₦airaland Forum

Racoon:
Ojukwu wants the military hierarchy of command to be ensured and followed but feudal power grabbing lords of those times won't any of that. He stood up to be counted.

gidgiddy:
Summary:

There was a coup in January 15th 1966. Some people rushed and tagged it 'Igbo coup'. The most senior officer of the time, General Ironsi, assumed power. Six months later, a far more bloody coup occured, Ironsi is killed. This time, nobody tags this coup a 'Northern coup'. Ojukwu insists that just like in the January 15th 1966 coup, the most senior officer of the time, Brigadier Ogundipe, should assume power. The coup plotters refuse and foist Gowon, who was junior to several officers, including Ojukwu

In the weeks and months that followes, there is mass killings of Easterners, mainly Igbos, all over Nigeria, particularly in the North. Millions of Igbos head back the East in fear of their lives. Ojukwu is furious at Gowon for doing nothing as thousands of Igbos are killed. Many Eastern groups approach Ojukwu and ask him to declare the Eastern Region a seperate country in the face of genocide. Ojukwu refuses and opts to meet Gowon

The Military President of Ghana, General Ankrah, hosts Gowon and Ojukwu in his Hilltop mansion in Aburi, Ghana. Ojukwu and Gowon negotiate for two days, reach an agreement, which both men signed in front of General Ankrah. One of the points of the agreement was that Gowon would not change the structural arrangement of Nigeria during the period of Military rule. When they return home, Gowon starts to deny the agreement, and completely breaks the agreement with Decree 14, which abolished all four Regions, and created 12 new states, changing the structural arrangement of Nigeria

In retaliation, Ojukwu declares the Eastern Region as Republic of Biafra. Gowon declares war

The rest is history

Racoon:
Ojukwu wants the military hierarchy of command to be ensured and followed but feudal power grabbing lords of those times won't any of that. He stood up to be counted.

hopedey:
The hatred all these Generals planted against IGBOS be uprooted before they die.

2027 let give the Igbos chance to be President. With IBB, OBJ,Gowon and others it can be possible.

DenreleDave:
our igbo brothers and sisters... no need to keep lying about it.. We know history and trying to change it b4 our eyes is not accepted. Ojukwu had no power to release a federal prisoner and more importantly, a yoruba man.. Ojukwu and azikwe if they had their way, they would even prefer to keee awolowo because he is the yoruba they hate so much and he denied azikwe gaining any power in the west...

So Ojukwu lied he released him while it was gowon that did it,,, we know this b4, ojukwu people just wana turn it around

Eriokanmi:
Gowon is one of the cowards, insincere and weakest military leaders ever known. OBJ made same revelation. It appears IBB no wan carry the truth commot as his time ticks, which was why he spilled the beans. The foundation of this nation really had issues but the successive generations could have corrected it, if not for ethnic bigotry. It all started from the north and later found its way to the south due to the perceived civil war massacre as witnessed by those who lived in that era. I had an igbo colleague in those days, who was well advanced in age. He's in his 60s now. He once narrated the unfortunate war to me as as experienced as a child and how he escaped those who captured him and wanted to send him to war to carry gun despite his age. I felt so emotional. My maternal uncle from ekiti also died in the civil war. He was my mum's immediate younger brother and the only son of my grandma.

Sadly, those generation of igbos to whom the story was narrated didn't manage the situation well. Rather than move on, they instigated rebellion against other tribes by accusing them of genocide and hate for the igbos. [/b]Yorubas and hausas also suffered severe casualties. All our forefathers were guilty and selfish. They caused the current wahala majorly. I've read several books on the civil war and the last I read was the [b]Why We Struck. The intention of the war was to release Pa Awo and fast track the transition into civil rule by handing over power to him but baba made a you-turn by hobnobbing with gowon and giving them harsh tactics against the igbos, which included cutting off food supplies to them. Gowon also made his promise to him. Till his death, Pa Awo never ruled Nigeria.

I can never be a tribalist except I don't want this country to move forward. Pa Awo was to be killed alongside others but was released . The briefing containing the future of Nigeria was handed over to him but he went to Gowon's camp instead and the war rather raged on and took another turn. The Aburi Accord was also jettisoned, despite Gowon's promise to keep it. All our leaders still alive must apologise to all of us for ruining this great union called Nigeria and rendering this generation refugees at home and homeless abroad, struggling for survival.

The primordial problem is still evident today and that's why any tribe that produces president will populate his government with his tribes people. Naso e be from foundation. That's why I won't blame Tinubu wholly on what's happening in government today on his choice of political appointees. I only blame him for not being a true democrat by following his predecessors character. He should have acted differently because these were the perceived injustices he fought for, as a political activist back in the days.

Who knows, whenever it gets to the igbo's turn, they'd fill the government with their people too, time will tell. I think if we truly split and bear our father's names, it's better for us all else, the trend will only continue except our generation is proven wrong by whoever succeeds tinubu. Only obj ruled fairly in Nigeria, both as military and as civilian. I remember when some of our elders accused him of not being fair to yorubas and he said he's not yoruba president but Nigeria's president.

FreeStuffsNG:
IBB has written his own denial but we owe posterity to keep the facts for posterity.


Igbo leaders were spared , no single Igbo leader was touched and the primary beneficiary of these murders was Late Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, also a Nigerian of Igbo extraction.
This is no coincidence.

These are the proofs that made people regard the coup as Igbo coup. You can't spin and revise the history. Apologize to the Non- Igbo Nigerians you murdered their leaders violently in the unfortunate coup.

No fair-minded Igbo will be happy if it is the other way. If you are Igbo, just put yourself in the place of Non-Igbo Nigerians whose leaders were violently murdered in their prime by these Igbo military officers. Awful, right?

IBB wrote:

"It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight.

DenreleDave:
our igbo brothers and sisters... no need to keep lying about it.. We know history and trying to change it b4 our eyes is not accepted. Ojukwu had no power to release a federal prisoner and more importantly, a yoruba man.. Ojukwu and azikwe if they had their way, they would even prefer to keee awolowo because he is the yoruba they hate so much and he denied azikwe gaining any power in the west...

They said it was not an igbo coup, they killed other tribes and left their own alive. They later lied dt it was to free Awolowo, they knew awo is dead and cant defend this lie against him...

We have 3 region, a region organized it people and killed thier leaders and still had the impetus to lie that it was to save one of the victim region leader. What impetus!!!!!!

Aftter the coup, an igbo man became the head of state and even promoted the coup plotters. yet they say it was not an ethnic thing.

The war was not needed but our brothers should learn to accept their wrong and move on..


Ojukwu killed many innocent Niger delta and edo people but these people are not crying.. they moved on....

So Ojukwu lied he released him while it was gowon that did it,,, we know this b4, ojukwu people just wana turn it around

Counterigbolies:
y did Igbos kill all other tribe leaders n leave theirs?

saintkel:
hatred but u didnt see d part Ojukwu wanted another Yoruba man lead

IyfeNamikaze:
Tribalism is a severe sickness, you claim Igbo hates Yoruba too much yet Ojukwu stood up for Brig. Ogundipe as the next in line to be the head of state and rejected Gowon.

And please where did Ojukwu say that he released Awọ?

Tranquillity360:
Senseless question.

Mitsurugi:
You are a slave to indoctrination. Hate can only make you see what you term as the truth.

IyfeNamikaze:
Tribalism is a severe sickness, you claim Igbo hates Yoruba too much yet Ojukwu stood up for Brig. Ogundipe as the next in line to be the head of state and rejected Gowon.

And please where did Ojukwu say that he released Awọ?

DenreleDave:
WETIN CONCERN OJUKWU... WHO SENT HIM?

HE SHOULD HAVE MAINTAINED THE EASTERN REGION INSTEAD OF PROCEEDING TO LAGOS

lezan:
I think going forward as a nation, we should start preaching love and let's see ourselves as one indivisible family. Enough of dwelling on the past

36STATES:
Awolowo was in prison in Calabar in Eastern Nigeria and Ojukwu was in charge of Eastern Nigeria at the time and FGN was not in control of anything in that region.
He could have refused to release him but he chose to release him, hoping that would endear him to the Yorubas after the several massacres of Igbos in the North and other places.

Christlike01:
According to IBB, Ojukwu insisted that in the absence of Aguiyi-Ironsi, Brig Babafemi Ogundipe, who at that time was the most senior army officer, should be the head of state. This heightened the tension in the land.........

The real problem of a typical Igbo person is insensitivity. Igbo people are always led by emotion rather than logic and sound,critical thinking! Ojukwu was stupid to have reasoned this way!

A very bloody coup,which killed the most referred spiritual figure of the Islamic north - Ahmadu Bello - was led and carried out by officers and soldiers of southern extraction and yet,Mr Ojukwu insisted that another Southerner,though the most senior,should take over the mantle of leadership of the country in such tensed atmosphere! No wonder,the dearth of intelligent people in Alaigbo still persists even till today! Was it not the same insensitivity and stupidity of the highest order which made the wives of the Igbo army officers to be taunting their northern officers' wives counterparts with the killings of Ahmadu Bello and others?!

Apart from the fact that Ironsi failed to prosecute the coup plotters,the majority of whom were his Igbo brothers,his government and his own life were brutally terminated primarily because he was a Southerner! The coup of Jan 15,1966 had already caused a serious mistrust not among the various ethnic nationalities in the country alone,but also among the officers of the armed forces! So, there was no way an officer of southern extraction could have successfully managed such a dicey situation - northern officers would not cooperate with him. That was exactly what happened when junior officers and soldiers refused to take order from their very senior Igbo officers - in Abeokuta and elsewhere!

General IBB did not exactly exonerate the Ndigbo as far as the bloody coup of Jan 15,1966 is concerned,below are his exact words as recorded in his recently launched book:

"It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight. From that moment the putsch was infiltrated by "outsiders" to its supposed original intention and it took on an unmistakable ethnic coloration compounded by the fact that there were no related coup activities in the Eastern Region"- President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, 'A Journey In Service: An Autobiography', February 2025.

DenreleDave:
OUR BROTHERS ARE NOW DENYING. SO UNA DON LIE SAY NO BE OJUKWU RELEASE AWO AGAINI? CHAI CRY BABIES. UNA WON CHANGE WETIN UNA DEY TALK

OJUKWU WANTED POWER BADLY BUT WAS USING YORUBA TO COVER UP FOR HIS GREED.. DEEP IN HIM, HE NEVER EVEN WANTED IT.

SHOW ME LAST YEAR ELECTION RESULT BY REGION AND LETS SEE THE MEANING OF TRIBALISM IN IGBO LANGUAGE

FreeStuffsNG:
IBB has written his own denial but we owe posterity to keep the facts for posterity.


Igbo leaders were spared , no single Igbo leader was touched and the primary beneficiary of these murders was Late Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, also a Nigerian of Igbo extraction.
This is no coincidence.

These are the proofs that made people regard the coup as Igbo coup. You can't spin and revise the history. Apologize to the Non- Igbo Nigerians you murdered their leaders violently in the unfortunate coup.

No fair-minded Igbo will be happy if it is the other way. If you are Igbo, just put yourself in the place of Non-Igbo Nigerians whose leaders were violently murdered in their prime by these Igbo military officers. Awful, right?

IBB wrote:

"It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight.

stuffs2002:
IIGB0S too dey lie.

Gowon joined the army one year before Ojukwu yet you claimed Gowon is junior to Ojukwu

Katakata10:
That 3M suyalization no be small thing but how come they claimed they were starved to death when surplus suya was available for cannïbal*sm?

Where were those bodies buried? Inside pot of course

That’s what you get when you think you are smart but those animals are still not ready to learn.

They still Iove to be starved to death the second time.

Only animals do not learn from their mistakes

SporaD8:
You can't reason with people that have the emotions of babies.
Had Ironsi rejected the offer of taking over like ogundipe, would the Coup be tag an Ibo coup?
Would the 3regions have reason for a unitary government?
The injustice Ibo people are complaining of today was laid in the foundation of the country when Azikiwe like Ironsi continually fail to respect the diversity of a multiethnic country. Their tribe were made to, and are still paying dearly for that error in judgement.
Unfortunately, they never learn!

FreeStuffsNG:
IBB has written his own denial but we owe posterity to keep the facts for posterity.


Igbo leaders were spared , no single Igbo leader was touched and the primary beneficiary of these murders was Late Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, also a Nigerian of Igbo extraction.
This is no coincidence.

These are the proofs that made people regard the coup as Igbo coup. You can't spin and revise the history. Apologize to the Non- Igbo Nigerians you murdered their leaders violently in the unfortunate coup.

No fair-minded Igbo will be happy if it is the other way. If you are Igbo, just put yourself in the place of Non-Igbo Nigerians whose leaders were violently murdered in their prime by these Igbo military officers. Awful, right?

IBB wrote:

"It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight.

IyfeNamikaze:
. Are you daft or lack the ability to read and comprehend?

Ojukwu never claimed to be responsible for the release of Awo, you say that the attributed the release of Awo to himself and I asked you to produce evidence that he did say that.

Apparently you can't produce the evidence that Ojukwu said that which rats you out as a tribalistic propagandist.

Racoon:
Even Wole Soyinka and some radicals @ UniLag defended these putschists that they wrote a letter of appeal to General Gowon on their behalf.

The toga of the Igbo coup was simply because that coup failed. Meanwhile let Wole Soyinka say his mind now too, though a coup is still an illegality.

Eriokanmi:
Gowon is one of the cowards, insincere and weakest military leaders ever known. OBJ made same revelation. It appears IBB no wan carry the truth commot as his time ticks, which was why he spilled the beans. The foundation of this nation really had issues but the successive generations could have corrected it, if not for ethnic bigotry. It all started from the north and later found its way to the south due to the perceived civil war massacre as witnessed by those who lived in that era. I had an igbo colleague in those days, who was well advanced in age. He's in his 60s now. He once narrated the unfortunate war to me as as experienced as a child and how he escaped those who captured him and wanted to send him to war to carry gun despite his age. I felt so emotional. My maternal uncle from ekiti also died in the civil war. He was my mum's immediate younger brother and the only son of my grandma.

Sadly, those generation of igbos to whom the story was narrated didn't manage the situation well. Rather than move on, they instigated rebellion against other tribes by accusing them of genocide and hate for the igbos. Yorubas and hausas also suffered severe casualties. All our forefathers were guilty and selfish. They caused the current wahala majorly. I've read several books on the civil war and the last I read was the Why We Struck. The intention of the war was to release Pa Awo and fast track the transition into civil rule by handing over power to him but baba made a you-turn by hobnobbing with gowon and giving them harsh tactics against the igbos, which included cutting off food supplies to them. Gowon also made his promise to him. Till his death, Pa Awo never ruled Nigeria.

I can never be a tribalist except I don't want this country to move forward. Pa Awo was to be killed alongside others but was released . The briefing containing the future of Nigeria was handed over to him but he went to Gowon's camp instead and the war rather raged on and took another turn. The Aburi Accord was also jettisoned, despite Gowon's promise to keep it. All our leaders still alive must apologise to all of us for ruining this great union called Nigeria and rendering this generation refugees at home and homeless abroad, struggling for survival.

The primordial problem is still evident today and that's why any tribe that produces president will populate his government with his tribes people. Naso e be from foundation. That's why I won't blame Tinubu wholly on what's happening in government today on his choice of political appointees. I only blame him for not being a true democrat by following his predecessors character. He should have acted differently because these were the perceived injustices he fought for, as a political activist back in the days.

Who knows, whenever it gets to the igbo's turn, they'd fill the government with their people too, time will tell. I think if we truly split and bear our father's names, it's better for us all else, the trend will only continue except our generation is proven wrong by whoever succeeds tinubu. Only obj ruled fairly in Nigeria, both as military and as civilian. I remember when some of our elders accused him of not being fair to yorubas and he said he's not yoruba president but Nigeria's president.