government that fails to comply with the order, the funds will be deducted at source (Consolidated Federation Account) during the allocation sharing by the FG and it will be sent directly to the State HoA and State Judiciary account.


Buhari has set up a Presidential Inplementation committee to make sure the order is implemented across the nation.

larride:


The source is the Consolidated Federation Account.

Just like what Buhari hope to achieve with the local government financial autonomy. The sharing formula from the federation account is FG: 52.68%, State: 26:72% and LG: 20.60%. The State government cunnily made sure that LGA allocation were paid together with the state allocation directly to the state account and then “they” will credit their respective LGA account. Buhari change that last year June.

Now back to the State HoA and State Judiciary, the executive order mandates each state to compulsorily add their state HoA and Judiciary to their statutory transfer list. The State HoA and State Judiciary will no longer be the mercy of the State government as their salaries and the likes will be paid by themselves according to their budget. The order even empowers State Judiciary to embark on special capital project like building and maintaining of state high court complex, magistrate court complex and the likes.

Any State Government that fails to comply with the order, the funds will be deducted at source (Consolidated Federation Account) during the allocation sharing by the FG and it will be sent directly to the State HoA and State Judiciary account.


Buhari has set up a Presidential Inplementation committee to make sure the order is implemented across the nation.

Seen.

But how is giving state judiciary direct access to federal funding a good move?

nihilistjnr:


Seen.

But how is giving state judiciary direct access to federal funding a good move?

Not federal funds, the money will be deducted from the State allocation.

The plan is to make them really independent in the true sense of it. At least with these move, we can begin to see State HoA actually doing their job and not being a lackey for state govenors.

donjazet:


That is a poor rebuttal in my opinion. A poor attempt to justify genocide.
If the easterners had declared war after the counter coup, then your rebuttal would have strength.
After the counter coup, the regional leaders embarked on a campaign of misinformation and hate. They unleashed a barrage of propaganda against the igbos.
You have to ask yourself why this was? Why did the leaders see fit to stimulate masses against innocent citizens.

And you must never forget that biafra did not declare war.
After most appeals to end the genocide and an abrogation of the aburi accord, Ojukwu had to declare a safe space for the igbos to which the north vehemently opposed,why?
You don't want or like a people but you also don't want to let them go, what sense did that make?

For me, everything that happened before this time... http://www.codewit.org/reports/biafra/6755-aburi-accord-ghana-transcript-meeting

...can be twisted to form any narrative and such narrative may be difficult to counter, but if what was agreed in this meeting (the meeting that has the transcript above) was followed, we would have not had that war. But, because of the interests of, I don't know who, the resolution made there was reneged on and then the result is something that can never be forgotten in the his of the world.

nihilistjnr:
Ibime abeg wetin be government bonds.

I heard Nigeria is selling cheap bonds and foreign investors are rushing to buy.

It's just a way of Govt raising money from private entities rather than going to World Bank or other countries.

For an individual, it's a way of almost guaranteeing your wealth is preserved as Govt will pay back the face value at maturity having made periodic interest payments (coupon). In developed markets, the interest payments are always quite low and barely inflation busting so it's a wealth preservation tool rather than a growth tool.

In simple terms it's like I (being Govt) borrow £100 from you and promise to pay you £1 per month as interest and in 10 years time give you the full £100 back. You can then take that bond and sell it on secondary market to Donjazet who will give you £100 upfront, then you give him $1 per month. If you think it's more likely that I won't pay you the £100 at expiry, you may be happy to pay DonJ £2 a month interest just to ensure you receive your £100 from DonJ now. That means you have sold the bond cheap to DonJ by offering him more monthly interest. Also if the bond is denominated in Naira, as inflation goes up, interest rate will rise. If DonJ can put £100 in the bank and the bank interest rate gives him £2 interest per month, you can only sell the bond to DonJ if you promise him £2 monthly coupon at least to cover his opportunity cost. Meanwhile I (being Govt) already collected my £100 from you long ago and am only committed to paying £1 interest per month until the time comes.to pay back the initial £100 to whoever is holding the paper on maturity (either you or DonJ).

In Nigerian case the yield is high because Nigeria's credit rating is low and there is actually now a risk of default although countries will typically hardly ever default to private investors, especially foreign investors, they would rather seek debt forgiveness from IMF than burn foreign investors. If that fails, they will default on Naira denominated bonds before defaulting on their Eurobonds.

Meanwhile on the local market, they will be selling Naira denominated bonds cheap also because they don't believe the coupon rate will cover inflation and attendant increase in interest rates. It is up to an investor to judge whether they want to take the risk of holding cheap Nigerian paper. While they get sweet Coupon rate now, Nigeria may not redeem that paper at maturity.

Ibime:


It's just a way of Govt raising money from private entities rather than going to World Bank or other countries.
[b]
For an individual, it's a way of almost guaranteeing your wealth [/b]is preserved as Govt will pay back the face value at maturity having made periodic interest payments (coupon). In developed markets, the interest payments are always quite low and barely inflation busting so it's a wealth preservation tool rather than a growth tool.

In simple terms it's like I (being Govt) borrow £100 from you and promise to pay you £1 per month as interest and in 10 years time give you the full £100 back. You can then take that bond and sell it on secondary market to Donjazet who will give you £100 upfront, then you give him $1 per month. If you think it's more likely that I won't pay you the £100 at expiry, you may be happy to pay DonJ £2 a month interest just to ensure you receive your £100 from DonJ now. That means you have sold the bond cheap to DonJ by offering him more monthly interest. Also if the bond is denominated in Naira, as inflation goes up, interest rate will rise. If DonJ can put £100 in the bank and the bank interest rate gives him £2 interest per month, you can only sell the bond to DonJ if you promise him £2 monthly coupon at least to cover his opportunity cost. Meanwhile I (being Govt) already collected my £100 from you long ago and am only committed to paying £1 interest per month until the time comes.to pay back the initial £100 to whoever is holding the paper on maturity (either you or DonJ).

In Nigerian case the yield is high because Nigeria's credit rating is low and there is actually now a risk of default although countries will typically hardly ever default to private investors, especially foreign investors, they would rather seek debt forgiveness from IMF than burn foreign investors. If that fails, they will default on Naira denominated bonds before defaulting on their Eurobonds.

Meanwhile on the local market, they will be selling Naira denominated bonds cheap also because they don't believe the coupon rate will cover inflation and attendant increase in interest rates. It is up to an investor to judge whether they want to take the risk of holding cheap Nigerian paper. While they get sweet Coupon rate now, Nigeria may not redeem that paper at maturity.

Eurobond dey? Interesting.

I was wondering what was attractive about Naira bonds to foreign money.

Also great description of futures there Ibime.
Omo we suppose dey leverage your expertise in these crazy times.

nihilistjnr:


Eurobond dey? Interesting.

I was wondering what was attractive about Naira bonds to foreign money.

Eurobond na just bond denominated in foreign currency. In Naija case, that's usually dollars. I no know why them name am Eurobond. Na dollarbond them suppose call am because dollar is the main koko for any country raising in foreign currency.

nihilistjnr:


Eurobond dey? Interesting.

I was wondering what was attractive about Naira bonds to foreign money.

It is not attractive at all with the kain inflation wey go soon hit Nigeria. It should be attractive to Nigerians though as some sort of hedge against the coming inflation and Naira devaluation. It's probably the best hedge available to a local Nigerian apart from holding dollars.

All the tips I glean from this thread, don turn me to investor, and I am becoming more aggressive with it.
I hope it doesn't burn

donjazet:


That is a poor rebuttal in my opinion. A poor attempt to justify genocide.
If the easterners had declared war after the counter coup, then your rebuttal would have strength.
After the counter coup, the regional leaders embarked on a campaign of misinformation and hate. They unleashed a barrage of propaganda against the igbos.
You have to ask yourself why this was? Why did the leaders see fit to stimulate masses against innocent citizens.

And you must never forget that biafra did not declare war.
After most appeals to end the genocide and an abrogation of the aburi accord, Ojukwu had to declare a safe space for the igbos to which the north vehemently opposed,why?
You don't want or like a people but you also don't want to let them go, what sense did that make?

The potential for genocide in any war is very high, What do you think Iraqis, Syrians Afghans etc and those who have experienced war think of it. How many percentages of those affected knew what led to the war on them

The regional leaders and masses were already angry at those people who killed their own leaders and spared theirs.

How many accounts of the war did you read? Do you realize that the Biafrans army consricpted some eople by force? Do you realize that the Biafran army also invaded the midwest and attacked the West until they were stopped in Ore? Did you realize that they also commiteed war crimes in the midwest?

This link is an article from a Midwesterner who gave account of the occupation. Did the midwestern people who suffered declare or ask for a war?

https://dawodu.com/midwest.htm

Outright molestation, harassment and killing of non-Ibo civilians occurred on a daily basis. At night "suspected saboteurs" were fished out of their homes and arrested. The Hausa community in the Lagos street area of Benin and other parts of the state were targeted for particularly savage treatment, in part a reprisal for the pogroms of 1966, but also out of security concerns that they would naturally harbor sympathies for the regime in Lagos. But non-Hausas were just as badly treated. And as the hostility of the local population became more intense, so did the degree of indiscrete brutality for "internal security". Non-Ibo alumni of St. Patrick's College, Asaba and Government College, Ughelli, found to their chagrin that old school ties meant nothing in the new dispensation (17).

From your research of history, how are breakaway regions or part of a big nation treated? You can reference any country including the US civil war

ToyinDipo:
All the tips I glean from this thread, don turn me to investor, and I am becoming more aggressive with it.
I hope it doesn't burn

Lol, just be smart about it.

FGN Eurobonds are really making sense right now because the yield is high (8-10 percent on a dollar investment).

A lot of foreign investors are buying because IMF gave Nigeria about 3.4 billion dollars very recently with some 'washington concensus' conditions like removal of fuel subsidy, reducing recurrent expenditure, intensifying diversification efforts etc.

That has opened up the market and attracted investors because those conditions, if met, will derisk and slightly improve Nigeria's economy.

You can access Eurobonds through dollar funds managed by asset managers, that way, liquidity is ensured, you can easily buy and sell anytime.

nitrogen:


Lol, just be smart about it.

FGN Eurobonds are really making sense right now because the yield is high (8-10 percent on a dollar investment).

A lot of foreign investors are buying because IMF gave Nigeria about 3.4 billion dollars very recently with some 'washington concensus' conditions like removal of fuel subsidy, reducing recurrent expenditure, intensifying diversification efforts etc.

That has opened up the market and attracted investors because those conditions, if met, will derisk and slightly improve Nigeria's economy.

You can access Eurobonds through dollar funds managed by asset managers, that way, liquidity is ensured, you can easily buy and sell anytime.

I will definitely look into Eurobonds, the invested money will be in foreign currency I guess, and as such should assure stability in stored value and returns

ToyinDipo:

I will definitely look into Eurobonds, the invested money will be in foreign currency I guess, and as such should assure stability in stored value and returns

Correct. No FX risk as such since you have your investment in foreign currency, and you are relatively safe since it's a Govt issued security.

Just speak to Stanbic IBTC, FBN Capital or Investment One. They all have Dollar funds that invest in FGN Eurobonds.

1. Gowon was Ojukwu's junior in the army. Even by seniority Gowon should not have been selected as head of state.

2. The original coup was not an Igbo coup. The head of the coup Major Kaduna Nzeogwu before and after the coup maintained that he was a Northerner by blood. He did not even speak Igbo and never identified as igbo (only by name). He maintained that he was a northerner and he spoke fluent Hausa. (Videos of him saying this are online).

3. The delegation of assassinations was done by tribes. Igbos were sent to the north. Northerners to the east etc. The igbos just carried out their duties better which made it look like they had swindled the northerners. Igbo coupists were not sent to kill Igbo politicians.

4. It was an Igbo officer - Brigadier Ironsi that frustrated Kaduna Nzeogwu's coup, arrested most of the coupists and set up his supreme military council comprising of majorly northerners to pacify them against Ojukwu's advice that reprisals were in the offing.

5. The killings of Igbos transcended the military to even civilians getting killed in the north and Lagos. This prompted Ojukwu to insist that the reprisals had become a full genocide - ethnic cleansing if you like. As the most senior Igbo officer at the time, he had to spearhead the agitations for secession from Nigeria.

Eruditor:
1. Gowon was Ojukwu's junior in the army. Even by seniority Gowon should not have been selected as head of state.

2. The original coup was not an Igbo coup. The head of the coup Major Kaduna Nzeogwu before and after the coup maintained that he was a Northerner by blood. He did not even speak Igbo and never identified as igbo (only by name). He maintained that he was a northerner and he spoke fluent Hausa. (Videos of him saying this are online).

3. The delegation of assassinations was done by tribes. Igbos were sent to the north. Northerners to the east etc. The igbos just carried out their duties better which made it look like they had swindled the northerners. Igbo coupists were not sent to kill Igbo politicians.

4. It was an Igbo officer - Brigadier Ironsi that frustrated Kaduna Nzeogwu's coup, arrested most of the coupists and set up his supreme military council comprising of majorly northerners to pacify them against Ojukwu's advice that reprisals were in the offing.

5. The killings of Igbos transcended the military to even civilians getting killed in the north and Lagos. This prompted Ojukwu to insist that the reprisals had become a full genocide - ethnic cleansing if you like. As the most senior Igbo officer at the time, he had to spearhead the agitations for secession from Nigeria.

You are learned... People forgot their history or maybe heard a different tale.
Ojukwu was power hungry and declared war is probably the biggest falsehood I've heard.
In the end.. war is bad and shouldn't have happened.

raumdeuter:


There is no way anyone can discuss the civil war and its fallout without starting from the January 1966 coup

The summary of the coup is this

The coup was planned and executed by majority Ibo soldiers

Nigeria had 4 regions

2 ruled by non Ibos(Bello and Akintola), 2 ruled by Ibos (Okpara and Osadebey)

The 2 non Ibo premiers were killed, the 2 Ibo premiers were spared
There was Zik a president(Ibo) and Balewa a Prime minister(non Ibo). The Prime minister was killed and the president spared

There were several Ibo cabinet members None of them was killed. Actually some of the coupist saw them when they were on rampage and did not touch them

Lets reverse the situation and imagine a group of Hausa soldiers killed the 2 Ibo premiers and spared the 2 non Ibos, Killed Zik spared Balewa, Killed many top ranking Ibo soldiers and spared most of the Hausas senior men

What will you term that if not a Power grab
==================================================
And regarding whether Ojukwu released Awolowo or not. I will leave you to make your own deduction.

These are the facts we can all agree on.
1. Awolowo was a Federal Prisoner,
2. He was released.
3. Gowon welcomed him and made him a cabinet minister.

Given the above facts tell me what you think will happen if Ojukwu released Awolowo?

Ojukwu released Awolowo. What do you think would have happened to Awolowo if his release was not sanctioned by Gowon when he entered Lagos. e.g if Buhari as President jails someone say Nnamdi Kanu in Port Harcourt jail, Can Wike release him? If he was released by Wike, what do you think will happen to Kanu the moment he steps back into Abuja? Do you think Buhari will go and welcome him? And let him become a free walking man and even appoint him in his cabinet?

I slept off yesternight.

@Donjazet This post has captured all my ramblings, it summarizes all I've been trying to say.

I suggest u read a copy of Sunset at dawn by the late Prof Chukwuemeka Ike. That book talks about the remote and immediate causes of the war.

Like Raumdeuter rightly said, u can't discuss the war without talking about the military coup of 1966. It sowed a whole new level of mistrust and deep hate among the regions.

The Hausa's and other non-ibo people that died from the coup had been meaning to draw blood, the progroms is a clear indication of this. Then the war gave them full access to do much more sef

Eruditor:


2. The original coup was not an Igbo coup. The head of the coup Major Kaduna Nzeogwu before and after the coup maintained that he was a Northerner by blood. He did not even speak Igbo and never identified as igbo (only by name). He maintained that he was a northerner and he spoke fluent Hausa. (Videos of him saying this are online).

The fact remains ; Major Kaduna Nzeogwu along with Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Chris Anuforo, Don Okafor, Adewale Ademoyega and Humphrey Chukwuka plotted a coup that led to the death of the prime minister who was Hausa, the crown prince of Sokoto who is the premier of Northern region and a symbolic figure to the north and other prominent people.

Saying Nzeogwu never identified as Igbo may not be true especially when he died as a Biafra Lt. Col in the Civil War fighting on the Biafra side.

The fact that Ironsi despite foiling the coup refused to punish the coup plotters appropriately confused the Hausas the more. They saw an "Igbo coup" that was foiled by a senior Igbo officer who became the Head of state, but they didn't see the coup plotters getting any deserved punishments.


The events that led to the Civil War are the main issues people have refused to learn from instead they dwell too much on the war itself

Eruditor:
1. Gowon was Ojukwu's junior in the army. Even by seniority Gowon should not have been selected as head of state.

2. The original coup was not an Igbo coup. The head of the coup Major Kaduna Nzeogwu before and after the coup maintained that he was a Northerner by blood. He did not even speak Igbo and never identified as igbo (only by name). He maintained that he was a northerner and he spoke fluent Hausa. (Videos of him saying this are online).

3. The delegation of assassinations was done by tribes. Igbos were sent to the north. Northerners to the east etc. The igbos just carried out their duties better which made it look like they had swindled the northerners. Igbo coupists were not sent to kill Igbo politicians.

4. It was an Igbo officer - Brigadier Ironsi that frustrated Kaduna Nzeogwu's coup, arrested most of the coupists and set up his supreme military council comprising of majorly northerners to pacify them against Ojukwu's advice that reprisals were in the offing.

5. The killings of Igbos transcended the military to even civilians getting killed in the north and Lagos. This prompted Ojukwu to insist that the reprisals had become a full genocide - ethnic cleansing if you like. As the most senior Igbo officer at the time, he had to spearhead the agitations for secession from Nigeria.

1. The July 1966 coup that brought Gowon to power was led by Northern soldiers like Hassan Katsina and Murtala Mohamed and they made Gowon the Head of State. In a succesful coup, they dont just pick the most senior, whoever leads the coup rules

2. The original leader of the coup was Ifeajuna, and later Nzeogwu was drafted into it.

3. Can you give the name of the Northern soldiers delegated to the East?

4. When Ironsi foiled the coup, why was civilian power not returned back to Zanna Dipcharima like the cabinet members voted

Below is a report by Akinjide a first republic minister

In July 2000, at a public book launching ceremony in Nigeria, Chief Richard Akinjide stated:

"Talking on the first coup, when Balewa got missing, we knew Okotie-Eboh had been held, we knew Akintola had been killed. We, the members of the Balewa cabinet started meeting. But how can you have a cabinet meeting without the Prime Minister acting or Prime Minister presiding. So, unanimously, we nominated acting Prime Minister amongst us. Then we continued holding our meetings. Then we got a message that we should all assemble at the Cabinet office. All the Ministers were requested by the G.O.C. of the Nigerian Army, General Ironsi to assemble. What was amazing at that time was that Ironsi was going all over Lagos unarmed. We assembled there. Having nominated ZANA Diphcharima as our acting Prime Minister in the absence of the Prime Minister, whose whereabout we didn't know, we approached the acting President, Nwafor Orizu to swear him in because he cannot legitimately act as the Prime Minister except he is sworn- in. Nwafor Orizu refused. He said he needed to contact Zik who was then in West Indies.

Under the law, that is, the Interpretation Act, as acting President, Nwazor Orizu had all the powers of the President. The GOC said he wanted to see all the cabinet ministers. And so we assembled at the cabinet office. Well, I have read in many books saying that we handed over to the military. We did not hand-over. Ironsi told us that "you either hand over as gentlemen or you hand-over by force". Those were his words. Is that voluntary hand-over? So we did not hand-over. We wanted an Acting Prime Minister to be in place but Ironsi forced us, and I use the word force advisedly, to handover to him. He was controlling the soldiers. The acting President, Nwafor Orizu, who did not cooperate with us, cooperated with the GOC. Dr. Orizu and the GOC prepared speeches which Nwafor Orizu broadcast handing over the government of the country to the army. I here state again categorically as a member of that cabinet that we did not hand-over voluntarily. It was a coup. "

BlueRayDick:


The fact remains ; Major Kaduna Nzeogwu along with Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Chris Anuforo, Don Okafor, Adewale Ademoyega and Humphrey Chukwuka plotted a coup that led to the death of the prime minister who was Hausa, the crown prince of Sokoto who is the premier of Northern region and a symbolic figure to the north and other prominent people.

Saying Nzeogwu never identified as Igbo may not be true especially when he died as a Biafra Lt. Col in the Civil War fighting on the Biafra side.

The fact that Ironsi despite foiling the coup refused to punish the coup plotters appropriately confused the Hausas the more. They saw an "Igbo coup" that was foiled by a senior Igbo officer who became the Head of state, but they didn't see the coup plotters getting any deserved punishments.


The events that led to the Civil War are the main issues people have refused to learn from instead they dwell too much on the war itself

Nzeogwu died as a Biafran soldier?

Unlimited22:

Nzeogwu died as a Biafran soldier?

Yes. He was killed in action in July 1967

BlueRayDick:


Yes. He was killed in action in July 1967

Yup. He died in an ambush along with Ojukwu’s brother Tom Biggar.