₦airaland Forum

He was such a legend and didn't have a biased mentality.

Major General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo’s life was one of extraordinary restraint in the face of ultimate power. Born into an era in Nigeria's history that would soon be shaken by coups and civil war, Adebayo rose through the ranks of the military, not as a power-hungry figure, but as a man committed to balance, peace, and dignity. Twice from what I was told, he narrowly escaped death once by being abroad during Nigeria's first coup in 1966, and again when a spontaneous visit to an uncle's home in ikoyi spared him from a deadly ambush during the second coup.

When given the opportunity to become Nigeria’s Head of State after the July 1966 counter-coup, Adebayo declined. Despite being next in line and well-respected among the military elite, he stepped aside to prevent further ethnic tension.

Question is how many of our leaders can do that today? Instead, he focused on healing wounds by recovering and burying the slain General Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, an act that showed profound respect for human life in a time of chaos.

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

His connection with Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the future leader of Biafra, truly shows that he's humane. Adebayo had once encouraged the bright young Ojukwu to join the army. Years later, they found themselves on opposite sides of Nigeria’s bloody civil war. Yet, even as leaders during one of Nigeria’s darkest periods, they maintained a thread of mutual respect two men trapped in history’s crossfire.

Perhaps most revealing of Adebayo’s character was his public apology in 2001. In a rare move among military leaders, he openly asked Nigerians for forgiveness for the part he played in the military’s prolonged grip on the country. It was a moment of national humility and a step toward reconciliation a soldier laying down his sword in spirit, long after the wars had ended.

His sons have carried forward his values in politics and sports, and his final years were spent advocating for unity and wisdom as a respected elder.
One was a governor and the other a rugby player.
Sadly he passed on in 2017.

#RobertAdebayo #NigerianHistory #MilitaryCoup #CivilWarLegacy #EverythingSociology24 #AfricanLeaders #TrueLeadership #NigeriaPastAndPresent

gidgiddy:
His unwavering belief in one Nigeria? It's his right to believe in one Nigeria. The problem is that all those who believe in one Nigeria have never managed to tell us what we have gained by staying one, beyond life getting worse as a result of an unworkable union

It's well let us just keep praying for our nation.

He truly lived a fulfilled life.

In Nigeria's long and turbulent march through coups, war, and rebuilding, some heroes rose not with fanfare, but with quiet courage, deep conviction, and strategic brilliance. One such man was Lt. General David Akpode Ejoor (rtd) GCON, OFR a patriot, a peacekeeper, and a soldier whose loyalty to Nigeria never wavered, even when doing so placed his life at risk.

Born on January 10, 1932, in the quiet town of Ovu in Delta State, young David showed early signs of brilliance. He attended some of the best local schools before earning a scholarship to Government College, Ughelli. But despite his academic promise, he couldn’t afford university. A letter from his principal got him a job at the Nigeria Customs Service in Warri.

But David had bigger dreams.

He soon left Customs and took the entrance exam for the Nigerian Army. He passed and began his military journey in Teshie, Ghana, followed by elite officer training in the UK first at Eaton Hall and then at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he was commissioned by the Queen herself.

By January 1957, he returned to Nigeria, a young Lieutenant full of ideals and ready to serve.

Over the years, Ejoor climbed the ranks, serving with distinction from Kaduna to Ibadan, and at Nigeria’s independence ceremony in 1960. He also served in the Congo under the United Nations Peacekeeping mission, gaining global military exposure. But the defining moments of his life would come in 1966, in one of Nigeria’s darkest chapters the first military coup.

As Commander of the Army Battalion in Enugu, Lt. Col. Ejoor played a key role in foiling the January 15 coup, rescuing Dr. Michael Okpara, the Premier of the Eastern Region. He was soon appointed Military Governor of the Midwest Region, joining the Supreme Military Council.

Yet, the danger was far from over.

On the morning of the coup, Ejoor faced a surreal moment when General Ironsi, his superior, pointed a gun at him and asked, “David, are you with me or against me?” Calmly, Ejoor replied, “You are my commanding officer. Whatever it is, I am with you.”

In another heart-stopping episode, Ejoor encountered a convoy of mutinous soldiers on Airport Road, Lagos. With no backup, he walked into the middle of the road, stopped the trucks, and bluffed his way into their confidence, pretending they were late to a coordinated military operation.

The soldiers, caught off-guard, apologized. Ejoor marched them straight to Ikeja Barrack then had them disarmed and arrested. That single moment of psychological brilliance marked the first major arrest of the 1966 coup plotters.


Later that year, the July counter-coup threw Nigeria into deeper turmoil. As the only regional governor still advocating for a united Nigeria, Ejoor was now a target. With rebel forces overrunning Benin and three assassination attempts behind him, he disguised himself as a priest and escaped on a bicycle, riding all the way to Ebor-Orogun in Delta State.

From there, he found his way back to the Federal Military HQ in Lagos and continued his work to hold Nigeria together.


In 1968, he became the first Nigerian Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, shaping future military leaders. By 1972, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff, the highest military position in Nigeria.

But Ejoor wasn’t just a soldier. He was a thinker. In his article "Head With Creative Thinking" in The Nigerian Magazine, he lamented the lack of creativity in the military, warning that armies that fail to innovate perish even in peacetime.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YBTvniy4CY

Lt. General Ejoor’s accolades are vast. He received Nigeria’s highest honours (GCON, OFR), served at the Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK, and was honoured in countries across Africa and Europe. He held numerous chieftaincy titles in Urhobo land and was a respected community leader.

But perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his unwavering belief in one Nigeria. In the face of coups, ethnic tensions, and war, David Ejoor chose reason over rage, unity over division, and country over self.

He died as he lived
A true Nigerian. A soldier's soldier. A gentleman.

May his soul rest in perfect peace.


#NigeriaHistory #DavidEjoor #MilitaryHero #OneNigeria #NigerianArmy #1966Coup #CivilWarNigeria #TruePatriot #UrhoboHero #WestAfrica #AfricanLeaders #Peacekeeper #MilitaryLegends #UnsungHeroes #CreativeLeadership #HistoryMakers #LeadershipMatters #DeltaState #GCUAlumni #SandhurstGrad

©Odey Godwin Agbaka

gidgiddy:
I don't know if it's in PDF, I read the book years ago. But the reality of Wellington Bassey is that several Officers he was senior to, became his seniors. People like Ironsi, Ademulegun, Maimalari, Ogundipe and Shodeinde

When Officers you are months and years senior to suddenly move ahead of you, it shows you were not up to the job despite your seniority

I'd like to know about his personal life after retirement. I heard he died peacefully afterwards.

gidgiddy:
Yes he was. But there is a reason he never went past the rank of Colonel, some say he made it to Brigadier.

The thing about Wellington Bassey was that not only was he poorly educated, he was also lazy. Another problem Bassey had was that that he became an officer much later in age compared to Ironsi, Ademulegun and Maimalari.

Thats why when other officers were being sent on officers training course abroad, he was happy to remain in Nigeria

So while other officers he was senior to like Ironsi, Ademulegun, Maimalari and Ogundipe had become Brigadiers in 1965, Wellington Bassey was still a Colonel

When several officers of different ethnic groups manage to outrank someone who was the first commissioned officer, you don't need to be told that such officer had no capacity

Infact, in late Brigadier Hillary Njoku's book, "Tragedy Without Heroes", he said that Wellington Bassey could not command a Battalion, let alone a Brigade

I'd like to read that book though is it available in PDF format?

He was Nigeria's first commissioned officer even ahead of Aguiyi Ironsi.

In the story of Nigeria’s military evolution, there is a name that flickers dimly if at all in the national memory. Brigadier Wellington Umo Bassey, born in 1918 in the Eastern Region of Nigeria, was not just another soldier. He was Nigeria’s first commissioned officer, a distinction so profound it earned him the army number “NA1.” Yet, unlike many of his contemporaries who climbed the military and political ladder, Bassey would remain largely unknown, uncelebrated, and most hauntingly forgotten.

Born into a family of seven, Bassey stood out early not for flamboyance or ambition, but for his unwavering discipline. He joined the colonial army during a time when African officers were rare, especially in positions of authority. Amidst skepticism from his British superiors and a system designed to suppress indigenous advancement, Bassey rose.

In 1946, his commission as an officer predating General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi by two months made him a pioneer. According to scholar Robin Luckham in The Nigerian Military, Bassey's commission was backdated, an administrative move that technically made him the most senior Nigerian in uniform at the dawn of independence.

By all logic and military precedent, Wellington Bassey should have become Nigeria’s first indigenous head of the army. But history had other plans.

Those who knew Bassey described a man of deep conviction, devout, loyal, and devoid of the cutthroat ambition that marked post-colonial military leadership. Unlike Ironsi, Ademulegun, or later officers like Obasanjo and Buhari, Bassey did not chase foreign military training or political alliances. He remained rooted in Nigeria, quietly serving, avoiding the spotlight.

And that would cost him dearly.

Behind the scenes, tribal affiliations and regional rivalries were already eroding the foundation of Nigeria’s new military elite. Bassey, a son of Calabar(Efik), found himself tethered fairly or not to Dr. Eyo Ita, a major political rival of Nnamdi Azikiwe during the 1950's Eastern Region power struggle.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFRjC_DgpA
As Azikiwe’s NCNC solidified control, Bassey became a political liability. Despite his seniority, he was increasingly passed over in favor of officers with the “right” backgrounds and alliances.

When the British began preparing for military handover, their decision though outwardly based on merit reflected the preferences of the local political elite. Ironsi, with his polished and better connections, emerged as the favored candidate. Bassey, despite his unmatched seniority, was sidelined.

In January 1966, the first Nigerian coup shattered what little order remained in the army. A faction of young officers struck with surgical brutality, assassinating top political and military figures. Among their targets? Wellington Bassey. Yes he was a target!!!!

He narrowly survived. Ironsi, now Head of State, would not be so lucky falling to a counter-coup just six months later. Bassey continued to serve quietly, far from power. At one point, while Ironsi led the entire Nigerian Army, Bassey held a post usually assigned to a captain. Talk about humility.

He eventually retired in 1975 under Gowon’s regime, with the rank of Brigadier and was never promoted to Major General or higher. Quite shocking if you ask me.

Brigadier Wellington Bassey died peacefully in 1995, at the age of 77. No national honors were accorded to except maybe for a street that was named after him in Akwa-ibom state. No monuments. Not even a footnote in most military histories.

Yet he was “WA1,” West Africa’s first commissioned Nigerian officer title as symbolic as it is forgotten. While names like Ironsi, Ojukwu, and Buhari dominate Nigeria’s military lore, Bassey remains absent, his legacy quietly erased by the very institution he helped build.

Wellington Bassey’s story is not one of failure. It is a story of principle in an age that rewarded ambition, of service in a system that rewarded showmanship.

He was not a perfect soldier. He was not a ruthless strategist. He did not hunger for power. But he did something even rarer: he served with dignity from what I heard.

And perhaps that is why history left him behind.

#RememberBassey
#ForgottenHeroes
#NigerianMilitaryHistory
#DignityInService
#PrincipleOverAmbition
#UncelebratedLives
#WA1
#MilitaryLegacy
#OverlookedLegacies
#LeadershipLessons
#NigerianHistory

SmartPolician:
Why is it that UTME results aren't shown in real time? What's the essence of doing a CBT if you still have to wait for days before seeing the result?

It's the Nigerian factor oh!!!! Remember years back when it was reported that a python swallowed certain amount of money under Jamb coffers.

PresidObi:
I don't want to expose the conspiracy theories in my mind. Because I may be wrong. But I will still have this fleeting suspicion that JAMB may have been hit with what hit INEC in 2023 presidential elections. A case of tribal manipulation.

But I may be wrong.

You may be right there. Having a different perspective is spot on. It's very valid. But I'm trying to wrap my head around how tribal manipulation comes in though.

Pentagon007:
So we should watch YouTube video before we can understand what you are trying to say?
I jump and pass

Did you even read the whole article first?
Haba!!!

henrybomb:
I love it when people have open mind towards critical issues of this nature.

I just had to put this out there because sadly a friend of mine was affected.

Recently, the just-concluded JAMB results for candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME have been released.
Parents, guardians, and concerned Nigerians have been expressing their disappointment over the woeful performance of many candidates — a situation that many have described as "gory."

One case that has sparked massive reactions online is that of an X user, @timmiexx, who shared the ordeal of her younger brother. Despite preparing adequately for the exam, he scored a disappointing 169, compared to his previous score of 278. She went further to share his WAEC results and emphasized that he has always been academically outstanding.

In her words:
"We are not dullards in my family. I had 278 in 2017, my sister scored 320. He was among the top 3 students in his school, a former assistant head boy, and he represented Lagos in different competitions."

Another Twitter user, @quwam001, brought attention to the case of Egbaze Victoria. She previously scored 295 in UTME but scored only 132 in the 2025 edition. Victoria also has 7 A’s in her IGCSE and had earlier scored 259 in JAMB while still in SS2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGeGJvRB2SM&pp=0gcJCYUJAYcqIYzv

These cases raise serious concerns:

* Is there something definitely wrong somewhere?
* Should JAMB be used as a yardstick to test one’s intelligence?
* How can JAMB effectively correct CBT glitches that may be manipulating scores?
* Has the reading culture among students gradually declined?
* Why does JAMB delay the release of results?
* Is JAMB an exam of pure luck?
* Are candidates ill-prepared due to distractions like TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram?
* Can JAMB results affect students' self-confidence?

So, What Can Be Done?
If you ask me, I believe the following measures should be considered:

1. An Independent Audit of the 2025 UTME Process – Stakeholders need to step in and verify the reliability of the platform and scoring system. If this is done, complaints will reduce significantly.

2. Introduce an Appeal Mechanism– Students should be allowed to request a review of their scores.

3. Public CBT Testing Reports – Each testing center’s performance and any technical glitches should be made public. There should be no secrecy.

4. Invest in CBT Infrastructure – Inadequate technology ruins futures. It’s that simple.

2special:
probably I didn't get the right moniker....e get one young man with 8 children

Okay

2special:
Hope that's not obavoh for nairaland

Who is Obavoh?

illicit:
They are still pregnant, they never born

They'll all give birth soon. He's the modern day father Abraham.

The story of the 18-year-old apprentice who impregnated his master’s daughter, a sales girl, went viral earlier this week especially in Anambra and it left me completely dumbfounded. Even the Commissioner for Women Affairs couldn’t take any drastic action because merely watching that case unfold is so thought-provoking.

What shocked me even more was how some Nigerians, especially in the comment section, were praising his "manhood." It got me thinking why do people glorify promiscuity? Some even went as far as advising him to become a sperm donor.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhzGiGX7miQ

As a sociologist, here are my viewpoints:

First, that teenager who is already an adult at 18 is sexually possessed. Many Nigerian teenagers grow up in an environment filled with shame, silence, and religious fear surrounding the topic of sex. We dare not mention it near our parents, and that’s ignorance playing out in full.

During his interview, the boy admitted that he often promises his victims genuine love and marriage. This reflects a deep-rooted cultural problem: for many girls, marriage is still seen as the ultimate achievement, while for boys, conquest and sexual virility are widely celebrated—until the consequences come knocking.

Imagine how he was able to manipulate those girls using the promise of love and marriage as a tool. If only he had been properly monitored, mentored, or warned, perhaps all this could have been prevented.

Let’s talk about these societal failures and the urgent need for comprehensive sexuality education and mentorship.

#TeenageSexuality
#NigerianSociety
#SexEducationMatters
#SociologySpeaks
#PromiscuityCulture
#MentorshipMatters
#CulturalAwareness
#GenderNorms
#YouthDevelopment
#ProtectOurGirls

bolseas:
A street is named after him in Abuja.
Samuel Ademulegun street, central Business District, Abuja

Even at that I feel it isn't enough.

Odey1997:
I was shocked to know he's from Owo in Ondo state.

Quite sad his legacies are not really celebrated.

I was shocked to know he's from Owo in Ondo state.

Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun's story is not often celebrated, and his legacies seem to be lost let's be frank.

He could have lived.
He had the power.
He had the key.

But Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun made a choice. And that choice cost him his life, his wife’s life, and the future of an unborn child all in one midnight of blood, betrayal, and silence.

The Man Who Stood for Nigeria, Alone
January 15, 1966. A night Nigeria would never forget.

The northern cold of Kaduna had barely settled when the gate of Brigadier Ademulegun’s residence shook under the boots of young officers men he likely trained, mentored, and dined with. They weren’t strangers; they were family. Or so he thought at first.

But they had come not for dinner.
They had come for the key to the armoury.

Ademulegun, a seasoned soldier and third-ranking officer in the Nigerian Army, stood his ground. Even as guns were pointed at him. Even as his heavily pregnant wife, Latifat, stepped between her husband and their assassins pleading with faces she knew he refused.

That refusal sealed their fate.

Bullets shattered the stillness of their bedroom. And a generation was ended before it began. Each time I even picture the scenario in my subconscious it is horrendous.

As of today, aside from some education support from the army and a street named after him in Abuja’s Area 10, there is little else. No monument. No official remembrance. Not even his own house.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gjWVjSCRQU

In 1981, the Ondo State Government discovered funds left in Brigadier Ademulegun’s account. They pledged to use it to build a modest four-bedroom bungalow in his hometown of Ondo.

Decades later, the site is overgrown with weeds and shame.
Not a single room has been completed.

The name Ademulegun rarely appears in history textbooks. Like many others caught in the chaos of Nigeria’s early years, he became collateral in a war of ethnic divisions.

But unlike others, he chose his end because he refused to let young men twist military power into tyranny.

Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, also slain that night, now has an airport named after him in Gombe. Brigadier Ademulegun his colleague, his equal, his fellow casualty does not.

Why?

Was he too principled?
Too unaligned?
Too forgotten?

If Nigeria seeks unity, it must begin by honoring its true patriots men and women who chose the nation above their lives.

#BrigadierAdemulegun
#NigeriaRemembers
#UnsungHeroes
#MilitaryHistoryNG
#TruePatriot
#January15Coup
#ForgottenHero
#NigeriaMustRemember
#HistoryMatters
#HonorOurHeroes

George Horton Cooley’s theory of the Looking-Glass Self reminds us that our self-image isn’t formed in isolation infact it’s shaped by how we believe others see us. We often imagine ourselves through the lens of social interaction, making other people, in essence, a mirror for our identity. In Cooley’s view, the way we perceive others’ reactions to us can deeply influence how we think and feel about ourselves, even if those perceptions aren’t always accurate.

Cooley opines that each relationship casts a unique reflection back at us, creating a sometimes conflicting picture of who we are. Identity, then, isn’t just about who we think we are it’s about who we think others think we are.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93DuldbINZA?si=FiS017XHHyLMihyZ

The Looking-Glass Self unfolds in three steps. First, we imagine how we appear to others. Second, we interpret their reactions to us—often based on our own assumptions and past experiences. Finally, we use that interpretation to shape our sense of self. For example, if someone nods during a conversation, we might take that as approval and begin to see ourselves as a good communicator, even if the nodding had nothing to do with us. Our self-image, in this way, becomes a collection of interpretations some accurate, some not.

This process begins early in life, especially in childhood, when feedback from our parents strongly influences how we see ourselves. As we grow, especially through adolescence, the opinions of peers start to matter more than those of parents. Teenagers, trying to define who they are, become especially sensitive to peer pressures. If that feedback is negative, it can lead to struggles with self-esteem and emotional well-being. And even in adulthood, the way we feel others see us whether at work, in relationships, or in daily interactions continues to shape our self-perception.

Ultimately, Cooley’s insight carries a powerful reminder: our words, actions, and attitudes can deeply affect how others see themselves. We hold real influence over the emotional and psychological well-being of those around us. That means we also hold responsibility.

#SelfImage #LookingGlassSelf #Identity #Psychology #Cooley #HumanConnection #SelfEsteem #Empathy #SocialPsychology #BeKind #MentalHealthMatters #sociology #history

naturalwaves:
A very big congratulations to you.

Thanks

The journey of a thousand miles starts from those little steps, no matter how insignificant they are. At the end of the tunnel through the different ASUU strikes, setbacks, and delays I can comfortably say I triumphed.

Right from my secondary school days, it hasn’t been a smooth ride. Immediately after completing my high school education, I took up employment as an assistant teacher in a primary school. This choice sharpened my intellect to a large extent. However, seeing some of my classmates gaining admission, especially those born with a silver spoon, created a hunger in me to strive harder. Though the salary was meagre, persistence became my watchword. To compound the whole scenario, I came from a family that wasn’t financially buoyant. The struggle of being trained by a single mother and supported by siblings was a burden too heavy to bear.

Before even picking the required JAMB form, I was fully aware of the adversities ahead. Within a year and a couple of months, I was able to save up a considerable amount from my salary, picked the JAMB form, aced the exams, and met all the requirements in the brochure to secure admission.

Sometimes, I get this singular question: what spurred my interest in studying Sociology?
My interest in this field can be remotely tied to my flair for research. That inquisitive nature is hard to deny. Sociology afforded me the opportunity to broaden my horizons on the nucleus of human society and its diverse social phenomena.

My start as a fresher is one I would never forget in a hurry. All the endless hours at the UNICAL e-library paid off, even when mosquitoes feasted on my frail body during night classes. As a dogged Malabite, I endured through it all. At the end of that session, I had lost a considerable amount of weight and had a similar semblance to the emaciated look of a skeleton. Lo and behold, when results were posted on the portal, a CGPA of 4.74 propelled me to study even harder.

My sophomore year, in 200 level, was the most difficult and hardest to juggle. My whole world came crashing down. Imagine a high-flying student dropping from a CGPA of 4.74 down to 4.44. This period destabilized my mental health. The feeling of inadequacy kicked in rapidly; I became depressed and even suicidal.

However, what kept me going was the encouragement from a few friends, family, and lecturers. This was a period I became a social recluse.

300 level was one I would term a redemption period. Academically, my grades leapt back up again, and after that session, my CGPA soared to 4.56, with a GPA that drastically increased to 4.80.

Taking a cue from Karl Marx, who opined that:
"Men can make their history but not of their own free will. The circumstances under which they do so are not chosen by them, but inherited from the past,"
I believe the situations we find ourselves in sometimes tend to change the whole narrative. However, the choices we make afterwards can either take us far or leave us redundant.

Today, I’m elated to utter that I am amongst the first two graduates from the Department of Sociology, faculty of social sciences University of Calabar (UNICAL), to graduate with a first-class degree.

©Odey Godwin Agbaka

nlfpmod:
Birthday: Stella Damasus Turns 47 Today!



https://www.instagram.com/p/DI0kCnxIrN2/?igsh=MTZuajZuNHl6aTZrbg==

Sadly, she hasn't been lucky in terms of marriage. I could vividly remember that year she snatched Doris Simeon's husband they were in a commited and loyal marriage until Stella came into the equation. We even heard she has a very high sex drive/libido that drives men crazy. At the end, Karma came knocking the guy left her and started cheating.

However Stella Damasus is a courageous mother, the way she nurtured her daughters needs to be studied.There is this calm demeanor about her that is rare. Happy birthday 🎂 to her though.

Thundafireseun:
Lol …. I remember exactly everything that led to her emergence as governor as if it were yesterday it happened….

I know her son that contested for governor when she returned power back to Obi

Is her son still actively involved in politics today though[color=#000099][/color]?

Thundafireseun:
Lol …. I remember exactly everything that led to her emergence as governor as if it were yesterday it happened….

I know her son that contested for governor when she returned power back to Obi

Is her son still actively involved in politics today though[color=#000099][/color]?

lionshare:
Perspective

Truly one can never satisfy everybody.

Houseofglam7:
😎

She's is our woman crush wednesday (wcw) for today.

Vinnie2000:
PETER OBI's deputy those days.

When she became Governor after Obi was Illegally Impeached,
She and her Grown up sons tried to Seize the position for themselves.

FEAR Humans once Money and Power is Involved.

I was told she was a very upright and disciplined woman though.