₦airaland Forum

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ChukwuEmeka00:
The January 1966 coup was a praise worthy revolution.

It didn't go as planned, but the coup plotters did what no one has ever had the courage to do since then.

ChukwuEmeka00:
The January 1966 coup was a praise worthy revolution.

It didn't go as planned, but the coup plotters did what no one has ever had the courage to do since then.

Lifestone:
How could you keep justifying this coup that obviously set Nigeria into the path of many deaths. Justifying and praising the plotters who are majorly Igbos simply opens old wounds and again show how insensitive people like you can be went events that concerns others are.

confusedlady:
A one sided revolution where women,wives and children were targets?
The Sardauna could have been separated from his wife but no Revolutionary Nzeogwu had to murder the Sardauna and his wife in cold blood!
What of Ademulegun and his wife,slaughtered in their matrimonial bed while their children slept in the next room.
A revolution that slaughtered Maimalari,Pam,Largema,Shodeinde, Ademulegun and his wife,The Sardauna and his wife,Akintola, Tafawa Balewa,Okoti Eboh,even the Sardauna's driver Ahmed Pategi was not spared,even one of the mutineers Sergeant Oyegoke who refused to join the attack on the Sardauna's home was brutally murdered by Nzeogwu. What a revolution!
All hail the revolution that conveniently failed to account for Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nwafor Orizu,Michael Okpara, Aguiyi Ironsi and Odumegwu Ojukwu.
What a one sided IBO revolution.
And you did this and thought you would go scot free? You seriously murdered people in cold blood and you thought there would be NO CONSEQUENCES??

mrvitalis:
Is its not better we go our separate ways like the Balkans

It makes zero sense sharing a country with people u don't trust

First things first igbos had by far the majority of military officers then by far more than any other group mind you the British recruited all of them based on merit

So if military officers planned coup igbos would be the majority

Those who were killed died because the refused to surrender to the military officers

But that's too infancy let's blame the Igbo nation

SmartyPants:
So you had by far the greater number of officers but when the casualties among military officers were counted, other regions had by far the greater number of casualties.

You just proved his point.

SmartyPants:
So you had by far the greater number of officers but when the casualties among military officers were counted, other regions had by far the greater number of casualties.

You just proved his point.

Afonjananawerey:
After all this atrocities why do you still persist to share country with this people called Igbos?

mrvitalis:
Is its not better we go our separate ways like the Balkans

It makes zero sense sharing a country with people u don't trust

First things first igbos had by far the majority of military officers then by far more than any other group mind you the British recruited all of them based on merit

So if military officers planned coup igbos would be the majority

Those who were killed died because the refused to surrender to the military officers

But that's too infancy let's blame the Igbo nation

Lifestone:
How could you keep justifying this coup that obviously set Nigeria into the path of many deaths. Justifying and praising the plotters who are majorly Igbos simply opens old wounds and again show how insensitive people like you can be went events that concerns others are.

Afonjananawerey:
Why insist to share country with such evil people? funny set of people

confusedlady:
Why don't the Ibo governors, ministers,local government chairmen,councillors,state houses of assembly,senators,and representatives move a motion for an introduction of referendum clause or ammendments to the constitution?
The way Ned Nwoko is pursuing a new Anioma state ,why can't he pursue referendum clause /amendment to the constitution?

But you will NEVER do this because you want to have your cake and eat it!
You want Biafra but you also want Nigeria presidency. That is why you cry for Peter Obi as president and in the aftermath you shout for Biafra or death!

SmartyPants:
1. I don't see Igbos as evil. Those are your words and your own thought patterns.

2. I have no issues with anyone leaving Nigeria.

confusedlady:
A one sided revolution where women,wives and children were targets?
The Sardauna could have been separated from his wife but no Revolutionary Nzeogwu had to murder the Sardauna and his wife in cold blood!
What of Ademulegun and his wife,slaughtered in their matrimonial bed while their children slept in the next room.
A revolution that slaughtered Maimalari,Pam,Largema,Shodeinde, Ademulegun and his wife,The Sardauna and his wife,Akintola, Tafawa Balewa,Okoti Eboh,even the Sardauna's driver Ahmed Pategi was not spared,even one of the mutineers Sergeant Oyegoke who refused to join the attack on the Sardauna's home was brutally murdered by Nzeogwu. What a revolution!
All hail the revolution that conveniently failed to account for Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nwafor Orizu,Michael Okpara, Aguiyi Ironsi and Odumegwu Ojukwu.
What a one sided IBO revolution.
And you did this and thought you would go scot free? You seriously murdered people in cold blood and you thought there would be NO CONSEQUENCES??

confusedlady:
@The bolded,
This is a lie from the depths of hell. Brigadier Ademulegun and his wife Henrietta were slaughtered in their matrimonial bed while their children were sleeping in the adjourning bedroom.
This is 2024. We can't let you guys continue to get away with your lies and propaganda.

ChukwuEmeka00:
As a wise man once said, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Now, I'm misusing the quote but the point I want to make is this:

No matter how much of a good intention behind a revolutionary action, innocents will become casualties. It's bad, but it happens.

Those innocent women and children didn't deserve to die.

If you truly want to know what happened and how it happened, then go read the accounts of the coup plotters themselves.

I'm not justifying it, just asking you to try to understand it (even though it doesn't change anything).

If you also want to know why there were no casualties in the East, even though they covered the East in their plans, go read the accounts of the coup plotters.

It's bad to come to emotional conclusions on matters like this.

If you were a Judge, you would first ask the Police to Interrogate a suspect to find out the truth, and then bring eye witnesses to testify for/against a suspect.

It's called fair trial.

Calling it an Igbo coup is just lazy, ignorant, tribalistic and stupid.

confusedlady:
@The bolded,
This is a lie from the depths of hell. Brigadier Ademulegun and his wife Henrietta were slaughtered in their matrimonial bed while their children were sleeping in the adjourning bedroom.
This is 2024. We can't let you guys continue to get away with your lies and propaganda.

ChukwuEmeka00:
The January 1966 coup was a praise worthy revolution.

It didn't go as planned, but the coup plotters did what no one has ever had the courage to do since then.

mrvitalis:
Lmao bro ok igbos are bad can't be trusted why do you guys still want a country with Igbos... Is it not better to force them to get their own country like Malaysia did yo Singapore?

confusedlady:
So following this your skewed logic why are Ibos crying about the counter coup of July 1966. Why are so many lamenting the death of Ironsi? In fact let's take your ridiculous logic to a higher notch and ask why people are even complaining of the civil war where over 3 million Ibos lost their lives to aerial bombardment and starvation? Why complain about the Asaba massacre?

It can all be explained away in your skewed logic as casualties of war and collateral damage.. ..

ChukwuEmeka00:
You see the problem with all you ethnic bigots?

How did your statement prove that he's lying?

He never said that Ademulegun wasn't murdered with his family.

He said those killed were resisted arrest.
How Ademulegun and his wife,sleeping in their matrimonial bed constituted resisting arrest is what I didn't understand.
Maybe you can enlighten us,o learned one.


What did he say that is a lie?

confusedlady:
Why don't you tell your Governor, senators, and representatives to pass a motion for amendment to the constitution to include a clause for referendum?
They should pursue this with the same energy Ned Nwoko is using to pursue a new Anioma state. However you and I know this will never happen because you want to eat your cake and have it.
You want a Peter Obi presidency in Nigeria and you want a Nnamdi kanu premiership in Biafra.....😆 lol...

confusedlady:
So following this your skewed logic why are Ibos crying about the counter coup of July 1966. Why are so many lamenting the death of Ironsi? In fact let's take your ridiculous logic to a higher notch and ask why people are even complaining of the civil war where over 3 million Ibos lost their lives to aerial bombardment and starvation? Why complain about the Asaba massacre?

It can all be explained away in your skewed logic as casualties of war and collateral damage.. ..

ChukwuEmeka00:
Please, bring up your non-skewed logic and explain away the 1966 coup, the pogrom, the genocide and Asaba massacre without bringing ethnicity into it.

Prove to me that they were meant to advance the country and justify the casualties.

I'm waiting.

To assist you, please note that 22 people lost their lives to the January coup which targeted corrupt politicians and top military personnel.

The July 1966 ethnic coup and corresponding pogrom killed 30,000 Igbos, Ijaws, Efiks, Yorubas and several Eastern minorities.

The Asaba massacre killed 500 men and boys in front of their families in one day.

The genocide of 1966 killed 3 million Igbos, Efiks, Ibibio, and Ijaws.

Please, explain them away.

confusedlady:
Why don't you tell your Governor, senators, and representatives to pass a motion for amendment to the constitution to include a clause for referendum?
They should pursue this with the same energy Ned Nwoko is using to pursue a new Anioma state. However you and I know this will never happen because you want to eat your cake and have it.
You want a Peter Obi presidency in Nigeria and you want a Nnamdi kanu premiership in Biafra.....😆 lol...

gidgiddy:
The many joys of "one Nigeria", killing up on killings. All the lives that could have been saved had the British never brought us together

All the lives that will be saved in the future if Nigeria should break up today