...from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/opinion/can-boko-haram-be-defeated.html?mtrref=undefined&assetType=opinion&_r=1

https://maxsiollun./2015/05/26/buhari-my-hero-film-trailer/

Official film trailer of "Buhari My Hero..." - a documentary film produced by Ireti Bakare-Yusuf. The film is on Nigerian president-elect Muhammadu Buhari and features interviews with his family and colleagues.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/01/nigeria-election-goodluck-jonathan-lost

My article in the UK Guardian about how President Goodluck Jonathan blunder's cost him the 2015 Nigerian presidential election.

4. Bad management
Jonathan’s relations with party members at times resembled a football coach antagonising his star players into leaving for rival teams. His tendency to fall out with colleagues simultaneously weakened his party and strengthened the opposition.

Getting on the wrong side of Obasanjo is the political equivalent of crossing a mafia don. You will pay.

Was Judas Iscariot Jesus Christ's accountant?

This pastor says so: Nigeria's prosperity churches

http://maxsiollun./2012/04/23/1922/

LOL at "is this the one where he spoke with a british accent?" Balewa ALWAYS spoke with a 'British accent' (as did many of our early post-independence leaders) These men were educated by, and learned English directly from British tutors. Hardly surprising that they adopted the pronunciation of their teachers.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/02/daily-chart-9

Nigeria has OVER 500 indigenous languages. So please - let us once and for all keep trotting out this tired old "250 languages" cliche that Western media shoves down our throats.

This is a classic and even though 50+years old, the issues it highlights (cultural and religious differences between north and south) are still relevant today. The things that struck me most:

*The Sardauna's complete disinterest in federal politics and focus on preserving the customs and values of the north.

*Zik's lack of ambition - saying it did not matter which of he, Balewa and Awo became PM.

*The Sardauna's irritation with Awolowo's brash campaigning and desecration of northern traditions by hovering over/dropping leaflets on the Emir's palace.

, and William Walbe (who was involved in Ironsi's murder) died a few weeks ago,

Colonel William Walbe (one of the officers that led Aguiyi-Ironsi and Fajuyi to their death) has died.


A Tribute to a Distinguished Patriot, Officer and Gentleman

YES!
There would be fulcrum lasting peace on earth particularly in Nigeria, our beloved country in diaspora, if on every cantankerous bad yoyo mouth, a padlock is hung LAKADIS, LAKADAT.
WGW 1943-2011.

The epigraph is unmistakably typical Colonel William Godang Walbe, (Rtd), who sadly passed away shortly before his 68th birthday, in the early hours of Monday, 27th, July 2011. Some of his unique qualities can easily be gleaned from the words above. They reveal his admirable radicalism, and deep sense of patriotism, which led him to a distinguished career in the Nigerian Armed Forces, something which he did with courage, loyalty, confidence, honour, discipline and distinction. His career undoubtedly rose to prominence as the Military Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Commander in Chief and Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon, between 1966-1975. He went on to serve as Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States of America (USA) with responsibility for Canada and all the Caribbean Countries between 1975–1979.

More than anything else, the epigraph provides an indication of Colonel Walbe’s great sense of humour, and the infectious laughter it always invited. Colonel Walbe brought laughter to our lives, something that we shall miss, and fondly remember. To say that he always saw the funny side of things is really an understatement. Nothing, even the pain or gravity of his illness, could prevent him from provoking laughter in his last moments. This was not unusual for Colonel Walbe. It was another admirable hallmark. His qualities were often indistinguishable. His sense of humor was irreducible from his other qualities. His demeanor could transform from solemnity to laughter and vice versa in a moment.

Colonel Walbe was born on the 13th of July, 1943, the son of Tokmuwa (deceased), and Ngot, in Kabwir District, Kanke (formerly Pankshin Division), Plateau State. He enjoyed a distinguished career in the Nigerian Armed Forces, a career which began after he graduated from the famous Nigerian Military School (NMS) Zaria. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1962, and went on to serve as Anti-Tank Platoon Commander, Second Battalion 1963, and General Staff Officer III, Second Brigade, Nigerian Army,1965.

As part of his professional development, and rise to prominence, he attended the Officer Leadership Training Cadet Program, Fort Knox, Kentucky, the Infantry School, Fort Dix New Jersey, and the prestigious West Point Military Academy, all in the United States of America (USA). He also attended the National Graduate University (NGU) Washington, and the American Institute of Management Studies, USA. He earned several laurels, including the Nigerian Independence Medal, the United Nations Congo Medal, the Forces Services Medal, and Nineteen first class honours from different countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean.

Unlike a lot of his superiors, contemporaries, and juniors in the army, Colonel Walbe chose to retire to a quiet life in business as opposed to the chaotic and pretentious life of Nigerian politics. He was too candid and uncompromising for Nigerian politics. He nonetheless remained an arm-chair critic of politics, particularly of retired members of his military constituency, who embarked on what he regarded as misguided political adventures. His distance from politics was not a sign of indifference or apathy. He cared so much about the country, that was one of the reasons why he served in the army in the first place. Many would agree with him that “Nigeria, our beloved country†, is certainly “in Diaspora†. The remedy, to “padlock every cantankerous bad yoyo mouth†, for lasting peace, amongst other things, is not one that many would dismiss.

Until his sudden death, Colonel Walbe ran several businesses, prominent amongst which, is the NATCO Group of Companies, which pioneered communications, amongst other things, in Plateau State, Nigeria. During his retirement from the army, he served as an Executive Member of the Board of Trustees of the Tourism Corporation of Plateau State, the Chair of both the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, and the Society of Nigerian Artists. This is at all not surprisingly, given his penchant for the arts, and the meticulous way he preserved artifacts and other items of historical significance, as any visitor to his home would attest.
Colonel Walbe married, in 1967, Comfort Ta’azia (Nee Choji Dagyan); they are blessed with four children –Nathan, Nime, Rudy and Nenman.

Colonel Walbe was a devout Catholic and worshipped at Saint Louis Catholic Church, Jos. He would be buried in Jos on Friday, 8th July, 2011.

He would fondly be missed.

May his soul rest in peace.

*Written and submitted by Dr. Oche Onazi, Lecturer in Law, University of Dundee.

One of the things that came out from this interview (which no one commented on) is the revulsion caused by the Jan 66 coup plotters' murder of civilians. Their brother officers were appalled that they could commit such savage violence in the name of staging a coup. It was regarded as an utter abomination for a soldier to attack his fellow officers and to kill their family members.

Alabi Isama said:

Nzeogwu and his team killed first. They killed a man and his wife who were sleeping. The Hausas would not kill women. But a man and his wife were killed. If you had killed my mother, I would not only have killed the family but I would have killed the neighbours and levelled the area.

Lt-Col Keshi said:

Why should an officer who has a duty to protect his country be working against same country even to the point of turning his gun against his brother officers? What sort of bravery is that for a highly trained officer to crawl round defenseless people’s beds at night killing them?

Please note that both Keshi and Isama are from Nzeogwu's region,

Brigadier Godwin Alabi-Isama thinks so:

"Ojukwu should apologise to the Igbos. He shouldn't have led them to war because he had nothing to fight with, He did not apologise for the war and he did not renounce Biafra on his return. He should have been taken to a radio station to renounce Biafra but he was not."

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/06/nigerian-civil-war-how-adekunle-obasanjo-caused-mass-killings/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrNGHehpGhU&feature=player_embedded

Guys, we are getting waaaaaaay off topic!  
That video of the press conference with Ironsi tells much. The deliberate and circumspect manner in which he answered questions should tell you that this was a man outside his comfort zone and was not apt for the job thrust upon him. To answer some of the questions:

1) Ironsi trusted in his northern soldiers bc he believed the army was a "brotherhood". He saw the world in simple terms and thought the soldiers were above whatever mess the politicians could create.  He did not realise the brotherly bond in the army was shattered on the night of Jan 15, when soldiers murdered their brother officers in cold blood. Brig Maimalari's murder was a case in point.

2) Very easy to critique now bc of hindsight (which was not available to Ironsi, Murtala, Danjuma, Fajuyi etc). I'm sure if given a second chance, all of them would have acted differently - if they knew the disastrous consequences their actions would bring.

To answer some of the questions:

1) Let's not pretend that Ironsi's "unification decree" is any different from what other govts did. Every head of state from Murtala onwards operated govt in a fashion FAR more unitary than anything Ironsi did.

2) Ironsi was clearly (a) afraid for his life (b) not up to the job of running the country. The deliberate and circumspect manner in which he answered questions at that press conference should tell you that this was a man outside his comfort zone.

3) The Sardauna and PM were definitely planning something major to deal with the "Wild West".

4) Lt-Col Largema was actually despatched by the Sardauna to pass a message to Ironsi (about the Wild West). Ifeajuna and co prevented him from delivering the message when they shot him in his hotel when he arrived in Lagos.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/yar%E2%80%99adua-had-kidney-transplant-wikileaks/


Yar’Adua had kidney transplant – WikiLeaks
Headlines Jan 23, 2011

LAGOS—LATE President Umaru Yar’Adua had a kidney transplant in 2002 while still a state governor in Katsina State, but avoided having another one while he was President over fears it would cause unrest, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

Late President Umar Yar'Adua, had kidney transplant in 2002

The cables suggest the country’s top power brokers in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, knew about Yar’Adua’s condition, but still propped him up to become the winning presidential candidate in 2007. Aides to the President stuffed his clothes to hide his weight loss and used makeup to hide his pallor, the cables claim, but his illness ultimately led to a long absence from the country that fuelled public discontent.

Yar’Adua died in May 2010, propelling Vice President Goodluck Jonathan into the presidency. Jonathan recently became the ruling party’s presidential candidate for the coming April election, upsetting a balance of power in the country.

Wikileaks quoted a diplomatic cable from February 2009 as stating: “What is clear is that the president’s health is a matter of growing concern, particularly on the minds of the northern Nigerian elite. We have noted a considerable uptick in what appears to be behind-the-scenes machinations and back-room dealing.”

WikiLeaks publicly released the cables late Saturday night. A spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, has said officials would have no comment on anything released by the website.

A diplomatic cable from June 2008 claimed that Yar’Adua first began experiencing renal failure in 1999, just as he became governor of Katsina State. The cable said German company, Julius Berger, one of the dominant road construction firms in the country, set up a dialysis clinic in Yar’Adua’s home. The firm later would fly German experts in and out of Nigeria to privately treat Yar’Adua, the cables claim.

The cables claim Yar’Adua received the transplant in 2002 from donor, Sayyadi Abba Ruma, who would serve as Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources when Yar’Adua came into power. Ruma could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday.

The discolourations long noticed on Yar’Adua’s face, fuelling rumours about his ill health, came from the steroids doctors gave him to help his body accept the transplant, according to the cables.

Yar’Adua became president in 2007 through an election international observers described as rigged. His health continued to fail.
At a December 2008 event, Yar’Adua “appeared to weigh no more than 140 pounds, his skin was very taunt, his handshake was weak, voice was fainter than on previous meetings, his eyes were deep set with dark circles underneath, and his teeth were also very badly tarred,” the February 2009 cable reads.

Doctors apparently told Yar’Adua he needed a second transplant and Ruma’s brother was sent to Germany to be checked as a possible donor, according to the cable. However, a planned trip got put on hold over political calculations.

“Yar’Adua did not take this planned trip given public reaction to rumours about travel and concerns about his ability to govern,” the February cable reads. “We have no information on whether this trip may be rescheduled.”

The president’s health continued to worsen. Yar’Adua left Nigeria on November 23, 2009, to seek medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. His physician later told journalists that Yar’Adua suffered from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart. However, Yar’Adua’s stay in Saudi Arabia drifted from days to weeks to months, stalling government activity in a nation vital to U.S. oil supplies.

Yar’Adua returned to Nigeria in late February 2010, but never appeared publicly. He died May 5.

Yar’Adua’s death still reverberates through the country’s political system. An unwritten power-sharing agreement in the ruling party calls for the nation’s presidency to shift between the north and the south. Yar’Adua died before finishing the first of what politicians had assumed would be two, four-year terms.

Jonathan now faces minor party candidates from across the north in the April 9 presidential election. However, only the ruling People’s Democratic Party has the muscle and money necessary to manipulate Nigeria’s unruly electoral system.

This one is for you military history/military coup fans. Letters written by Major Chris Anuforo of Jan 66 coup fame.

January 1966 coup: The secret prison letters of Kaduna Nzeogwu’s co-plotter
Lekan Otufodunrin and Emma Mgbeahunke 24/10/2010 08:00:00
[img]http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/thumbnail.php?file=coup_190687867.jpg&size=article_medium[/img]

The private letters from Major Christian Anuforo, one of the Majors involved in the January 1966 coup, to his wife, published below, have given new insights into the motives and state of mind of those who planned Nigeria’s first military coup, write Lekan Otufodunrin and Emman Mgbeahunke

Take a look at the picture above, you will be right to guess that the persons in the picture are a group of Africans. Which group they are may be difficult to guess considering that their appearance belies who they really are.
They are not a group of diplomats as they seem to look like. They are indeed a group of African cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom in 1961.

Among the Nigerians in the picture are former Lagos State Military governor, Major General (rtd) Mobolaji Johnson (first left standing, second row), Major General (rtd) Alani Akinrinade (eleventh left standing on the back row), Late Major General I.D. Bisala, (first left sitting on the front row), General I.B.M Haruna, (fourth left sitting, front row), Late Majors Timothy Onwutuegwu and Christian Anuforo (eleventh left and sixth left respectively on the front row), who were among the co-conspirators of the January 1966 coup.

This report is not about the exploits of the Nigerian officers in Sandhurst but an exclusive revelation on the person and thoughts of Major Anuforo who was reported to have recruited spokesperson for the failed coup, Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu into the conspiratorial group of seven Majors.

The former Commander of Recce Squadron Jos, Plateau State to was the executioner of Col Kur Mohammed, Lt. Col A Unegbe, Col. J. Y. Pam and first republic flamboyant Finance Minister, Chief Okotie- Eboh.
Following the failure of the coup, Anufuro who hails from Imo State was initially detained in Lagos, moved to Ilesha, and then Benin. After the counter coup, a unit of troops from the 4th battalion at Ibadan on August 16, 1966, less than one month after General Yakubu Gowon took over as Nigerian Head of State, stormed the Benin Prison, took him away and later shot him along the Benin- Ore road. Before his death, he kept in touch with his wife, Henrietta through series of letters in which he, among other things wrote about, justified his involvement in the coup.

“I want to let you know that I gave full thought to what happened and I hope you do realize that this country was more than rotten. Now I may die any day from now but I do NOT care for that” he wrote in his letter dated 17th January, 1966.
For scholars who have always maintained that Anuforo, Nzeogwu and Ademoyega were genuine nationalists contrary to the tribal impression the failed coup continue to generate, the deceased proved them right.

“I have lived much of my life and I am prepared to suffer and die for our country and our people”, Anuforo stated. He was so concerned for one of his aide, a northerner, Yakubu. He said he was looking forward to retaining him if the authorities had released or pardoned him.
In his 21st February, 1966 letter, Anuforo asked his wife to find out if Yakubu was still being paid. “If not send him some money to travel to where he likes – Kaduna or his home but let him write you regularly”, he instructed.
Insisting that he was proud of what he and his colleagues did, describing it as a national duty, Anuforo asked for prayers for “continued peace in the country”.

Apparently a tough military officer even in the way he handled his family matters as his letters revealed, Anuforo showed greater concern for the fate that would befall his mother, wife and children than the obvious peril that waited for him. He directed his bank to send his wife £60 monthly and gave specific instructions on the education and health of his children.

One of his family members declined to speak on the letters when contacted.
It is important to note that Major Anuforo’s letters were written from prison, routed through the Ministry of Defence, through which his wife was urged to send her reply, indicating a more civil prison atmosphere than the seeming garrison posture of today’s prison authorities, that make postal services between prisoners and their relations almost impossible.

However, Anuforo’s wife died in 1996 without making any public statement on the traumatic period when her husband was incarcerated and later murdered on a highway by soldiers. The secret, dreadful letters Anuforo sent from prison in 1966, gave a clearer insight into the doggedness, the iron-cast will of the masterminds of the first military coup, their lofty dreams and raw love for their fatherland. The letters also revealed at least one of the key actors in the January 1966 coup, as a man whose true love for his wife and children was shattered by bullets from soldiers that were unknown, and may never be known, presenting yet another cloudy chapter in an already dim and complex story surrounding Nigeria’s most tragic political era. Obviously, Anuforo’s letters will not be the last chapter in the unfolding drama, at least for one the fact that while his letters suggested his wife replied, there has been no trace of the letters sent by the late woman to her husband.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/sunday-magazine/cover/16812.html

I am humbled. Sylva Nze Ifedigbo just wrote another glowing review for the latest edition of Sentinel Magazine (Issue 4)

http://sentinelnigeria.org/online/issue4/max-siolluns-oil-politics-violence-nigeria%E2%80%99s-military-coup-culture-1966-1976/

Max Siollun’s Oil Politics & Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976)

Book Review

By Sylva Nze Ifedigbo

In a recent piece in NEXT ‘Making the Next 50 Count’ (http:///bThmiw) I noted a seemingly conscious effort to erase parts of our national history by making it seem like they never happened, letting them fizzle out of memory. In that piece, I argued; for us to make the most of the next fifty years of Nigeria’s life as a nation, we must go back to our history and for once take seriously the lessons of the past. If we accept that the last fifty years of nationhood has been more or less wasted, then, we must make a conscious effort to appreciate what made it a waste so we can understand how to correct the wrongs. All this is a function of history and that is what Max Siollun offers us in his book “Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976)”.

Besides the dearth of books on our national history and the near complete erosion of History as a subject of importance in our universities, it is saddening to note that most of the few materials available are mediocre and poorly researched, often betraying either an academic seeking to move up the ranks or a roadside hustler eager to make a quick buck selling books to “History students” equally eager to pass exams. It is in these two respects, standing against them, that Max Siollun establishes the credence of his work.

With evident objectivity, every page of the 268-page book exudes detailed research and is presented as a free flowing blow-by-blow account of events; Siollun carefully separates speculation from fact and myth from actual happenings. This book, a detailed expose on the first four coups and the Nigerian civil war, helps bring to fore what really happened in those years, who were involved and why they did what they did. Siollun packs his work with dates and names – all easily verifiable.

Popular for his many history laced political essays in Nigerian news forums both online and off, [b]Siollun, who writes Nigerian history almost from an outsiders point of view, comes across as free from the ethnic chauvinism which limits the work of other Nigerian Historians. [/b]Siollun traces the history of the Nation before independence, particularly that of the military, and sequentially leads the reader on to the events leading up to the first coup, the counter coup, the Civil War and then traces the discussion further on to the two post-Civil War coups. The writer shows the relationship between all four coups. He highlights, in particular, the recurrent involvement of certain names, such as Babangida, Abacha, Yaradua and Buhari, in Nigeria’s coup plotting history and touches on the fact that for many years, coup plotting seemed to be the main agenda in the country’s military, quite like a culture, and how the failure to punish coup plotters helped to sustain the tradition and how this, in turn, led to instability in the polity and attendant underdevelopment which still stares Nigeria in the face today.
[b]
Siollun’s book presents new insights into widely held opinions, revealing what was hitherto not known in the public space about the working of the military and the inner happenings within its ranks, especially as they concerned the coups. [/b]It reveals that the January 15th 1966 coup, seen largely as an “Igbo Coup”, was essentially instigated by southern politicians working behind the curtain to unseat their Northern rivals and change the power equation. It also reveals the personal emotions, reactions and idiosyncrasies of the popular officers of the time and helps us understand them better, shedding light on why they did what they did then as well as their contemporary posturing.

It is generally held that there is always more than one angle to a story; therefore, many people would disagree with Siollun’s arguments or explanations on some of the events discussed in the book. This is expected and indeed the author does not pretend to have written an infallible history but has rather, simply, opened an avenue for reflection and knowledge sharing on our history. Another obvious inadequacy of the book is the fact that it covers just ten of our fifty years of national existence, this again highlights the need for other historians to rise to the challenge and tell the story after 1976.

[u]This book is a good read, made even more easily readable by Max Siollun’s fantastic prose and use of simple language in a manner which takes away the oft complained at drabness of history books. I would recommend this to all writers, political commentators and indeed all persons who love Nigeria. [/u]We can not make the next fifty years of our life as a nation worth the while if we don’t appreciate where we are coming from.
____________________________________________________________
Ifedigbo, an award winning writer, is the ‘Features and Reviews’ editor for the Sentinel Nigeria Magazine
____________________________________________________________

Oil Politics & Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976)
Max Siollun
Algora Publishing, New York; 2009
268pp

Well, according to the votes, Gani Fawehinmi is the greatest Nigerian of all time.

For those that want to watch the entire documentary, here it is:

http://maxsiollun./2010/10/09/law-and-disorder-in-lagos-area-boys/