johntolu: Why was it so difficult for Ironsi, to hand over power to the Deputy Prime Minister, after subduing the coupists, if Igbos did not have an agenda of hijacking power through a military coup?
This is another open indictment of Nigerian educational system. There was no position as "Deputy Prime Minister" in Nigeria. In such a situation, the Senate president who was the President Pro Tempore of Nigeria had to urge the coalition partners to produce a candidate for Prime Minister.
BafanaBafana: True that Gowon had just returned to the country, but you got the others wrong. Read this ..After the briefing, Ironsi ordered an immediate platoon headed by Lt Walbe to be formed for a reconnaissance while the companies prepare for action. He then asked the platoon when they would be ready. He was told given the nature of the requirements, two and a half hours’ time at the minimum. To conclude, Ironsi asked for questions. Gowon was shocked. In his later account of the night he wrote that he asked: “When was this trouble first reported, sir” “ About 3am” “What time is it now?” “ 5:30.” “These people have already had over two-and- a-half hours’ advantage. Must we give them the same again to enable them to consolidate?” Gowon then faced the platoon commanders, ‘I give everyone 20 minutes to get ready.’ That was the first order he gave as the incoming commander of the battalion. Unlike Njoku the outgoing commander and the GOC who contented themselves with issuing orders from the safety of the battalion headquarters while the mutineers went on killing, Gowon a lieutenant colonel, decided to lead the quick reaction force. Success laid in being bold. And that made all the difference. Spruced up in full combat kit, Gowon grabbed a helmet, his service pistol, sten gun and readied himself for action...
Most Nigerians continue to show poor state of Nigerian educational system in the public. It is very shameful these loafers had to pass as someone's compatriots. Gowon was not even in military uniform talk less leading a soldier. Who, besides the so called Lt Col Gowon, consisted of reaction force which should be in a strength of platoon or company?
Anthony4578: Army General Commends Gov. Yahaya Bello for Brutally Fighting Crime in Nigeria
The Nigerian Army has commended the Governor of Kogi State, Alh. Yahaya Bello for his efforts in fighting crime and insecurity in the nation. Msj. Gen. MG Ali, Commander of Special Forces Battalion of the Nigerian Army made this known yesterday during a session.
In his remarks, "I must appreciate the contributions of the vibrant young Governor of Kogi state, who detests crime and have always been rendering helping hands to nip crime not only in his state, but across the country at large".
The Army General also said, "I doff my hat for Governor Yahaya Bello for the support the Special Forces have been receiving from him", saying "If all Governors could emulate him in terms of providing strategic information, I think the peace we have been yearning for will soon be close to us".
The Governor of Kogi state have been notable for his support to the Nigerian Army and security agencies within Kogi state and across the country.
He has donated funds, vehicles and other forms of support to the military, drastically reducing crime in the state to clinch second most secured state in the country.
Aconomist: We have all seen what a disaster Geoduck Johnathan (the first president from the SS/SE) was. And most of the governors and politicians from the region are hardly better. While the North is a big problem, we must also admit that the SS/SE is not producing politicians qualified to rule the country.
Am I wrong or right? Discuss.
What criteria do you have in mind so as to quantify the qualification of SE\SS to produce a presidential candidate?
LabuleofNigeria: If the law is dead as you gullibly claim, go and stab someone to death. i bet you'll learn the other sides of life and also learn to live within the laws.
Are you a beginner? Killing in Nigeria paints a picture of utter lawlessness. I can stab someone to death and nothing will happen in the shithole called Nigeria. If you do not know about this scenario, it is safe to say you wallow in a deep thought of ignorance.
Ojiofor: Dedetwo don't be delusional and irrational like most IPOB members who were born in 90s/2000s mitcheew. IPOB is the initiator and creator of ESN and every recruit is a member of IPOB. IPOB=ESN fact!
Ojiofor, there is nothing to be delusional or irrational in this case. Agitation for self rule started with people such as Azikiwe, Awo and many others which gave rise to Nigeria. It will amount to state of delusion and irrationality for someone to ague a Nigerian does not have the right to agitate for self rule in Nigeria. The fact you want to stay with the shithole called Nigeria does not in any way or shape trumps the desire of others to leave. The idea of my way only or no way is the bane of development in Africa. You cannot even give on solid reason why people should hang on the union called Nigeria.
nku5: Oga abeg Gowon had just come back from abroad and was getting ready to take over as commander of 2nd Battalion from Hilary Njoku on January 15. Gowon was doing condolence visits to families of the coup victims and arresting suspects after all the coup had failed.
If you said Murtala I might have understood
Bro please do not enlighten these freeloaders from Awo's free education program. The closest to Brig. Maimalari as 2ic of 2nd Brigade of Nigerian army in 1966 were Lt. Col Tony Eze, CO Lagos garrison organization and Maj. Emma Ifeajuna who was the 2nd Brigade's BM. Maj. Murtala Mohammed was a mere staff officer in HQ.
Ofemannnu: Igbos betrayed all Nigerians but God never forgets the evil doers.Repent and apologize to all Nigerians now. Fulanis too will meet their waterloo and the blood of the innocents will forever hunt them..
Ironsi's broadcast to the nation - May 24, 1966.
"The Regions are Abolished': Ironsi's Broadcast to the Nation banning Political Parties and introducing Decree No. 34, 24 May 1966.
Fellow Nigerians: During the past two weeks I presided over meetings of the Supreme Military council and the Central Executive Council at which many important state matters were considered. . . It is now three months since the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was handed over to the Armed Forces. Now that peace has been restored in the troubled areas it is time that the Military Government indicates clearly what it proposes to accomplish before relinquishing power. The removal of one of the obstacles on the way is provided for in the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree (No. 5) 1966 which was promulgated by me today and comes into effect at once. The provisions of the Decree are intended to remove the last vestiges of the intense regionalism of the recent past, and to produce that cohesion in the governmental structure which is so necessary in achieving, and maintaining the paramount objective of the National Military government, and indeed of every true Nigerian, namely, national unity. The highlights of this Decree are as follows: The former regions are abolished, and Nigeria grouped into a number of territorial areas called provinces Nigeria ceases to be what has been described as a federation. It now becomes simply the Republic of Nigeria. The former Federal Military government and the Central Executive Council become respectively the National Military Government and the executive Council. All the Military Governors are members of the Executive Council. A Military Governor is assigned to a group of provinces over which and subject to the direction and control of the Head of the National Military Government, he shall exercise executive power. In order to avoid any major dislocation of the present administrative machinery, the grouping of the provinces has been made to coincide with the former regional boundaries. This is entirely a transitional measure and must be understood as such. The present grouping of the provinces is without prejudice to the Constitutional and Administrative arrangements to be embodied in the New Constitution in accordance with the wishes of the people of Nigeria. The National Military Government assumes the exercise of all legislative powers throughout the Republic subject to such delegations to Military Governors as are considered necessary for purposes of efficient administration. The public services of the former federation and regions become unified into one national public service under a National Public Service Commission. There is a provincial Service Commission for each group of provinces to which is delegated functions in respect of public officers below a given rank. This rather drastic change will probably involve a reconstitution of the existing commissions, and the National Military Government reserves the right to do so in the manner stipulated in the Decree. Until this is done, the present Commissioners continue to act in their posts. Every civil servant is now called upon to see his function in any part of Nigeria in which he is serving in the context of the whole country. The orientation should now be towards national unity and progress. I expect all civil servants to co-operate and to consult at all levels, vertically and horizontally, between groups of Provinces and between Provinces and the Centre. People are aware that Study Groups have been set up to look into various aspects of governmental activity. One of them is concerned with problem relating to the Constitution........Read More here:
https://www.dawodu.com/irons2.htm
My candid advice is stay away from www.dawodu.com. Please read books where you can quote the author authoritatively. You simply cannot improve on your free educational skills by going to bed with URL listed above.
NGpatriot: Unification Decree 34 Unity beggar, when tribalism, ethnicity and bigotry miss road, the same regionalism he destroyed is what his people are begging, moaning and crying for today.
You reap what you sow..
Though Nigeria is a basket of fools, there is a need for devil's advocacy. For sake of posterity, if Ironsi had destroyed regionalism as you would want dumbass admirers of your crap to believe, why did Gowon have such huge issue with eastern region of Nigeria, an issue that lead to Nigeria\Biafra war? Yes, according to you Ironsi destroyed regionalism and placed all the powers in the center. Why did Gowon and his cronies not venture into eastern region of Nigeria? Even neighboring midwestern region was no go area for Gowon. You portrayed the illogicalities which pull Nigeria down to the dirt.
OROSUNBOLB: Adekunle Fajuyi,undoubtedly, one of the real but unsung heroes of Nigeria. A brave soldier and an Omoluabi per excellence !
He laid his life for his country, his boss (an Igbo man - Ironsi) and to uphold the professionalism of his profession ! [b] What a man ! When the military killer party arrived at the government house in Agodi,Ibadan,they pleaded with him to hand over Ironsi to them. [/b]He declined by informing them that Ironsi was his guest and that he was responsible for his safety. He said he would rather die with him than to hand him over to them. They were both executed thereafter.
How do we define bravery again ? Isn't courage in the face of a certain calamity ? Col. Iluyomade braved all odds to face battalions of invading Biafran army at Ore with less than 200 men ! He knew he was grossly outnumbered and that the equipments at his disposal were no match for the biafrans but he told his men to hold their lines and fight ! He won the battle.
MKO Abiola refused to give up on the mandate freely given to him by Nigerians. He refused to back down even in the face of death. He did not run away cowardly and even refused political asylums offered by the world powers. Today,he is the father of the nation's democracy.
Yorubas are great,courageous and brave people who will never run away in the midst of battles. As a people,we are lovers of peace because we have paid our dues on the battlefield. We fought war more than any tribe in Africa.
I love Yoruba people, I love my people !
The bolded is pitifully laughable. The crap concocted by the western Nigerians regional gazette of 1967 to appear relevant instead cowardice has found home in the mind of lazy peeps. Does the writer of the above nonsense know anything about the military talk less coup?
BafanaBafana: Gowon was the second in command to Brigadier Maimalari, the GOC of the federal guards in Lagos. Maimalari was killed by his own ADC leaving Gowon in charge of the fighting troops in Lagos. Now Ironsi was informed about the coup, he got to his office and was drinking tea and eating biscuits and studying the map of Lagos for 2 hours while the coup plotters were on rampage. Gowon was not informed about the coup, he was woken by the commotion in the barracks, he went straight to the command headquarters and saw the General trying to figure out what to do, he was briefed and told the men would be ready to go out in 2 hours. He told them to get ready in 20 minutes. He led men to the barracks and secured it, led men to the officers mess and released some prisoners held by the mutineers, he organised check points and road blocks all around Lagos, this suffocated ifeajuana and his gang and they ran away
The bolded showed the poster of the above crap is in the wrong section of nairaland. GOC for federal guards?
Lampard is not a good coach. When team wins a soccer match where it always allow all the eleven players of opposing team inside the eighteen yard box before making attempt to score a goal? Chelsea players will slow the movement of the ball to a pedestrian mode yet they cannot run when there is counterattack. It all coaching and mode of training. Chelsea coaches should realize that possession of the ball does not equal a win.
Amah70: You ought to have observed that I have been ignoring you all the time - of recent.
Who is interested in your lamest excuses for Owerri was provincial capital of this or that, and Orlu is a backwaters thing - excuses from a dumbo.
The is usual way of dunces. Dumbass fools are always the first call their opponents dumbo. It is unfortunate you know nothing about strategic importance of cities, engineering approach of construction and development of a city and completely on the goofy depth of governmental initiatives in a city management. If Orlu has you as a factor of relevance, it will sink beneath Amaigbo, Nwangele.
Abagworo: That estimate is wrong and moreover the agglomeration of Owerri will include Mbieri, Orji, Egbu, Nekede, Ihiagwa, Ulakwo, Irete, Ubomiri, Orogwe, Ogbaku, Obinze, Avu and even Umuagwo which are independent towns. Owerri proper is half of Enugu.
The capital territory of a state or entity of administrative seat in this case a town is universally pegged at 20km in radius. In this instance, Iho Dimeze and Akabo in Ikeduru LGA are part of Owerri capital development areas or metropolitan .
Deadlytruth: Let us even assume but not concede that Ironsi did it exactly the way you painted above; the question becomes why he even chose to tamper with a constitution which nobody or the general public ever complained about. The crisis he purported to come and address by taking over power had nothing to do with the constitution. Nigeria was not in a constitutional crisis at that moment. The politicians who were battling for supremacy were doing so over the issue of which party should align with which party to form the government at the center. None of them claimed that the constitution was their problem let alone call on the military for intervention. Neither did the Southern or Northern politicians or even the general public complain about these Northern emir's or their Southern counterparts' constitutional recognition. So what exactly attracted Ironsi to the constitution if not for a dubious ulterior motive?
Have you seen or read about governance by the military directed through constitution instead of marshal law? Ironsi was not elected instead found himself in an unusual position by unforeseen circumstances. If you tow the line you seemed to express in the above post, it is safe to question your intellectual sincerity in this discuss. The early of morning on January 15, 1966 when young Nigerian soldiers struck to overthrow the civilian government was exactly the moment the constitution was suspended.
Juliusmalema: Onicha be it ugbo, olona or onicha ado are one stock of people historically... and same dialectical stock ..ie language.
The other onichas you are attaching, I still don't understand what they are doing there or where they come from.......
As far as history is concerned, they have no business with Onicha ado, olona and ugbo.
The above opinion is tangentially off the mark. I guess the issue OP was trying to raise is if "Onitcha" is Igbo language. OP would have avoided Aniocha part of his\her hypothesis and concentrate on the Anglicization of the word, Onicha. Or try to proffer Igbo meaning of the word. I would have given the Igbo meaning of the word but nairaland since it is filled with dumbasses who are ancestral denial artists. I want those who denied their ancestral heritage to die foolishly.
bizzibodi: I wonder why his soldiers who swore to protect their C-I-C did not shoot maj. danjuma & his gang in d mouth.
Bro not when most of them were part of the coup. The only person not with coup plotters was Flt Lt. Andrew Nwankwo and unfortunately he was outnumbered and outgunned.
Omoslim26: Why is no one stating here dat igbos were already being slaughtered in The North way before the Coup
The is one of the reasons I said Ironsi was a dumbass fool. I had the same square off in person with Emeka Ojukwu. He seemed to have the ears of Ironsi and queried why he failed to advise Ironsi to take stringent actions against the killing of Igbo and easterners in northern region of Nigeria in May, 1966. I stressed the fact to him that such failure was the genesis of Nigeria\Biafra war.
"The Regions are Abolished': Ironsi's Broadcast to the Nation banning Political Parties and introducing Decree No. 34, 24 May 1966.
Fellow Nigerians: During the past two weeks I presided over meetings of the Supreme Military council and the Central Executive Council at which many important state matters were considered. . . It is now three months since the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was handed over to the Armed Forces. Now that peace has been restored in the troubled areas it is time that the Military Government indicates clearly what it proposes to accomplish before relinquishing power. The removal of one of the obstacles on the way is provided for in the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree (No. 5) 1966 which was promulgated by me today and comes into effect at once. The provisions of the Decree are intended to remove the last vestiges of the intense regionalism of the recent past, and to produce that cohesion in the governmental structure which is so necessary in achieving, and maintaining the paramount objective of the National Military government, and indeed of every true Nigerian, namely, national unity. The highlights of this Decree are as follows: The former regions are abolished, and Nigeria grouped into a number of territorial areas called provinces Nigeria ceases to be what has been described as a federation. It now becomes simply the Republic of Nigeria. The former Federal Military government and the Central Executive Council become respectively the National Military Government and the executive Council. All the Military Governors are members of the Executive Council. A Military Governor is assigned to a group of provinces over which and subject to the direction and control of the Head of the National Military Government, he shall exercise executive power. In order to avoid any major dislocation of the present administrative machinery, the grouping of the provinces has been made to coincide with the former regional boundaries. This is entirely a transitional measure and must be understood as such. The present grouping of the provinces is without prejudice to the Constitutional and Administrative arrangements to be embodied in the New Constitution in accordance with the wishes of the people of Nigeria. The National Military Government assumes the exercise of all legislative powers throughout the Republic subject to such delegations to Military Governors as are considered necessary for purposes of efficient administration. The public services of the former federation and regions become unified into one national public service under a National Public Service Commission. There is a provincial Service Commission for each group of provinces to which is delegated functions in respect of public officers below a given rank. This rather drastic change will probably involve a reconstitution of the existing commissions, and the National Military Government reserves the right to do so in the manner stipulated in the Decree. Until this is done, the present Commissioners continue to act in their posts. Every civil servant is now called upon to see his function in any part of Nigeria in which he is serving in the context of the whole country. The orientation should now be towards national unity and progress. I expect all civil servants to co-operate and to consult at all levels, vertically and horizontally, between groups of Provinces and between Provinces and the Centre. People are aware that Study Groups have been set up to look into various aspects of governmental activity. One of them is concerned with problem relating to the Constitution........Read More here:
https://www.dawodu.com/irons2.htm
The above is nothing but a fabricated nonsense. The same dawodu.com that polished prose of Francis Fajuiyi whom they claimed wanted to die with Ironsi in Ibadan, The Fajuiyi crap was disingenuous act form of the gazette of western Nigerian regional publication in 1967. It is foolish beyond human form the so-called sophisticated people should fabricate such nonsensical crap that has no bases in military parlance. Coup or the perpetrators do not given options to the targeted objects. Never in the annals of military parlance.
Deadlytruth: It seems you didn't read through my comment carefully. As at the day Ironsi was toppled and killed, Ojukwu, Hassan and Ejoor were in charge of groups of powerless and center dependent provinces and not regions.
This is what you don't understand about resource control; in SS2 Government textbooks the civil service is defined as the only lawfully recognized institution by which any government carries out her duties. It is the civil service that a government uses to generate revenues from the resources found within her domain and deploys it to pay salaries, sponsor capital projects, etc.... meaning that a state or region controls her resource through her civil service institution. Now, after taking away from the regions their civil services through Decree 34, how exactly were the regions supposed to be able to continue generating and controlling their resources and utilizing same in keeping to their duties?
Once the civil service became centralized by Ironsi, all the revenues they generated from their former regional domains automatically started being remitted to the center. Ask yourself if a civil servants in a federal parastatal located in, say, Enugu today can generate revenue and remit it to the Enugu State Government without being dismissed mmediately if Abuja discovers.
Again, ask yourself how Ironsi would have been able to as military HOS continue paying the salaries of the now enlarged national civil service if the former regional civil servants kept on remitting revenues to the regional governors despite now being under the control of the national military Government. Where exactly on earth does that happen?
He did not take away the regional civil services instead he streamlined the civil services and remove the powers of Emirs in the silly native authority. Ironsi's overthrow was orchestrated by Emirs in the northern region who thought their powers over native authority via Emirates were dashed.
Amah70: Owerri with 870,000 population but about 300,000 of the population are students!!!!!!!
You don’t see that as abnormal clustering of students with all 6 tertiary education institutions in Imo state in Owerri;
whereas, Orlu with 480,000 population has no tertiary education institution.
You must be out of your senses or driven by profiteering in Owerri to condone the abnormal clustering of tertiary education institutions in Owerri in Imo state, at the exclusion of other parts of Imo state.
Enugu state you cite example with does not concentrate all it’s government tertiary education institutions in Enugu alone. Too many of the government tertiary education institutions in Enugu state are outside Enugu.
Do you mean Orlu zone or Orlu LGA? And does your silly 870,000 represent Owerri municipality or Owerri LGAs or Owerri zone? It is very silly to claim Orlu, which has not even gain the status of municipality, has a population of 480,000. With strategic value in mind, Oguta should be favored over Orlu.
Amah70: The bolded is a consolation explanation. Owerri is the only place in Nigeria with close to 300,000 young students in tertiary education institutions clustered within a 10km range, including those in Imo polytechnic Umuagwo, you rightly pointed out is more or less in Owerri.
There are no industries or service companies of repute that employ labor in Owerri. Civil servants and retail traders are mainly the employed in Owerri.
So the clustering of the young students in Owerri is behind the brothels, hotels and prostitution business in Owerri.
How could same girls be rotated by the same mafia between cities for prostitution business?
How does the population of young students in tertiary educational institutions equate to prostitution? I can hardly believe the above poster is Igbo-born. The dude's stream of thought opposes such belief.
You should have looked at the source of the crap you posted. An Nigerian who swallowed hook, line and sinker most of the craps published by Dawodu,com via Nowa Omoigiu is a ninny. Decree #34 was for unification of civil service in Nigeria and it is still being used today. It is the Decree that gave rise to civil servant grade levels used today in the shithole called Nigeria.
EMMAUGOH: Ironsi is the most stupid igbo man to exist in Nigeria history.
Imagine halting a coup and soround yourself with those that should be killed in the coup.
It shows he knows nothing about the coup and trying to be political correct while forgot there still an ongoing revenge.
I swear if Ojukwu or Nzeogwu succeeded the coup, Nothern Nigeria would have been merged with Niger and Sudan while Souther Nigeria a country of theirs. Africa would have had intelligent leader cos I trust igbos to try to control other countries like role America is playing in their continent.
You could not be more correct, sir. He was beyond stupidity. I guess he was drunk too. I prayed no son of Igbo man take the name of Ironsi.
Aconomist: People from Northern Nigeria are popular for two things—selling "Suya" and operating bureau de change (BDC) businesses —how come most BDC operators in Nigeria are from the north?
The time BDCs were introduced coincided with the period Abdukadir Ahmed, the longest-serving Governor of the CBN, was still in charge of the apex bank. Ahmed, a northerner, was the CBN governor between 1982 and 1993. His reign was also during the democratic government of Shehu Shagari and the military regimes of Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Babangida— all northerners. Nigeria operates a very strong political patronage system, where incumbents are politically incentivised to directly benefit their kinsmen.
There is an unspoken allegation that the licensing process for BDCs were thus skewed to favour applicants from the northern part of the country.
We were selling any volume to the BDCs at ₦22/$ while they were selling it outside at ₦80/$. I was at the former Chartered Bank then and used to wonder why that was allowed," said Mr Obasan. This arbitrage opportunity created a major wave of currency trader millionaires in the country. It was a government of the cronies, by the cronies and for the cronies.
When will Nigerians get commonsense? It was foolhardy for a person to have abrogated regionalism yet appointed regional governors. The regionalism in Nigeria was killed by the fool who created 12 states because eastern regional governor performed the function on the reason behind regionalism. The eastern regional governor opposed his usurpation of power at center.
Politics › Re: Time To Mind What You Say Or Do On Nairaland. by Dedetwo(m): 11:36am On Dec 27, 2020
Gowon had just come back from abroad and was getting ready to take over as commander of 2nd Battalion from Hilary Njoku on January 15. Gowon was doing condolence visits to families of the coup victims and arresting suspects after all the coup had failed.