₦airaland Forum

My report of my experience in Bloemfontein and the Greece -v- Nigeria match:

http://maxsiollun./2010/06/19/greece-v-nigeria-in-bloemfontein-a-tale-of-two-average-teams/

Are African teams under-achieving at the World Cup?

http://maxsiollun./2010/06/16/2010-fifa-world-cup-in-south-africa-are-african-teams-underachieving/

I also attended the Nigeria -v- Argentina game. What a spectacle. Report of my journey and match report here:

ttp://maxsiollun./2010/06/12/drums-versus-trumpets-argentina-v-nigeria-at-the-2010-world-cup-in-south-africa/

The great Zik. Father of Nigerian unity.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/max-siollun/nigerias-forgotten-heroes-nnamdi-azikiwe-father-of-the-nation-part-2.html

May he RIP.

'I Have A Grudge With The Nigerian Army, I Shouldn't Have Been Labeled A Rebel'
By Bankole Adeshina

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL Chris Ugokwe retired from the Nigerian Army in 1985. He has since then served as a former Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC); Chairman, African Population Commission (APC) and Vice Chairman, United Nations Commission on Population and Development. Twenty-five years after retirement, Ugokwe, in this interview, speaks on his experiences in the Army and why he fought on the side of Biafra during the Civil War, which he blamed for his inability to make it to the rank of General in the force like his contemporaries.

Your days in the Nigerian Army?

I joined the Nigerian Army on April 13, 1962, with General Mohammed Buhari and the late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, among other colleagues. These were my contemporaries in the army and we enrolled the same day.

How come you did not make it to the rank of General?

All fingers are not equal, so they say, and that was true in my case. I left the Nigerian Army in 1985. While in service, General Babangida was my Corps Commander and Commander at a stage. He (Babangida) belonged to the Armoured Corps. Before the 1967 to 1970 civil war, I was his senior for about six months in the Armoured Wrecking Squadron. Unfortunately, I fought on the Biafran side and was not promoted to the rank of General alongside my contemporaries.

If I had fought on the Nigerian side, maybe I would have risen to the rank during the promotion exercise after the war. But even without the war, one is not sure whether I would have become a General before my retirement. As you know, the base of a triangle is wide and as you go up, it becomes slimmer, meaning that only one will make it, for instance, to the position of Chief of Army Staff even if all of you enrolled the same day in the army. Besides, after the rank of Major, every other rank in the Army is based on vacancy and Federal Character.

Do you have any regret for fighting on the side of Biafra during the civil war?

For those of us who fought on the side of Biafra, the period of the war did not count in our promotion. However, quite frankly, I have no regret at all. The build up to the civil was so complicated that the kits and kin of Ndigbo were rounded up across the country and shot and we just felt that Nigeria was not safe for us. So, we all ran back to the East for safety. I had no choice but to fight for my people (Biafra) during the war.

Were you rewarded for the efforts you made during the war?

Everything is left for history to decide. We gave our lives to defend our people and if such happens again, I will not hesitate to defend my people. I believe that history will determine in the future whether our efforts at the war were worth being rewarded by our people.

I remember that when I was commissioned as the second lieutenant colonel in the Nigerian Army, I swore to defend the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But something happened along the line and I realised that I was not wanted within the confines of Nigeria. I had to run back to my people to take refuge.

Gen. Hassan Usman, who was the Military Governor to the Northern Group of Provinces, facilitated my escape to the east before the civil war. I was then his Aide De Camp. When he found that I was not safe again to remain in Kaduna with him, he sent me home on official leave.

During that period, Ndigbo were pursued, rounded and murdered. So, Gen. Hassan, knowing that I was an Igbo Officer, sent me on leave officially because of his likeness for me.

In fact, I have a grudge with the Nigerian Army because I should not have been labeled as a rebel or ex-rebel, as I was sent on official leave before the war. So, if I was on approved leave and the borders were shut and there was no way I could come back to Nigeria, to resume my job, I don't see why I was made to suffer after the war. There was no reason I shouldn't have been promoted along with my colleagues-Gen. Buhari, Gen. Tarfa, Gen. Sherlin and Gen. Yar'Adua. Thank God that Gen. Babangida is alive today and can testify that I was actually sent on approved leave before the war broke out.

Did you complain about this to the army authorities?

I considered it irrelevant to complain because my contemporaries in the military were all alive at that time and they knew what transpired. In fact, when I was leaving Kaduna for the East in September 1966, the duo of Gen. Babangida and Gen. Duba escorted me to the railway station. So, they knew that I did not run away but was on official leave. I was to go back and continue my job as aide de camp whenever the tensed situation normalised. But that never happened. Tempers kept rising until it escalated into a shooting war.

I believe strongly that I was justified to fight for Biafra. I had no other choice than to do so because all the boarders were closed and there was no way I could have crossed over back to Nigeria. In fact, after the war when I went to see Gen. Hassan Usman, he said something to the effect that I was well trusted and ought not to have fought against the country. But luckily for me, Gen. Shua who commanded One Infantry Division during the war was there and told him that the troops in the front line on the Nigerian side, where I would have crossed did not know me. So, obviously, it was not safe for me to cross because they would have killed me if I had tried to. And after the explanations, he agreed that I would have put my life in jeopardy if I had done so.

Didn't you feel bad that your colleagues, who knew about your situation, could not make case for you?

I cannot blame them because they labeled all of us as rebels.

But they fought for the country?

Yes and the efforts earned them promotion to Generals. Although, those that fought on the side of Biafra also got promotions, the ranks were considered illegitimate and were subsequently nullified after were re-absorbed into the military.

In Biafra, I was a Brigade Commander and that was equal to the job of Brigadier-General had it been considered legitimate. If that had happened, I would have become a Brigadier-General before my retirement in 1985. However, I remain grateful to the country and its army for making me who I am today by sending me to military trainings all over the world.

Do you still believe in the agitations for the creation of Biafra?

No! It is better to remain in Nigeria. After all, the more we are together, the happier and stronger we shall be. This country is a special country blessed by God with enormous resources, which will be better harnessed for our development if we remain together. You cannot be talking about Biafra without an Army, Police and other institutions with which to achieve the course.

I strongly believe in one Nigeria rather than operating in isolation. I have faith in this country. This was why I strongly objected to comments made by the Libyan leader, Gen. Mohammed Gadaffi that the country should be split. He does not have any authority to speak for Nigerians. He should mind the business of his country and leave Nigeria for Nigerians. If there were any need for such, Nigerians would agitate by themselves.

As your colleague in the Nigerian Army, how do see Gen. Babangida's interest in running for presidency come 2011?

He is a Nigerian and is entitled to the right to vote and be voted for. The man had been there before and has got the experience to lead if given the opportunity. I believe he would explore the chance to correct any wrongs he might have committed in the past if Nigerians vote him in. Meanwhile, I don't think he committed any offence when he was in the military because if he did, he would have been appropriately dealt with.

How has life been 25 years after retirement?

The experiences I gathered during my days in the army have helped me to go through easily. Specifically, that was what helped me to live up to expectations as the Commissioner and subsequently Chairman, National Population Commission. It helped me more when I became the Chairman of African Population Commission and Vice Chairman, United Nations Commission on Population and Development.

What are your unpleasant memories of your service in the army?

It was a sad moment for me when on February 13, 1976, the late Col. Buka Zuka Dimka tried to topple the Nigerian Army and in the process assassinated the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed. I felt so bad about it such that I wasted no time when Gen. Babangida came to me and said that I should assemble armoured cars; that we were moving to Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria to dislodge him. It was he (Babangida, the Core Commander) and I (Regimental Commander, Nigerian Army, Armoured Division) that mounted 13 armored cars and drove to the station and I was happy the operation was successful. As such, we were able to regain the country from the dissidents. The only damage was that they assassinated the military head of state but did not succeed to topple the government.

What were your happy memories in the Army?

Those were the times when I went for military operations outside the country, especially the one on Lake Chad where we lost 21 islands in 1984. Then Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was the Commanding Officer, Third Armored Division and he called me that we must recapture the islands. I was a Col. General Staff then.

While on the operation, I moved the three armoured divisional headquarters to Maiduguri and asked the 21 Armoured Brigade to move to Badger and we planned the operation and succeeded in recapturing all the islands and added two more as bonus. I felt very proud with the operation, considering the short period of time.

What do you think could be do to improve the operational efficiency of the nation's army?

The government should give the officers their dues, look after their welfare, make equipments available, kit them properly and give them sufficient funds so as to effectively defend the country. Even now, they are doing very well and their performances in United Nations' and ECOWAS's operations are quite impressive.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/life_style/article22/010510?pdate=010510&ptitle=%27I%20Have%20A%20Grudge%20With%20The%20Nigerian%20Army, I%20Shouldn%27t%20Have%20Been%20Labeled%20A%20Rebel%27&cpdate=010510

For those that missed it,

http://maxsiollun./2010/04/15/watch-welcome-to-lagos-bbc2-tv-programme/

Those who want to see a trailer can view a preview here: http://maxsiollun./2010/04/11/welcome-to-lagos-bbc-tv-programme-on-lagos/

1995 COUP PLOT : Abacha could have killed Obasanjo if he chose to – Jerry Useni
Cover Stories, Interview Mar 28, 2010

Jeremiah Useni

* His relationship with Abacha
* How Obasanjo came after me
*January 1966 coup: The plotters were allowed to enjoy
* ….And why there was a counter coup

Lieutenant General Jeremiah Timbut Useni (rtd), aka JERRY BOY, is the Sardauna of Plateau and Nasarawa but he is one unusual individual who has a split personality. One is that his mien could be so fierce that everyone around him would sit up. Yet, this Langtang born army officer loves to enjoy and does enjoy life, might we add, to its fullest. A sampler: “There is this saying that says work, work, work and no play makes a man a fool. You can not be serious all the time.  When it comes to work you have to get it done and after that you have to relax and enjoy and play with people as if nothing has happened.  When I’m working, I do my job. “My name is Jeremiah and the short form is Jerry so I added Boy to it so I’m Jerry Boy, which means I’m young.  I’m not Jerry Man, I’m still Jerry Boy and that’s how my colleagues know me.  But when we got to work, everyone must do his best and after that, it’s a different ball game.”

And as if to demonstrate the split nature of his personality, Useni’s countenance changed when the coup plot of 1995 allegedly involving former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was raised: [b] “Whatever anybody says, Abacha never gave orders that people should be wiped out and killed, but for the Ogoni issue where a tribunal was set up and a documented judgment was given.  But we are living witnesses to the massive killing of villagers during the last civilian regime of Obasanjo.  Abacha didn’t kill people for planning coup but we know Obasanjo ordered people to be killed for coup plotting during his reign as Head of State; he killed.  Abacha had all the opportunity to shoot and kill Obasanjo for the coup plot of 1995 but he didn’t.  Today they are saying Abacha was the one that was bad. “If Abacha wanted to kill Obasanjo for that coup he would have killed him”.
[/b]For a man who served as state governor, multiple minister, pioneered the creation of Nigeria’s National War College in 1992, and one who was the closest human being to late General Sani Abacha, Useni’s office in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, is oddly modest for his accomplishments the Nigerian style:  A simple, nondescript, detached duplex without the trappings of modern architectural facelift. This writer actually missed his way because the expectations were high regarding Useni’s quality of life.  But again, those who know Useni very well say he’s just a happy-go-kid from Langtang, Plateau State. This is just the first part of this encounter with Jerry Boy. In part two, be prepared to read the truth surrounding Abacha’s death, the Jos killings and the way out, as well as the multiple autopsy carried out to determine the cause of Abacha’s sudden death. It is explosive.  This is a bumper; we’ll serve the next bumper next week. Excerpts:

By JIDE AJANI, Deputy Editor

This is amazing and unbelievable?
What is amazing?

Your life style!  This office accommodation!  I mean, where did all the money go?
Which money?

Okay, I’m trying to relate this office accommodation of yours to the money you were said to have made during the Sani Abacha years when you and the late head of state were in charge?  Over 30 years in service, multiple ministerial positions, state governor? Are you hiding here or something?
(Laughs) Thank you very much. This is how I am.  I come from a very humble background.
(The tone of his voice recedes)  Nothing!  Nothing!!

I actually missed my way trying to locate this office; I was looking for a magnificent building befitting the right hand man of the late Gen. Abacha?
People thought so.  Even when I was in government, people said I amassed so much wealth. I had a running battle with Obasanjo when he became President.  They said I had mansions everywhere – in Jos and Langtang, Plateau State.  When they got to Langtang they were investigating and asking people ‘where is General Useni’s mansion’ and people started laughing, ‘which mansion’?  They became disappointed. I am not after material things.
Yes!  I was here in FCT as minister for five years.  No construction company ever built a house for me. Some people were minister of FCT for just months, the company built mansions for them here, their state capital and even their village.

It was after I left government that I completed my four bedroom bungalow that I am staying in now.

-bedroom bungalow?
Yes!  If you go to ministers’ hill, that is where I built it, not some thing magnificent! I finished it after leaving office.  I had all the opportunities to do anything I wanted to do having served for five years.  I am just a simple person.  Whatever I have I share with people and because of that most people thought I had plenty.  All I’ve always wanted is to make people around me happy. Because I laugh and joke with people and I feel happy always, some people thought I must have amassed so much for me to be always happy – ‘Oh! Useni has everything’.  Well, that has always been my life style.
You have seen for yourself now that I couldn’t have left office and I’ll have this rented office in this estate.

*Useni

Rented?  You mean it’s not yours?
No!  It’s mine but this is an estate.

Let’s pick these things one by one.  You were the first Commandant of the National War College, NWC and even that pioneering engagement, in today’s Nigeria, would make millionaires out of many.  What was the philosophy behind it?
You’re right but that was not me. I was the pioneer commandant. There were many reasons why we set it up.  We wanted our officers to be professionally efficient and, therefore, we sent our officers overseas but the vacancies were limited.

There were times you had only two vacancies abroad and when you send officers in that manner, some officers would never have the full training because after the Staff College training which you attend as a major, what happens to you as a colonel and brigadier so we decided to have our own.

After all the argument – pros and cons about two attempts were made but it did not succeed and my own was the third and I was determined to make it work. We could have chosen other names because only America goes by the name War College – some of our officers were trained in Britain, India and America. When we started we got assistance from Britain; America wanted to give us retired officers but we turned them down.  Britain gave us officers from the Navy, Army and Air Force from the rank of Group Captain which is equivalent to a Colonel.

We also sent some of our officers to Britain for orientation for one month and they joined the other expatriates.

Some people say you have a spilt personality:  That you could be very brutish and yet when you want to catch your fun, it is fun unlimited – drinks, women.  Would you agree with that?

There is this saying that says work, work, work and no play makes a man a fool. You can not be serious all the time.  When it comes to work you have to get it done and after that you have to relax and enjoy and play with people as if nothing has happened.  That has been my life.  When I’m working, I do my job. But once I finish my work, then you see Jerry Boy in action.  I can play. Jerry Boy! That’s me.

How did that name come about?
My name is Jeremiah  and the short form is Jerry so I added Boy to it so I’m Jerry Boy, which means I’m young.  I’m not Jerry Man, I’m still Jerry Boy and that’s how my colleagues know me.  But when we get to work, everyone must do his best and after that, it’s a different ball game.

You fought during the civil war.  With what we have as Nigeria today, would you agree that that war to save Nigeria was really worth it?
Yes, it was; otherwise Nigeria would not have existed anymore and only God knows whether if Biafra had been allowed to go, others too would have followed.  It was worth the trouble, inspite of all the nonsense that is going on in the country today.  Most of those who are there today do not know what happened so they can talk any how and misbehave in government.


There would have been some very horrific moments for you during that time?
Oh yes!  I remember a place called Okehe, after Nsukka, there was this hospital there.  Two of our governors Audu Bako and Usman came around and we were conducting them round and they saw somebody dead on the floor there and we moved on as if nothing happened and then there was another one who wasn’t dead but was near death because of his injuries and it was Bako who asked him ‘my friend, with all these charms you have round your waist and body you still got wounded?’  He was an ex-soldier and he responded thus: ‘my son, if not for these charms I would have been dead’. So, inspite of the injury, he still believed in his charm.

The other governor then said ‘let’s leave this place because of all these dead.  The whole place was littered with human bodies but what do you do?  Stop the war because people are dead or because people are dying?  No! You have a duty to perform so you perform your duty but we have a lot of leaders today who do not know what it took, may be they witness armed robbery, that’s all.  When you see war, you see people’s bodies shattered, legs broken.

Which event affected you directly during that war?
My friend, war is war.  It doesn’t matter what happens to you or the next person.  War is war, whether you kill one or you kill 100.  You’re there to kill or likely to be killed but at the end of the day it is about winning the war. What made me fear most was the beginning of the war, we had nothing.  Biafra, too, had nothing but the people were creative and they improvised so that really got us worried.  Even when we were in Enugu, the type of propaganda they were using was excellent and it scared the hell out of people but after a while we got used to it.

We got some of our fighter jets from Russia but our so called masters, Britain and America didn’t give us any.  Russia came to our aid during the war. While Gowon was calling for Police action, the Biafrans were stockpiling arms.  We captured some of them around Ogoja and seized machine guns from them, sophisticated machine guns which we never had.  Lagos was surprised too and that was before the war and even when the war started, Gowon was still talking of police action. It was after that that we declared total war.  To me, it was scary in the beginning.

We had a meeting one evening in Enugu around a coal mine, we were working on information we got.  I wanted to go to one area not knowing that the information we got and the people we were looking for were actually going to operate in the area I was heading for and I came under fire, heavy fire where I sustained injuries and I was taken away for treatment.  The scars are still there till today and if I had known I would have been more prepared because I would have died.

If Britain which had just given Nigeria independence did not support Nigeria, what reasons were adduced?
It was best known to them.  You know they always discuss with one another.  At first America gave some equipment but when we asked for more, they didn’t give us again.

Some people believe that the incursion of the military into governance was an error and it has dragged Nigeria backwards?  Where were you in 1966 during that first coup?
1966 I was a Second Lieutenant. Yes it was a big error but the unfortunate thing about it is that those who say it was an error are the same politicians who ask for coups to be carried out.
That coup of 1966 was an Igbo coup because when you look at the list of those who carried it out they were Igbos and if you look at the killings, Yorubas and Hausas were killed – Akintola in the West; General Maimalari, Brigadier Kur Mohammed, Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and his secretary from Itsekiri was also killed. None from the East was killed, so this pointed in that direction.  And even after the coup, we had this unitary government at that time which further suggested something else at that time, especially when you look at the way the coup went. That was not all. Even having done that, they felt that they had not done enough, another plan was in the offing to eliminate more officers from the North.



I didn’t get that clearly: Who were those who had another plan in the offing to eliminate more people from the North, the same coup plotters of January 1966?
Yes, the same coup plotters, the same people and that elicited the counter coup. Before the counter coup, we were told that the officers who carried out the first coup were under arrest, under lock and key but in fact they were just enjoying; some of them had even been given ranks, ready to put them on if they had succeeded in the second coup. They regarded them as heroes.

So that was the justification for the Gowon coup of July, 1966?
Yes, there had to be a counter coup.

What you’re saying appears strange?
Yes, we’ll write the memoirs at the appropriate time. People just rush and rush and write memoirs but you have to wait. You write memoirs at a ripe age.  People have been urging me to write memoirs but I keep saying I will write it at the appropriate time.

When Gowon took over as head of state he was a lieutenant-colonel but he was fair to everybody.  Today’s Nigeria is different and even our people blame us that we did not do anything for them. At that time, we had all the opportunities in the world to do everything selfishly.  At that time everybody was more interested in working for the country.

Today, once you are there, you look after yourself first. As a minister you look after your people first.  If you are governor, every project must be pushed to your people and your place.

But there are those who insist that had the military left the politicians to continue with their nonsense then, they would have worked out a way to correct the wrongs of that era?

Which people?  Killings were going on and the same civilians came around to say won’t you people do something?  Do you want everybody to be killed before you do something?
Let me tell you, there was never a time that the military set out to do a coup, civilians would always be the ones who would come with the idea because they will benefit. Look at the states, just the military governor, all the commissioners are civilians, local governments are made up of civilians.  It is only at the federal level that you have a mix but on the whole the civilians are still there.  If you get good advice you succeed; if you get bad advice you fail.  And it is this same people who would come around and instigate. If you put your feet down they say you are a dictator. But today, we have seen the worst happening in our country Nigeria. They say it is only during military regimes that you remove people in the air (sudden broadcast) but we have seen that during civilian regimes too people get to know of their sack in the air. Civilians too do not follow due process and the constitution.

You talked about putting your feet down, during the Sani Abacha regime, of which you were more or less the Head of State’s right hand man, putting your feet down was something else, against NADECO?
We stood firm.  During that time people thought we were shouting NADECO down.  We have seen the worst in a civilian regime. At least we shouted them down, what happened during Obasanjo’s regime to the opposition?  Even now we see some governors with private armies to do away with their opponents.

Abacha was a Muslim from Kano State; you are a Christian from Plateau State.  How did you, too, come about this relationship which existed before his death?
People say they are surprised by our relationship because they saw us as people who were apart geographically but yet were the closest.  Let me say this today: nothing is impossible before God Almighty.

Our relationship was not based on material things, just that we were of like minds and that was it. We first met after the counter coup of 1966. That was our first meeting and from that moment even till death, we remained good friends. Government wanted to give more confidence to the civilians, it said the military personnel in Kaduna should move to Ibadan and the one in Ibadan should move to Kaduna, the same thing happened in the East and even in Benin.

I was the logistics officer in Ibadan and we had to move to Kaduna.  I could not move ahead because I had to oversee that.  The trains were working and we sent our people to Kaduna and when it was returning, it would bring the people from Kaduna and Abacha’s people would be brought. When my people were leaving Ibadan, they left me in charge and when their own advance team was coming to Ibadan, Abacha was in charge and that was how we met in 1966.  When he came I showed him the accommodation and we had to work together and any time the train was coming, we went there together to receive his people and through that we forged a bonding.

Some people thought we became close because of his becoming head of state and I being the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, that brought us closer; no. At the time I am referring to in 1966, we never knew we would become what we became. We were just lieutenant or captain at that time.

Later when I was transferred to Benin, I was transport officer, he was a staff officer, later Brigade Commander, and we had Garba Duba in Asaba and every weekend we visited each other and we moved round like that and we maintained this friendship up till today and even with Abacha in the grave, he remains my friend.

When Abacha took  over on November 17, 1993, could you please let us into the inner workings of the last 48 hours before Abacha struck?
Well, the way things were going on at that time I knew it would not last after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, the issue was such that Ibrahim Babangida could not continue and he had to step aside.

We had expected that while stepping aside, he would put the most senior officer in charge but instead, it was given to Shonekan, who was a civilian. We had Admiral Aikhomu, who was Vice President; we had General Sani Abacha who was chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Minister of Defence; (I think Aikhomu was made to step aside with Babangida).  But Abacha was not given, Shonekan was given and they said Interim Government. But there were questions: One, was Shonekan going to organize the fresh elections? Two, what was the motive behind skipping Abacha and giving Shonekan?  There were thick clouds.


Why was Abacha skipped?
No reason was given to us.  At least, I was a senior officer then and I was attending senior officers meeting but no reason was given.  The reason was best known by those who did it.  The country was so fragile then. And then there was this confusion about stepping aside: One, were you stepping aside so that somebody would pass and then you follow him? Two, are you stepping aside permanently?
Or are you stepping aside so that somebody else would just get out of the way and you come back?
Then what does stepping aside mean (laughs).

But nobody will accuse Babangida of not knowing what he was doing.  In an interview I conducted in 1991 with General Domkat Bali, the latter said Nigerians played into IBB’s hands and that when he came with the issue of military presidency, he knew what he wanted to achieve by supporting military authority with executive powers of the president?
Well, to me it doesn’t matter really what the name is all about. Military regime you can be called anything and I don’t know where the minus or the plus comes in.  There is nobody ahead of you so whatever name you give yourself does not really matter. As Head of State, you don’t need a prime minister.

Some say you have a Chief of Staff, some say Chief of General Staff. Even when Babangida was calling himself President, he still had Chief of General Staff and it was when he was trying to move towards civil rule that he said okay, his Chief of Staff should put on civilian dress and address him as Vice President but even then, the question should be asked:  Why didn’t he from the word go as President, address his deputy as Vice President but he allowed his deputy as Vice President to drop his uniform. These are just names.  You are in charge, you are in charge.

So, when he stepped aside, why give Shonekan? What was it that led to the take over by Abacha, what was the last straw which broke the back of the Interim National Government, ING?
Well, I wasn’t part of the ruling body then so I would not know the last 48 hours as you put it or what actually happened then.  I had my job to do but whenever senior officers were meeting I was invited.

Back to the relationship with Abacha, you talked about putting your feet down but Abacha’s style was not liked by many?
Some Nigerians who said they didn’t like the Abacha government, people like Wole Soyinka, who said the Abacha government was bad turned round to say that Abacha’s government was better than Obasanjo’s own, Soyinka said so.  They protested during Abacha’s time but they were repeatedly stopped during Obasanjo’s government which was a civilian regime where people should be freer.  Why bring Police to arrest people? By that time, we had our challenges but as they say you still have to marry two wives to know which one is better (laughs).

But whatever anybody says, Abacha never gave orders that people should be wiped out and killed, but for the Ogoni issue where a tribunal was set up and a documented judgment was given. But we are living witnesses to the massive killing of villagers during the last civilian regime of Obasanjo.

Abacha didn’t kill people for planning coup but we know Obasanjo ordered people to be killed for coup plotting during his reign as Head of State. He killed. Abacha had all the opportunity to shoot and kill Obasanjo for the coup plot but he didn’t. Today they are saying Abacha was the one that was bad. If Abacha wanted to kill Obasanjo for that coup he would have killed him.

But that coup of 1995 was said to be a phantom coup, that Abacha merely set people up and forced some to give evidence?

The bolded text in this interview clarifies once and for all, the role of the Brigade of Guards,

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/03/13/dambazau-what-the-army-thinks/
Dambazau: What the army thinks
Cover Stories Mar 13, 2010

By Gbenga Adefaye

The Nigerian Army is facing a stress test. And who else but the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Bello Dambazau is in the eye of the storm.

First was the controversy over troops deployment when President Umaru Yar’Adua returned from the Saudi hospital after about three months of absence from duty without notifying the National Assembly as required by the 1999 Constitution.

The Brigade of Guards had ‘nocturnally’ deployed its men to safeguard the President’s return in a manner that drew the ire of the populace. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was alleged not to be in the know of the deployment of troops and many thought that was treasonable.

Many simply bayed for blood. They asked that Jonathan sacked the Army leadership. The second one has been the role of the army over the mindless mass murder by criminal ethinicists and religious bigots on the plateau of Jos. Governor Jonah Jang, himself a former military officer had specifically accused the General Officer Commanding the 3rd Army Division in Jos , Major General Saleh Maina of complicity in security breach that led to the bloodbath. Of course, the army has denied Jang’s accusation while the authority probes claims and counter claims.

*Lt. Gen Bello Dambazau

Where is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in all of this?
Lt. General Dambazau in a chance meeting in his official residence at the Niger Barracks behind Aso Rock, would rather not speak on political matters. Perhaps, if the discussion had been how he is professionalizing the army, how the army under him is doing massive civil construction works through direct labour and how the army has even registered a business name so as to be able to compete in civil society, a full interview might be welcome.

But we are in uncertain times. Politicians are up to their games. Therefore, his voice must remain mute and apolitical. He must be heard only on the parade grounds talking to his troops to remain professional; to remain apolitical; to remain subordinated to the civil constitutional authority at all times.

In any case, he is of the clear view that those calling for his head over the matter of Guards Brigade troops deployment only speak in ignorance.

First, he denied ever speaking to anyone about whom he owes his loyalty – because there is a clear constitutional position on that. He challenged whoever has heard him express view on that subject to produce evidence of such position issued by him, where and when and to whom.

Two, he does not direct the Commander of the Brigade of Guards on matters of troops deployment. That was not his forte. Rather, he took solace in the fact that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan knows the truth of his loyalty to constituted authority. Acting President Jonathan knows the fact of the Standard Operation Procedure of the Guards Brigade whose primary assignment is to safeguard the Presidency at all times, even if it means resisting unauthorized incursion by the Army.

He asserted: The Guards Brigade is the only independent brigade in the Army. The Commander reports directly to the President. The Guards Brigade received only administrative support from the Army Headquarters . The Guards Brigade Commander stands by the President anywhere he is in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He sees to the security of the Presidency (and that includes the President and Vice President and families); seeing off the President to the plane anytime he travels out of Abuja and receives him back, although he never travels with him. Members of the Guards Brigade do not serve outside the Federal Capital Territory.

They are on full deployment for national security at the airport 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round with some members sometimes being on call duty away from their families for up to a month.

That is the reason why apart from their salaries, all other allowances are paid directly by the Presidency. And in any case, the Aide de camp to the President has always being a member of the Guards Brigade.

This explains the command and control of the Guards Brigade. This is no new invention. Operationally, the Commander of the Brigade of Guards does not report to the Army authorities. He reports to the President. Dambazau who claimed not to have had any intimacy with President Yar’Adua before his appointment comes from a family with strong military pedigree. His father was a soldier in the colonial army.

The photograph of the elder Dambazau, in that starched tunics proudly adores the COAS living room. He radiated pride talking about his old man. He also has brothers who according to sources had been senior officers in the military.

A highly educated officer with a PhD in criminology, Lt.Gen Dambazau has an interesting story to tell: as young Lieutenant and ADC to an Army Chief of Staff, he was labeled a crank when he had opted to go to the university for higher education. Many senior officers thought he had missed his calling, because he could have lobbied for political office. But he knew what he wanted in the army. He believed that the military in politics compromised order and everybody was a loser. For one who had spent a substantial part of his career enforcing discipline in the Army as a military police officer, he believes that politicians should just do their bit and let the Army be.

For one whose pastime is teaching or writing books (and he has many books to his credit), when he is not on the golf course, it is no wonder his copious response to the charge of partisanship against the army, especially over the Jos crisis as reported by the Nigerian Tribune: “the Nigeria Army is well trained I must tell you that and the Nigeria Army personnel are very neutral in crisis situations.

They love this country and they love their job. “In the army as I mentioned to you earlier, we have only one religion and that religion is called esprit de corps and we have only one tribe which is the Nigerian Army, and let me educate you; In 3 division of the Nigerian army, the GOC Major-General Maina is a Muslim, the Chief of Staff, (a Brigadier-General) is a Yoruba man and a Christian and that Chief of Staff is responsible for organising and conducting operations.

“The Garrison Commander is a Yoruba man and a Christian and that Garrison Commander is in charge of troops; he deploys them, so anybody attempting to bring in religion because Saleh Maina is a Moslem is just trying to play politics.

Don’t forget that some of them are preparing for 2011 elections and in this country many politicians use religion and ethnicity to whip up sentiment in order to gain support. They do not talk of issues, issues that affect common man. They don’t like talking about such”. That much from a soldier intellectual -

BELLO DAMBAZAU CFR GSS DSS psc ndc fwc(+) PhD: A profile
1. Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau an indigene of Takai Local Government Area of Kano State was born on 14 March 1954 at Zaria, Kaduna State. After his primary school education, he gained admission into the prestigious Barewa College Zaria from 1970-1974. On graduation in June 1974, admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna as a member of the 17 Regular Combatant Course. On successful completion of his Officer Cadet training, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army in June 1977.

2. During the course of his military career, he has held numerous command, instructional and staff appointments. On command, he was a Platoon Commander at both 146 Infantry Battalion and later 4 Provost Battalion also as a Platoon Commander. He was Group Commander 3 Provost Group from 1990 – 1991 and later 1 Provost Group 1992 – 1993. Until his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff, last week, he was the General Officer Commanding 2 Division Nigerian Army.

3. As part of his numerous contribution on training, General Dambazau served as the Registrar/Instructor, Nigerian Defence Academy (1993-1999) and later Chief Instructor, at the Support weapon Wing of the Infantry Centre and School from 1999 – 2001 and later a Directing Staff the then National War College from 2004 – 2006. Subsequently, he became the Director, Higher Military Organization and Operations at the same Institution in 2006. This earned him the highly revered appellation of the Fellow of the War College Dagger (fwc [+]).

4. Lieutenant General AB Dambazau as also held several staff appointments before his appointment as the 26th Chief of Army Staff. He was a Staff Officer at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military in 1979 before he became an Aide-de-Camp to the then Chief of Army Staff. He was also a Special Investigator at the Special investigation Bureau of the NACMP from 1984 – 1985. Subsequently, he was appointed Military Assistant to the Director Army Training and Operations at the Army Headquarters. The Chief of Army Staff was again a Staff Officer at the Headquarters of NACMP for one year before his appointment as Military Assistant to the Principal Joint Staff Officer, Joint Headquarters.

5. He was the Colonel Logistics at the Infantry Centre and School from 2001-2002. Major General Dambazau served as the Principal General Staff officer to the Honourable Minister of Defence (PGSO-HMOD) in 2006. In January 2007, he was appointed the Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation (CASE).

6. Since his commission as an officer, General Dambazau, in addition to the Young Officers and Surveillance Platoon Commanders Courses he attended at the then Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) in 1978, he has over the years, attended both civil and military courses within and outside Nigeria that earned him several academic qualifications and awards which includes Certificates, Diploma, Bachelors’ Degree, two Masters’ Degree and a Doctorate Degree.

He was at the United States Military Police School, Fort MacLelan where he earned a Diploma in Military Police Basic Training and later went to Kent State University, Ohio, from 1980-1984, for a Bachelors’ Degree in Criminal Justice and Masters Degree in International Relations. He also attended the University of Keele, United Kingdom between 1986 and 1989 where he was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Criminology.

Earlier, he attended the then Command and Staff College for his Junior Staff course in 1985where he graduated with impressive result. Having excelled at the Senior Staff Course Qualifying Examination (SSCQE), he was nominated to attend the prestigious Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College for the Senior Division Course from 1991-1992 and as usual, he graduated with excellent results. The Chief of Army Staff also returned to the Infantry Centre and School Jaji for the Commanding Officers’ Course before proceeding to India’s National Defence College, New Delhi in 2003 for his Higher Strategic Military Course.

6. G[b]eneral Dambazau has an excellent flair for writing cutting across diverse aspects of human endeavours. In addition to his Doctorate thesis, he authored five books as follows:a. Military Law Terminologies, Spectrum Books Limited, 1990.b. Law and Criminality in Nigeria, University Press, 1994.c. Issues in Crime Prevention and Control in Nigeria, Baraka Press, 1996.d. Criminology and Criminal Justice, Nigerian Defence Academy Press, 1999. e. Criminology and Criminal Justice, Second Edition, Spectrum Books, 2007.

7. He has also written over eleven published papers on the United Nations, the Media, Human and Drug trafficking, as well as on Democracy and the Rule of Law among other topics.
[/b]
A highly versatile senior officer, he is a member of five national and international professional bodies, these include, Director/Member, International Police Executive symposium, American Society of Criminology, Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants, International Society for Criminology and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.

Saleh Maina is NOT Hausa as claimed by Bali.

Danjuma instigated the killing of Ironsi, Fajuyi –Joe Achuzia
Sunday, 07 March 2010 00:00 Nigerian Compass
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Beyond being one of the major actors in the Nigerian Civil War, Colonel Joe Achuzia (rtd.) is a very popular figure. In this revealing interview with EMMANUEL AGOZINO, Achuzia, popularly known as the Biafran Hannibal, talks about some of the other actors in the Civil War, including Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu; former President Nnamdi Azikiwe; former military Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi; and former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma. Excerpts:


You were said to be a man that fought the civil war without rules. While some see that as barbaric others take to you be a hero. Who is Colonel Joe Achuzia?
Well, I don’t know about being great. All I know is that in history, every society passes through one phase or the other. It is only those phases that leave indelible marks on society that make for remembrance. And within the issues of remembrance, people now realise the activities that led to it. As part of these activities, certain persons are usually identified with that cause. It is in the process of this identification that certain names takes prominence, not because they are the best, but because within their activities, they left mark as a signpost for the remembrance of the activities that took place at that time. Fortunately, I seem to be identified in one of these activities. Anybody familiar with Nigeria’s history from independence will easily identify the landmarks, the memorable incidents that stand out in the history of this country. One of those is the three and half years civil war out of which at the end of it, names were bandied about and mine is one of those names. But luckily, I am still alive not only to help correct all the misinterpretation that some people assigned to me, but also let today’s generation know the roles that I played and also refute any false information. For me, these were the things that singled me out. But otherwise, there is nothing that I did. Regarding the allegations that I fought the civil war without rules, others have done even worse.


What will you say about the recent statement credited to General T.Y. Danjuma that late General Aguiyi Ironsi, who was killed as a military Head of State, was a useless man. What is your reaction?
You see, when I read Danjuma’s statement, I felt very sad about it. First, go and do your research and you will realise that what I am going to tell you is the truth. In the 2 Division, [b]it was this Danjuma, then a Captain in the then Nigeria Army, who was responsible for organising the security of General Ironsi. It was his job. So, if Danjuma turns today and tells the world  that he did not know about how Ironsi and Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi were killed in Ibadan, it will be a very big lie. If you want me to put it straight, it was because of the opposition of the unitary system declared by Ironsi that Danjuma organised his elimination along with Colonel Fajuyi in Ibadan. So, Danjuma cannot in all honesty deny that he was not the chief instigator of the killing. [/b]We were all living witness. I was in Lagos when the incident happened. So, I am not telling you a myth or what I did not know. It is this same group who killed Ironsi and Fajuyi in Ibadan that up till today are benefiting from the unitary system that Ironsi set up. Can you imagine. It is out of this same cabal too that the so-called Kaduna Mafia sprang up. I am not saying that it is all Northerners that wanted the total elimination of the Igbo during civil war period. But when we talk in terms of what Danjuma did, I know what I am saying. That is his character. It was just the way he killed Ironsi and Fajuyi that he betrayed the late General I.D. Bisala. He denied Bisala when Bisala needed him the most during the coup that killed  Genral Murtala Mohammed. If he is a soldier, he should have stood his ground as the GOC of the 3 Division. But instead, he did not. Let me say that when we talk in terms of military courage and bravery, rank does not bestow courage on people. I  like Danjuma. But he cannot deny the fact that he was the chief instigator of the murder of Ironsi and Fajuyi. History will continue to hold him responsible for that. When the war ended, he was the go between me and Bisala, especially in Enugu, when I was handing over Biafra to the federal side.

[b]
Are you saying you were the one that handed over Biafra to the federal side?
Yes.
But many believe that General Philip Effiong handed over Biafra to General Olusegun Obasanjo. Is that not correct?
No, it is a mistake that many people are not aware of up till today. I was the one who handed over Biafra to Obasanjo and Bisala. Effiong’s  role was going to Lagos to meet General Yakubu Gowon with some of our Biafran officers. And also reading the script which I prepared. I planned it that they should start from 9a.m. announcing that we had sent emissaries to the war fronts to meet Nigerian commanders so that everybody should lay down their weapons. That speech that we prepared was given to Effiong to read because if I should do that, the Nigerian side  will misinterpret it that possibly there was a coup in Biafra. So, to avoid that misinterpretation, we had to ask Effiong to read it. Because when Odumegwu-Ojukwu was leaving, he specifically told Effiong to represent him, while my job was to take care of the Army. I was the person in charge of the Biafran Armed Forces. So, I was  the one that actually handed over Biafra and not Effiong. Again, when the war ended, I was very visible. For instance, all the documents that Danjuma said that Gowon requested that I should sign, I signed them all. These included when Danjuma said that Gown asked that I should prepare a document of what I would like to do.[/b] I did all that and part of that document was what later led to the establishment of PRODA in Enugu. I also reported at the Board of Inquiry headed by the then General Adeyinka Adebayo. There I was told that one of the reasons why I was being detained was for the  protection of my life. But I asked them, ‘Protection against who?’ Well, they said that so many people were against me, especially the way I ended the war. So, for tempers to cool, according to them, I was kept in detention for seven years. But for me, I have always said that I don’t have any regrets over the war. Beside, I owe it as a moral duty to those whom I led through the war, especially with their situation today. They have not been compensated.

That is why we have today the Civil War Veteran, East West Command Association. The purpose is to look after the welfare of those comrades who survived the civil war. But as I am talking to you, up till today, none of them is less than 56 years and nothing has been done to help them. We are taking steps to bring their problem to the attention of the present government. I have written to President Umaru Yar’Adua. I have also written to the Ministry of Defence and to the President of the Senate, David Mark, that on the basis of “no winner no vanquished,” Nigeria owes it a duty to rehabilitate those veterans across the country as done in other parts of the world. The situation can be dangerous in the future if the government continues to exhibit lack of concern. Many people today may not know that those militants in the Niger Delta are all children of the war veterans. The members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) are children of the veterans. We don’t want a divided Nigeria again. We as veterans of the war gave a lot for the Nigeria  we have today. All we are asking is that the government should look into the welfare of these veterans. If you look at the present military command in the country, none of them saw the civil war. War is not good. And that is why we have been calling on the government to also take a census of the war veterans on both sides of the war and create a programme in the interest of reconciliation as the Army that fought the war is the Nigerian Army divided against itself based on the side one was standing at the time of the political logjam.


Now, 43 years after, do you think that the issues that caused that war have been resolved?
You see, it sounds naive when one talks about solving the issues that led to that war. There were multitudes of problems and issues that led to the civil war. While some are of the view that the January 1966 coup, led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and the others, were the issues that led to the war. others tell you that the way Ironsi handled the issue of the coup by declaring a unitary system as opposed to the federating system in existence then led to the war. There are others who hold that it is the unbridled and the so-called ambition of appointing military administrators to take the place of political leaders. Also, there are those who say that the mismanagement by Gowon after the second coup, which brought Gowon into power  and led to the balkanization of Nigeria from the regional arrangement into states, caused the war. But whatever the cause, the war has been fought. To me, the greatest problem was the balkanization of Nigeria by Gowon without thinking of the future consequences. He did that to weaken the Igbo. But it turned out to be the root of whatever crisis that Nigeria is facing till today. By trying to take the so-called minorities away from the Igbo, when they  claimed that the Igbo were dominating, he  eventually opened their eyes like Oliver Twist. Whoever gave Gowon that advice gave him a wrong one because from then on the spiral effect brought Nigeria to the 36 states which we now have. The cumulation of all these, I will say, are parts and parcel of what in retrospect led to the  civil war. If Gowon did not create the 12 states, I do not think that the Eastern Region would have declared secession because there is nothing like dialogue. And that was exactly what happened. Gowon should have continuously kept seeking for dailogue.

But instead, he was advised to settle the situation the way he did by balkanizing the country. And once you do that, the people’s temper will rise. So, today, Nigeria cannot be at peace because the issues that led to the civil war have not been addressed. What do we have? We say we are practicing democracy, but here in Nigeria today what we have is a democracy of the cabals. It is these few cabals that are ruling the country. They have been doing so since the end of the war. And until the country wakes up to say enough is enough, the situation will continue. Hence, corruption will abound. It is only under the system of cabal leadership that certain people are favoured. And these few who are favoured will continue supporting the existence of the cabal government at the expense of the majority. If you look very well, you will see that many people do not understand what Wole Soyinka is trying to do. Knowing the deception that we call Nigerian democracy today, Soyinka has been doing his best trying to tell Nigerians that they should not allow themselves to be cowed into slavery. Because he is not a back seat General. That is why he comes to the front to tell Nigerians to say no to bad leadership that is going on in this country since after independence. For about two months now, all of us are seeing that what is happening with the leadership of this country.


There has been this controversy over the role Nzeogwu played during the first coup. While Odumegwu-Ojukwu keeps saying that it was Ifeajuna that was the leader of the coup, others say it was Nzeogwu. As one who saw it all, who actually was the leader of that coup?
You see, Nigerians have a way of mismanaging information. One person alone does not carry out a coup in the Army. A coup is a concerted arrangement by a few persons of like minds and ready to participate in overthrowing a system. So, the coup of January 1966 was carried out by a group of Army Majors. You cannot put it on one person. Otherwise, you are simply giving a dog a bad name to hang it. To say Nzeogwu, it means Nzeogwu and his group. Ifeajuna and his group. To be honest to your question, Ifeajuna and Nzeogwu were actually together in the plan and execution of the coup. Consequently, if the coup had succeeded, Nzeogwu or Ifeajuna could not have led the country or even [b]Victor Banjo who was a part of that group. [/b]So, all that is important is that the coup took place and that these names were the leaders of the coup.  Any other person from the side that didn’t  participate at that crucial time is not a part of the coup. Any other information is an after thought. Unfortunately, those that led the 1966 coup and participated, you only have the junior ones left. They were not the primary leaders. As a result, I would advice that the January event should be consigned to its proper place and perspective, that this an aberration that took place at a point in time in Nigerian history. It is not a situation to continue apportioning blames or encomium.


What do you mean by consigning it to its proper place?

I say this because as long as we continue to apportion blame or look at it as an Igbo coup, we will not come out of the morass of the problem posed by the coup. You know that after the coup, it had a wide ripple effect. Because the North felt that it was an Igbo affair and consequently in their usual characteristics way, they descended on the Igbo without first trying to find out exactly what happened. They reacted as a mob without thinking. That mob action  has since then placed Nigeria in jeopardy. The result was finally a coup in which Danjuma and Gowon emerged. Gowon then became the Head of State. But the funny thing about it was that they did not carry out the coup for enhancing the interest of Nigeria. They did it on the basis that they wanted to secede from Nigeria. Hence the word Araba (Let’s divide). It was very clear that even Gowon in his first speech he delivered made it clear that there was no basis for unity. But unfortunately, he took the advice of the  civil service dominated then by the Southerners to advice him that it is not in the interest of the North to pull out of the federation. It was this same people that advised Gowon that the best way to bring the Eastern Region to its knee was to balkanise it. But before he did that, information was also leaking to the Eastern Region Government. And the reaction of the East was no, we are one. If you say you do not want us, we will go on our own by any name. If you look at the situation critically, you will see that the Eastern Region was pushed out. They were being pushed out for purposes of total elimination. That was the beginning of the genocide. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been the need to cut them off from the sea, air and land or get them landlocked. It was for this purpose that Bakasi was given out to Cameroun so that they will not give space for Biafra to retreat into Cameroun.

You mentioned Banjo. Where do you stand on the trial and execution of Banjo and his group during the war?

Banjo and his group  were tried under military procedure in line with the Biafran laws. I don’t think that it should be a thing for apportioning blames to anybody. They violated the war rules and laws at that time. And they were tried accordingly. Anybody could have fallen into that line. So, it was the laws at that time. And it was approved based on the orders of a military tribunal. So it is not a thing to blame anybody. 


Many people have blamed Odumegwu-Ojukwu for the way Biafra was defeated. Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ralph Uweche, recently said that Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s way of leadership was responsible for the collapse of Biafra. Do you agree with this?


Biafra was never defeated nor collapsed. It is not true that Biafra was defeated. That is what many do not know.
Are you saying that Biafra was not defeated by Nigeria?
Yes.


What explanation do you offer for this?
Yes, I will do. Let me tell you the truth. You journalists must always do your research properly to educate the public. You should also look into the choice of words. You see, I repeat it again: Biafra was not defeated. It was not the Biafran Army that was responsible for the war efforts during the conflict. The efforts were handled by civilian populace. The soldiers were recruited to defend the civilians. The arms were provided by the civilians. In the executive council of Biafra, there were only two military personnel: Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the Head of State and Effiong as the Officer-in-Charge of Defence. The rest were all civilians. Those civilians were the ones who, when Odumegwu-Ojukwu left to attend the crucial meeting in Liberia, came to me and requested that I should stop the war. Today, there are living witnesses to what I am telling you. These include former Enugu State Chief Judge, Justice P.K. Nwokedi. He was one of those who came with Sir Louis Mbanefo and others to request that I take steps to stop the fighting. Initially, I was against it. But then I was reminded and made to understand that it is not my personal war. So, as a soldier, I have to obey the orders and demands of the Biafran Executive Council to stop the war. Another living witness is Obasanjo.

He is still alive. When I sent for him from Owerri, it was to my house he arrived. General Alani Akinrinade was the one I signalled to tell Obasanjo to come to Uga in Orlu Division. He and then Lt. Col. Sam Tumoye were at our headquarters when we discussed how to bring the war to an end. It was from my house that I took Obasanjo to meet Effiong at Igboukwu, which used to be the headquarters of the Biafran Directorate of Military intelligence. General Akinrinade is still alive and can testify to what I am saying. Nobody defeated Biafra. Commonsense will have tell you the truth. If they defeated Biafra, the federal side would have demanded our weapons. In my own case, I asked all my soldiers to go home with their weapons. Those that don’t want it should dump them by the roadside. Some handed them over to us. The truth is this. For a long time because of the laws in the archives of the military, what I am telling you today was kept under cover and secret. The essence is to give Nigeria a chance to formulate a new society where all can live in peace. But unfortunately, what I see now is that the issues that led to that armed struggle is yet to be addressed. And instead of addressing this issue so that Nigeria can have a good future, our leaders are still pursuing selfish interest. It is such that even in their presence, the Niger Delta struggle is rising every day.


[i]How true is it that when people say that former President Nnamdi Azikiwe was against Biafra?
[/i]Going down memory lane, Zik was never a tribal person. He is not an Igbo leader. He only looked at the country from a global point of view. That was why he stepped aside for Dr. Michael Okpara. His presence in Biafra was more accidental than of necessity. We knew what we did and to what length we bent backward for him to stay in Biafra. The only opportunity we allowed him to step out of  Biafra merely brought Biafra into a civil war within itself. This, we had to quickly, on Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s advice, militarily run around with the various administrators of the various local governments to avoid a war between the Zikist and the non-Zikist.

Very unlikely a coup will succeed in modern Nigeria:

http://maxsiollun./2008/04/11/can-a-military-coup-ever-succeed-again-in-nigeria/

Al Jazeera have confirmed it, UMYA IS BACK.

Reuters has also reported that a plane has landed in the presidential wing of the Abuja airport,

Plane lands at Nigeria presidential airport - witness
Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:59am GMT

ABUJA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A plane landed at the presidential wing of Nigeria's Abuja airport on Wednesday, hours after government sources said President Umaru Yar'Adua was due to return from a hospital in Saudi Arabia, a Reuters witness said.

An ambulance was waiting on the tarmac as the plane landed, the witness said. (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Nick Tattersall)

http://maxsiollun./2008/03/08/another-excellent-series-of-biafra-videos/

For those interested in watching an objective and detailed documentary about the civil war.

http://www.tradeinvestnigeria.com/feature_articles/411121.htm
Politics takes centre stage in Nigeria
Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:35

Nigeria's Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan

With a new acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, in charge and an upcoming general election, politics is set to take the centre stage in Nigeria for the next year or so. Jaco Maritz looks at how this will affect business and investment in the country

Politics in Nigeria has had a turbulent past few months. The problems have revolved around President Umaru Yar'Adua's long absence from office while being treated in a Saudi Arabian hospital for a heart ailment. Yar'Adua, who has not been seen in the country since 23 November 2009, failed to temporarily hand over authority to his Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan. This power vacuum led to a massive public outcry. Protest marches were organised in Lagos, Abuja, London and New York; court cases were filed by some organisations in order to resolve the leadership crisis; and the military even had to deny rumours of a military coup. In addition, the absence of leadership threatened to derail the Niger Delta amnesty programme.

The delay in transferring power to Jonathan hinged largely on contradictory interpretations of the Nigerian Constitution on the issue of succession where the Head of State is incapable of carrying out his duties.

Two weeks ago, in an effort to restore stability to the country, the National Assembly, however, declared that Jonathan would assume full presidential powers pending the return of Yar'Adua.

'The delay in appointing an acting president was a by-product of Nigeria’s hyper ethnic and religious diversity,' says Max Siollun, author of Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). 'With over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, the political system has mechanisms to try to include as many of those ethnicities as possible. The ruling political party has an informal arrangement whereby it rotates its presidential candidate between the northern and southern ethnic groups. President Yar'Adua's predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, was a southern Christian. Since the south had its 'turn' to produce the president between 1999 and 2007, some felt that a swift transfer of power from Yar’Adua (a northern Muslim) to Jonathan (another southern Christian) would deprive the north of its 'turn' to produce the president. Thus there was hard bargaining behind the scenes to find a compromise. I would not be surprised if come 2011, Jonathan stands down to allow another northern candidate to run for the presidency.'

In his less than two weeks in the hot seat, Jonathan has wasted no time in asserting his authority and getting to work. In his first full day in office he made a minor cabinet shuffle by redeploying the Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, to the less influential position of Special Duties Minister. Aondoakaa allegedly played a critical role in hindering Jonathan from taking over Yar'Adua’s duties. Jonathan has also asked Nigerians to stop placing congratulatory adverts in the media over his assumption of office as Acting President. He similarly placed a ban on solidarity visits, saying that 'the nation is at a critical juncture where we must begin to focus on solutions to the daunting challenges that confront us'.

2011 general elections

The upcoming 2011 general elections will be a critical test for the strength of Nigeria's democracy. The eyes of the world will be on the country to see if the elections are free and fair with a smooth handover of power.

Siollun thinks the way in which the matters around Yar’Adua’s illness were handled is a good sign of Nigeria’s political stability. 'Nigerian politics has matured considerably since its military rule era. The recent absence of Yar’Adua was the sort of crisis that triggered military coups in the past. It is pertinent that Nigeria's military chiefs came out publicly and declared their loyalty to the government, and urged soldiers to keep out of politics,' Siollun argues.

If the recent gubernatorial election in the eastern state of Anambra is anything to go by, Nigeria is making progress in conducting acceptable elections. The incumbent governor of the state, Peter Obi from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), managed to emerge victorious following a strong challenge from various rivals. Obi's win was all the more extraordinary given the fact that he defeated the challenge from the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Charles Soludo. The election was generally peaceful and seen as the freest and fairest polls conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission in recent times. After the results were announced, the Acting President told Business Day that 'if the Anambra polls were any guide, then the country is surely getting out of the woods in terms of elections and succession politics'.

'The peaceful and successful organisation of the February 2010 gubernatorial elections in Anambra State is an indication that though we may still have some political, social and economic challenges as a nation, we seem quite capable to handle the outcome of the 2011 general elections in the country,' says Uche Nworah, columnist and author of The Long Harmattan Season. 'Our people fought for the democracy we enjoy today. It would be stupid of this generation to blow the chance we have now through careless electoral acts.'

Business and a change in government

Political risk is a great concern for foreigners looking to do business in Nigeria. A smooth transition of power in 2011 and continuity of policies is therefore of utmost importance if Nigeria wants to keep its much-improved image as a business destination.

When Yar'Adua assumed his position as president in 2007, he reversed many of the former incumbent's decisions. For instance, he lifted Obasanjo's ban on cement importation; he scrapped a contract to build health clinics around the country; and he temporarily suspended a project awarded to a Chinese firm to construct a rail network from Lagos to Kano for further review. It must be said that there were question marks over many of Obasanjo’s policies and contracts, and Yar'Adua's actions were generally welcomed. Investors need stability and any drastic changes in regulatory policies by a new government will certainly be strongly condemned.

Amos Sakaba, director and chief operating officer of the One Stop Investment Centre at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, says there are a number of economic policies that will certainly continue after 2011. 'Government will continue to lay emphasis on infrastructure to support business; government will continue to liberalise, deregulate and make the private sector the driving force of the economy; and government would continue to diversify into the non-oil sectors,' Sakaba explains.

There are also fears that the handover to Jonathan and a subsequent new government in 2011 will disrupt Nigeria's banking sector reforms. In 2009 the CBN, under new Governor Lamido Sanusi, conducted an audit of all Nigeria's 24 banks. It identified nine banks that were undercapitalised, in a poor liquidity position and in what it called a 'grave situation'. The CBN is currently working on recapitalising the banks.

Speaking to CNBC Africa recently, Sanusi said such fears are unfounded. 'I think people need to understand that the Vice President has always been part of this process. He was part of key meetings with the President when the decision was taken in the early stages. And my conviction is that he is totally and strongly in support of this process and he will continue with it exactly as the President has done so far,' he said.

'Those who think he [Jonathan] is going to be soft on corruption are going to be very surprised. I think they are going to find that he is as committed to the struggle as the President was and that he is solidly behind this process,' Sanusi added.

Siollun is also confident that there won't be any drastic changes in government policy. 'The government has been trying to encourage foreign investment, and this goal has seen a massive expansion in the banking sector. All recent Nigerian governments have been committed to privatisation and free market liberalism. There is unlikely to be a significant change in economic policies regardless of who wins the 2011 election,' he says.

Nigeria certainly has significant potential for investment but government needs to make sure that politics don't scare away prospective business people. The handling of the problems around President Yar'Adua's illness demonstrated that the country has the capacity to resolve highly contentious political issues. This positive momentum needs to be kept going into the general elections and beyond.

Sanusi: My Grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian
Friday, November 20, 2009

, Sanusi faults Olaniwun Ajayi on Northern domination

The Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, surprised guests present at the Musom Centre for the launching of the book of Sir Lanihun Ajayi at the MusoN Centre in Lagos.

The book titled: “Nigeria, Africa’s failed asset?” attracted many important dignitaries, intellectuals and some governors.

The argument by discussants centered on whether or not the colonial masters laid the foundation for the problems Nigeria is currently facing. Many argued that the British loved the North and that was why it gave more than 5o percent of the National Assembly seats to the North at independence.

Sanusi, however, stole the show when he spoke. His speech was anchored on the plank that the British and Nigerian rulers are responsible for the state of the situation Nigeria finds itself today.

Below is his unedited speech.

“Let me start by saying that I am Fulani (laughter). My grandfather was an Emir and therefore I represent all that has been talked about this afternoon. Sir Ajayi has written a book. And like all Nigerians of his generation, he has written in the language of his generation.

“My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian. The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I can not forgive people of my generation speaking in that language.

“Let us go into this issue because there are so many myths that are being bandied around.

Before colonialism, there was nothing like Northern Nigeria. Before the Sokoto Jihad, there was nothing like the Sokoto caliphate. The man from Kano regard himself as Abakani. The man from Zaria was Abazasage. The man from Katsina was Abakani. The kingdoms were at war with each other. They were Hausas, they were Muslims, they were killing each other.

“The Yoruba were Ijebu, Owo, Ijesha, Akoko, Egba. When did they become one? When did the North become one? You have the Sokoto Caliphate that brought every person from Adamawa to Sokoto and said it is one kingdom. They now said it was a Muslim North.

“The Colonialists came, put that together and said it is now called the Northern Nigeria. Do you know what happened? Our grand fathers were able to transform to being Northerners. We have not been able to transform to being Nigerians. The fault is ours.

Tell me, how many governors has South West produced after Awolowo that are role models of leadership? How many governors has the East produced like Nnamdi Azikiwe that can be role models of leadership? How Many governors in the Niger Delta are role models of leadership? Tell me. There is no evidence statistically that any part of this country has produced good leaders.

You talk about Babangida and the economy. Who were the people in charge of the economy during Babangida era? Olu Falae, Kalu Idika Kalu. What state are they from in the North?

“We started the banking reform; the first thing I heard was that in Urobo land, that there will be a course of the ancestors. I said they (ancestors) would not answer. They said why? I said how many factories did Ibru build in Urobo land? So, why will the ancestors of the Urobo people support her?
[b]
“We talk ethnicity when it pleases us. It is hypocrisy. You said elections were rigged in 1959, Obasanjo and Maurice Iwu rigged election in 2007. Was it a Southern thing? It was not.

“The problem is: everywhere in this country, there is one Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba and Itshekiri man whose concern is how to get his hands on the pile and how much he can steal.

Whether it is in the military or in the civilian government, they sit down, they eat together. In fact, the constitution says there must be a minister from every state.

“So, anybody that is still preaching that the problem of Nigeria is Yoruba or Hausa or Fulani, he does not love Nigeria. The problem with Nigeria is that a group of people from each and every ethnic tribe is very selfish. The poverty that is found in Maiduguri is even worse than any poverty that you find in any part of the South. [/b]The British came for 60 years and Sir Ajayi talked about few numbers of graduates in the North (two at independence). What he did not say was that there was a documented policy of the British when they came that the Northerner should not be educated. It was documented. It was British colonial policy. I have the document. I have published articles on it. That if you educate the Northerner you will produce progressive Muslim intellectuals of the type we have in Egypt and India. So, do not educate them. It was documented. And you say they love us (North).

“I have spent the better part of my life to fight and Dr. (Reuben) Abati knows me. Yes, my grandfather was an Emir. Why was I in the pro-democracy movement fighting for June 12? Is (Moshood) Abiola from Kano? Why am I a founding director of the Kudirat Initiative for Nigerian Development (KIND)?

“There are good Yoruba people, good Igbo people, good Fulani people, good Nigerians and there are bad people everywhere. That is the truth.

“Stop talking about dividing Nigeria because we are not the most populous country in the world. We have all the resources that make it easy to make one united great Nigeria. It is better if we are united than to divide it.

“Every time you talk about division, when you restructure, do you know what will happen? In Delta, Area, the people in Warri will say Agbor, you don’t have oil. When was the Niger Delta constructed as a political enlity? Ten years ago, the Itshekiris were fighting the Urobos. Isn’t that what was happening? Now they have become Niger Delta because they have found oil. After, it will be, if you do not have oil in your village then you can not share our resources.

“There is no country in the world where resources are found in everybody’s hamlet. But people have leaders and they said if you have this geography and if we are one state, then we have a responsibility for making sure that the people who belong to this country have a good nature.

“So, why don’t you talk about; we don’t have infrastructure, we don’t have education, we don’t have health. We are still talking about Fulani. Is it the Fulani cattle rearer or is anybody saying there is no poverty among the Fulani?”, he said

odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/20/510.html

You can see a photo of him being arrested inside the plane here:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/12/26/airline.attack/t1larg.us.airline.suspect.cnn.jpg

Very tragic news. I am glad no lives were lost. But the "loser" here is the Nigerian nation because Nigerian citizens will now be subject to even greater profiling and security checks. You can now add terrorism to the list of negative foreign stereotypes of Nigerians alongside, 419, forgery and drug trafficking.

The fact that Nigeria has a 50% Muslim population will now bring unwelcome attention from the US and the unsophisticated news reporting outlets over there like Fox.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/05/%E2%80%9Cjanuary-15-1966-not-nzeogwu%E2%80%99s-coup%E2%80%9D/

“January 15, 1966 not Nzeogwu’s Coup”
Politics Dec 5, 2009
Allegations of Aguiyi-Ironsi’s involvement nonsense, says Peter Enahoro

The official version of the failed coup that set off the collapse of the First Republic, led to the Nigerian Civil War and ushered in thirty years of military interventions in Nigerian politics is that the munity was masterminded by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, an officer at the Nigerian Military Training Centre (NMTC) in Kaduna.

It is a claim that has been mildly contradicted in the past by Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu who led the Biafran secession. Now comes an assertive support of that denial from an independent, non-military source, turning the official version on its head.

Author, publisher and international journalist, Peter Enahoro was the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Times newspapers, popularly known as columnist Peter Pan at the time of the events of January 15, 1966 and the subsequent July 29 “revenge coup” that brought then Lt-Col. Yakubu Gowon to power. Enahoro fled Nigeria in self-exile when armed soldiers failed to find him at home.

In his memoirs titled: “Then Spoke the Thunder”, published this month in Nigeria by Napmind Communications Ltd. Enahoro argues forcefully that the failed coup was the brainchild of Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, who was the Brigade Major of the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, commanded by Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, third highest ranking officer in the Nigerian Army and the most senior officer of Northern origin.

Enahoro writes: “Nzeogwu has been credited with top billing as the master-planner partly because he was successful in Kaduna – bastion of Northern political pride at the time – but mostly because his broadcast, unprecedented in Nigerian history, gave a revolutionary voice to the events of that day and thus drew a national focus that turned him into a folklore figure.

Nzeogwu’s true place in the story of January 15, 1966 was that he achieved its main objectives in the capital of the Northern Region, and in the absence of an expected dawn broadcast by Ifeajuna from Lagos, he went on air in Kaduna at midday to stake a claim that should have come from the Federal capital, where Ifeajuna, the arch originator of the plot, had woefully failed to fulfil his assignment before fleeing the country.”

But Enahoro’s conclusion is more than conjecture. He says he had a copy of Ifeajuna’s account of the coup handwritten by the major in Accra to where he fled after the failed coup: “I had a photocopy of the document in my possession on that day of July 29 when the revenge coup raged savagely. It was given to me to keep after Ifeajuna returned from Accra.”

Enahoro says he received a call on the afternoon of July 29 instructing him to burn the manuscript: “You know that thing? Put am for ECN,”said his caller who is named in the book. “I knew at once he meant the copy of Ifeajuna’s manuscript. I understood him to mean I should burn the manuscript. “ECN’ was the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria and electric power (or light) in Yoruba is the same word for “fire”. Put am for ECN meant put it to fire. Burn it.”

“Thus was lost to me a copy of Ifeajuna’s handwritten Accra account of the failed coup attempt that induced a Civil War and led to thirty years of military interventions in Nigerian politics. In a way the contents of that document changed the course of my life for ever.”

There is evidence also that Ifeajuna tried to have a manuscript published in Biafra. Christopher Okigbo and Chinua Achebe jointly formed a publishing company they called Citadel Press in the early days of Biafra. Ezenwa-Ohaeto says in his biography of Chinua Achebe that “Okigbo brought (a) manuscript … from Emmanuel Ifeajuna” which, he “enthusiastically passed on to Achebe.” Achebe “discovered there were flaws in the story” and turned it down.

Years later, Achebe told his biographer: “It seemed to be self-serving. Emmanuel was attempting a story in which he was a centre and everybody else was marginal. So he was the star of the thing. I did not know what they did or not but reading his account in the manuscript, I thought that the author was painting himself as a hero.”

Enahoro writes: “Achebe misled himself in dismissing Ifeajuna’s account. Like many people caught up in the romanticism that came to surround Nzeogwu, Achebe was prejudiced and did not give himself a chance to consider the true facts. If anyone had an ego question in this specific matter it was Nzeogwu. Ezenwa-Ohaeto says that, Okigbo came to Achebe (a few days later) and told him that Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu had asked him, ‘I hear you and Achebe are going to publish Emma’s lies.’ That comment by Nzeogwu, a principal actor in the January coup, confirmed that the manuscript was unreliable,’ Ezenwa-Ohaeto concluded.”

Enahoro continues: “Ifeajuna certainly did not defer to anyone as the leader of the January 15 uprising though he did not publicly challenge the assumption that Nzeogwu led it. That should be no surprise. It was in his character to avoid responsibility for failure. He failed where Nzeogwu succeeded in his assignment. He might even have felt good to have attention deflected from him. He had nothing to commend him and challenging the myth surrounding Nzeogwu in the atmosphere of 1966 would only have drawn unwanted attention to his own failure in Lagos.

Enahoro refers to a newspaper interview by Nzeogwu in which the major said himself: “He (Ifeajuna) was in charge of a whole brigade and had all the excuse and opportunity in the world to mobilise his troops anywhere, anyhow and any time.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his tribute to his friend Nzeogwu quotes Ifeajuna stating as follows: “I had to pass messages to Enugu and Abeokuta. From these centres, our people were to take action in distant zones. These were the messages that were to throw the machinery of the whole operation into gear all over the country at the same time.”

Enahoro says that “Ifeajuna, not Nzeogwu, flagged off the operation because it was his coup,” and goes on to argue that, “the facts are compelling that Ifeajuna was better placed to organise the network of conspirators.”

“Ifeajuna had his commander’s full confidence. As chief of operations at brigade headquarters he knew the details of the commanders’ conference that took place that week in Lagos. H[b]e had the records of the hotel accommodations for the visiting commanders, which made it easy for those marked for elimination to be tracked down and murdered in their rooms. It was Ifeajuna who gave the pep talk and it was from his residence that the coup-makers fanned out to carry out the night’s work in Lagos.”[/b]

Peter Enahoro recalls that Nzeogwu was a training officer at the Nigerian Military Training Centre in Kaduna and says that the major’s access to manpower and other resources was limited; that, “he was a long way from Lagos, the Federal capital – surely a vital consideration that would have been pivotal to the planning.”

“It would have been a curious state of affairs if indeed Nzeogwu held the core planning in his hands. The man who had to make the most critical decisions, who had a greater access to manpower and knew where the top officers likely to foil the coup attempt would be at a given time, was Ifeajuna.

“Nzeogwu had a lower schedule; he was a long distance away in Kaduna, far from the command centre of the most decisive operations, which were the operational imperatives in Lagos.

“Most of all, a coup that failed to capture the Federal capital would instantly lack credibility, as evidenced by the failure of the Army to rally to Nzeogwu’s banner after his broadcast from Kaduna. The consequences of the failure in Lagos must have been clear to him even as he made his belated noontime broadcast.

“Nzeogwu’s afternoon broadcast thus had an element of bravado. Without success in Lagos and with General Aguiyi-Ironsi on the loose the attempted coup had effectively collapsed. Nzeogwu’s threat to march on Lagos was another bluff.

He did not have the necessary troops at his command. He was in hostile territory in the North; his contacts in Lagos were in disarray – he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the operational chief in the plot or of the other collaborators. Peacefully handing over power to Major Hassan Katsina in Kaduna was a palliative political move by a man now motivated by a natural survival instinct.”

The author believes that Ifeajuna later revised the account he wrote in Ghana. He writes: “I do not believe the document I had was an exact copy of what General Obasanjo describes as Ifeajuna’s ‘unpublished work’. The document that came to me had no pretensions of a “work”; instead, it struck me as a hastily written apologia, a mea culpa, essentially intended to impress General Aguiyi-Ironsi. To be sure there was a rushed attempt to explain the background to the failed coup, but it did not have the quality of an address to posterity deserving of Obasanjo labelling it an ‘unpublished work.’

I thought at the time that Ifeajuna sought to ingratiate himself with the Supreme Commander, saying that the aim of the plot was to overthrow the civilian government and hand over the reins of power to ‘my general’, which I’m sure was how he put it in the manuscript I had.

“The fact that General Obasanjo’s book records him as stating that ‘we were to present our senior officers with a fait accompli’ suggests to me that there was an afterthought between the time of the manuscript I had in my possession and the time Ifeajuna wrote the script from which Obasanjo lifted his quote.

In other words, that Ifeajuna may have thought it expedient to broaden his appeal.

That would mean that the account he wrote in Accra was later updated and given a polish; which may be why General Obasanjo dignified the version he refers to with the nuance of a classic.”

“With the spotlight on Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna had the partial anonymity that would allow him concentrate on plotting his next big adventure: seeking the downfall of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a man the January mutineers thought a carpetbagger and for whom they could barely conceal their resentment.

Ifeajuna’s unsuccessful plot to overthrow Odumegwu-Ojukwu in Biafra was his last failure for which he paid with his life.”

The official account says that Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was arrested by Major Donatus Okafor, Commander of Federal Guards in Lagos.

Enahoro asks, “Where was Major Ifeajuna at that moment? If he was not physically in charge of the Prime Minister at which point did Okafor hand the Prime Minister over to him?” He says he asks the question “because there is no question it was Ifeajuna who killed Sir Abubakar …”

An attempt by the revenge coup perpetrators to justify the killing of General Aguiyi-Ironsi by linking him with the January 15 failed coup is not accepted by Peter Enahoro’s account. He says that the General was in fact marked down for elimination by If eajuna and that one man that could have exonerated Aguiyi-Ironsi was the Inspector-General of Police, the late Alhaji Kam Salem who the author says telephoned the military commander to inform him that the police were reporting usual troop movements in Lagos.

“Neither Nzeogwu nor Ifeajuna had a great regard for General Aguiyi-Ironsi.,” Enahoro writes and quotes Nzeogwu saying of his Commander-in-Chief, in the major’s magazine interview earlier referred to: ‘He actually joined the army as a tally-clerk and was a clerk most of the time.’

Aguiyi-Ironsi’s remark to Obasanjo when the latter flew to Lagos to intercede on behalf of his friend was a clear indication that there was no love lost between Nzeogwu and Aguiyi-Ironsi.

“Nzeogwu talked about safe conduct for him and his colleagues, when I spoke to him,” the General told Obasanjo; and then he asked, “What exactly does he mean? Does he want medals for what they have done?”

According to Enahoro, “(Ifeajuna) had Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in the back of his car as he drove around Ikoyi trying to regain advantage in the botched coup, as he continued his desperate search for General Aguiyi-Ironsi who he had down for elimination.”

Enahoro asserts that Ifeajuna made a stop to drop off one of his wounded men at the Ikoyi flat of Sam Agbam, an External Affairs officer who had been his fellow alumnus at Ibadan University. He told Sam Agbam he had Sir Abubakar in the car and he boasted to his friend, “We are taking over the government”.

Ifeajuna told Sam Agbam that when he told the Prime Minister he had to come with him Sir Abubakar asked for a minute or two to pray.

“Whether he granted Sir Abubakar’s wish has passed on with the Souls of the only two men who knew exactly what took place,” writes Enahoro, adding: “Ifeajuna also told Agbam that Sir Abubakar said to him, ‘Do you think you’ll succeed in this thing you are doing?”

Did Ifeajuna make that scene up in his hurried account to Agbam on the night of the attempted coup? The author does not think so.

Footnote: The book: “Then Spoke the Thunder” will be launched at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on Monday 7 December, at 11 am.

I don't understand how people can blame Ribadu for this. Ribadu was in the process of prosecuting Ibori when he was sacked from the EFCC. In fact, Ribadu was removed from the EFCC precisely because he had Ibori arrested and charged to court!  Ribadu's removal was part of a broader plot to block Ibori's prosecution.

http://maxsiollun./2008/01/14/ribadus-removal-i-smell-a-rat/

http://maxsiollun./2008/08/10/ribadu%E2%80%99s-demotion-corruption-rules/

A lot of misunderstanding in that story: "Abisoye, then a Brigadier, chaired the military panel which tried Dimka."

That is simply not true! Abisoye headed an investigation panel which investigated the coup PRIOR to the panel that tried Dimka. The panel that tried Dimka ironically included a prominent General in the Babangida regime who hails from the same middle belt!

If Fashola becomes President, it will ruin his reputation. All Nigerian presidents were hailed as saviours and were popular BEFORE they came to office. Yes, even the now dreaded IBB and Abacha were initially hailed as saviours. Rulership has a way of tarnishing ones reputation in Nigeria. He should serve out 8 years in Lagos, then perhaps become a Minister.

I have touched upon this point before, but there seems to be a dearth of northern opinion on NL, and on Nigerian-centric websites in general. Internet forums seem to be southern hotspots. They do not have Federal Character!

In all seriousness what drives northerners away from net forums? Is it because of derogatory anti-northern talkbacks like those on this thread?

The views here are largely southern views. We rarely hear the northern viewpoint here and one must go to sites like Amana Online, Gamji and Arewa Online to get the northern viewpoint.

My apologies, did not realise it had already been posted.