₦airaland Forum

Yujin:
He wasn't the first commissioned Officer in Nigeria. Fred Ugbomah actually was but he left after been commissioned and the number WA1 went to Wellington Umoh Bassey.

Christistruth00:
Ugbomah was from Uzobulu he retired from the Army and became a Physical Education Teacher around 1949
after Wellington Bassey became number WA1


To be honest with you during the First World War Hausa Soldiers served as field Officers
and one won an Award as a battlefield officer I will try to find his name and Biography again
It was astonishing

Yujin:
Have finally accepted the Ugbomah was the first CO of the Nigerian army? If yes, that's good.
I understand your plight. Anyone but an Igbo man is accepted in that position by you. I get it but history has no feelings. It is what it is.
Anyone who knows history very will know that people from Nigeria have joined the British Army even before the name Nigeria was formed. Hausa soldiers made up part of the British that was involved in the 1897 Benin punitive expedition. Some of them took part in the WW1 army of the British Empire. Most of such men were disbanded after a mission when it's clear they're not needed.
The name RWAFF was a latter name different from the initial name called the West African Field Force. It was reorganized and renamed in the late 1920s. Some Yoruba soldiers fought in WW2 in East Africa.
The bone of contention here is indigenous commissioned Officers of a standard army. This is when Ugbomah and Bassey became pioneers.
I challenge you to provide names of any INDIGENUOS COMMISSIONED OFFICER from Nigeria before Ugbomah.

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

Christistruth00:
Gen Ironsi failed the Course but was only passed based on indigenous officer quota


Wellington Bassey commanded the First Battalion Kaduna

Only first class officers Command it!!



You are giving out fake news just to slander Bassey

Bassey was 7 years older than Ironsi


Wellington Bassey was not Ironsi’s mate Professionally
He was an officer in the Second World War!!!

Yujin:
Hahahahaha. It's not sufficient to provide conjectures online in this age. Provide proofs for all your allegations. For example, show that
1. Ironsi failed the specific course necessary for him to be promoted to a Lt.Col position but was still promoted under the British commanders in the 60s. As we all know, he got all his promotions under them.
2. Provide proof that the age gap between Bassey and Ironsi was just 7yrs as against my 16years claim.
3. Provide proof that he was an officer(commissioned) during WW2 and state his rank at time (1939 - 1945).
It's time to prove not just conjectures from a debased soul. If you fail to do so, shame on you.

Christistruth00:
Wellington Bassey joined the Army in 1935 at 18
Ironsi joined the Army in 1942 also at 18

Wellington Bassey was 7 years older than Ironsi

It is your innate desire to be always destroy the leaders of others that is making you slander and pull
down Bassey

Christistruth02:
When the British were still in Nigeria Wellington Bassey was the highest ranking Officer and it was Wellington Bassey that the British had been preparing to Head the Nigerian Army as the most senior officer


As soon as the British got back o the boat to England in 1960 Azikiwe went to work trying to break Wellington Bassey and destroy his Army Career

They now arranged for him to be sent to manage Zaria depot a post that was far beneath his position and left him there until after the Jan1966 Coup while ironsi was taking all the posting and training that was supposed to be for wellington Bassey


Now after the Coup and after Ojukwu turned his back on Azikiwe after being appointed Gov of the Eastern Region, Azikiwe now started complaining to Ironsi that Wellington Bassey was supposed to have been appointed as the Premier of the East and not Ojukwu who was more than 10 years Wellington Bassey's Junior in the Army Officer Corps

Christistruth02:
Inferiority Complex

It was your people working very hard to discredit Wellington Bassey

We had already mentioned Ironsi many times and we gave you information about Ugboma you didn't mention

We never said Wellington Bassey was the first commissioned Officer.
We said he was Ironsi and Ojukwu's Senior officer by far but he was greatly disrespected by both of them

For example look how you they to label him uneducated yet he finished Secondary school before joining the Army
which ironically Ironsi didn't


Then they tried to label Bassey incompetent which he wasn't

Then they tried to label him as Old when he was only 7 years older than Ironsi

Yujin:
Inferiority Complex is very well applicable to you because you can't stomach the truth that an Igbo man was the first to be commissioned. Unfortunately, history is emotionless. It deals only with facts. Whatever information you provided about Ugbomah was irrelevant to our discussion since it has been established that he was the first.

Ironsi was Bassey's contemporary with both commissioned in the same year, 1949 as Second Lieutenants. Bassey was however ahead of him with just two months. Who's fault was it to commission both men the same year even though Bassey joined long before him? Nnamdi Azikiwe's?
Going further, Ironsi found more favour than Bassey in the 50s as he was selected to be Queen Elizabeth's Equerry(PA) when she visited Nigeria in 1956. He was eventually awarded a British honour of MVO. I've not been able to track exactly what Bassey was doing at this time but I suspect he was used as training instructor in the Nigerian Military School, Zaria which was formed in 1952. Ironsi was to spend most of his time outside Nigeria on different courses while Bassey was in Nigeria.
In the late 1950s, there was an uprising the Cameroon region of Eastern Nigeria. Ironsi alongside other soldiers were sent there. Ironsi was to handle the position of a 2IC. Bassey wasn't sent there. Was it also Nnamdi Azikiwe doing his thing against Bassey?
In 1960, both officers had the same rank of Lt.Col but Ironsi was selected to lead the Nigerian contingent of the UN Peace Keeping Force to Congo. He was already made the Commander of the Brigade stationed in Kaduna. Two officers led the Nigerian troops namely Lt.Col Ironsi and Lt. Col Rolo Price. Ironsi went on to perform well in Congo and even won the award for gallantry from the Austrian government. However, there was a breakdown in order among his troops when one of his Nigerian soldiers died in battle. He and his troops were withdrawn back to Nigeria and Lt.Col Ademulegun and his own troops were sent as replacement. The command was now handed over to a British commander called Lt.Col Morgan.
Again, Bassey wasn't selected to lead any troop to Congo. Ironsi was posted to London as a Military Adviser in second part of1961 were he studied in the Imperial Defence College and was promoted to a Brigadier. Bassey between 1960-62 was appointed to Command the Federal Guards Company and retained the same rank of Lt.Col.
When Ironsi returned, he was sent back to Congo in Jan. 1964 to become the overall Commander of the entire UN Peace Keeping Force with a strength of nearly 20,000 men. To handle that position, was given another promotion to become a Major General. This rank is equivalent to what the British GOC of the Nigerian Army had at the time. He however shed the rank and reverted back to a Brigadier when he returned to Nigeria in mid 1964. He only assumed a full/proper Major General when he was selected as the GOC of the Nigerian Army when the British soldiers left in 1965. Ironsi was however murdered a year later in 1966. So tell me how Azikiwe was the reason for Bassey not being promoted from 1961 to 1966. Tell me also how Ironsi disrespected Bassey?
I told you I'll destroy all your lies.
As for Ojukwu, he was the Commander of the 5th Battalion in Kano when the Jan. 1966 coup happened. He arrested all those in Kano that were part of the coup and locked them up thus helping to defeat the first coup. That was very brave and tactical that Ironsi couldn't ignore. You do know that there were other Igbo officers like Njoku and Madiebo that were senior to Ojukwu in the army. So not appointing Bassey or Kurubo can't be seen in badlight when you know these informations. Was it Ojukwu’s fault that he was selected by his superior ahead of others?
Here are some key points to note when discussing Bassey. No one mentioned him in both the Jan. and July coups. It was as if he never existed. No one attempted to harm him because he was an outlier in the army he instructed and trained many. Could his age, personality and laid back/less adventurous lifestyle be the reason? Ironsi won a medal of gallantry and got two British honours but Bassey had none for the over 30years he served in the army. Was it also Ironsi's fault? Lastly, it was Ironsi who promoted him to an 'acting Brigadier' and sent to Kaduna to command the 1st Birigade after Ademulegun who held that position was killed in the Jan. coup. You still had the temerity to accuse and insult Ironsi. Let others be the judge for themselves.

Yujin:
Inferiority Complex is very well applicable to you because you can't stomach the truth that an Igbo man was the first to be commissioned. Unfortunately, history is emotionless. It deals only with facts. Whatever information you provided about Ugbomah was irrelevant to our discussion since it has been established that he was the first.

Ironsi was Bassey's contemporary with both commissioned in the same year, 1949 as Second Lieutenants. Bassey was however ahead of him with just two months. Who's fault was it to commission both men the same year even though Bassey joined long before him? Nnamdi Azikiwe's?
Going further, Ironsi found more favour than Bassey in the 50s as he was selected to be Queen Elizabeth's Equerry(PA) when she visited Nigeria in 1956. He was eventually awarded a British honour of MVO. I've not been able to track exactly what Bassey was doing at this time but I suspect he was used as training instructor in the Nigerian Military School, Zaria which was formed in 1952. Ironsi was to spend most of his time outside Nigeria on different courses while Bassey was in Nigeria.
In the late 1950s, there was an uprising the Cameroon region of Eastern Nigeria. Ironsi alongside other soldiers were sent there. Ironsi was to handle the position of a 2IC. Bassey wasn't sent there. Was it also Nnamdi Azikiwe doing his thing against Bassey?
In 1960, both officers had the same rank of Lt.Col but Ironsi was selected to lead the Nigerian contingent of the UN Peace Keeping Force to Congo. He was already made the Commander of the Brigade stationed in Kaduna. Two officers led the Nigerian troops namely Lt.Col Ironsi and Lt. Col Rolo Price. Ironsi went on to perform well in Congo and even won the award for gallantry from the Austrian government. However, there was a breakdown in order among his troops when one of his Nigerian soldiers died in battle. He and his troops were withdrawn back to Nigeria and Lt.Col Ademulegun and his own troops were sent as replacement. The command was now handed over to a British commander called Lt.Col Morgan.
Again, Bassey wasn't selected to lead any troop to Congo. Ironsi was posted to London as a Military Adviser in second part of1961 were he studied in the Imperial Defence College and was promoted to a Brigadier. Bassey between 1960-62 was appointed to Command the Federal Guards Company and retained the same rank of Lt.Col.
When Ironsi returned, he was sent back to Congo in Jan. 1964 to become the overall Commander of the entire UN Peace Keeping Force with a strength of nearly 20,000 men. To handle that position, was given another promotion to become a Major General. This rank is equivalent to what the British GOC of the Nigerian Army had at the time. He however shed the rank and reverted back to a Brigadier when he returned to Nigeria in mid 1964. He only assumed a full/proper Major General when he was selected as the GOC of the Nigerian Army when the British soldiers left in 1965. Ironsi was however murdered a year later in 1966. So tell me how Azikiwe was the reason for Bassey not being promoted from 1961 to 1966. Tell me also how Ironsi disrespected Bassey?
I told you I'll destroy all your lies.
As for Ojukwu, he was the Commander of the 5th Battalion in Kano when the Jan. 1966 coup happened. He arrested all those in Kano that were part of the coup and locked them up thus helping to defeat the first coup. That was very brave and tactical that Ironsi couldn't ignore. You do know that there were other Igbo officers like Njoku and Madiebo that were senior to Ojukwu in the army. So not appointing Bassey or Kurubo can't be seen in badlight when you know these informations. Was it Ojukwu’s fault that he was selected by his superior ahead of others?
Here are some key points to note when discussing Bassey. No one mentioned him in both the Jan. and July coups. It was as if he never existed. No one attempted to harm him because he was an outlier in the army he instructed and trained many. Could his age, personality and laid back/less adventurous lifestyle be the reason? Ironsi won a medal of gallantry and got two British honours but Bassey had none for the over 30years he served in the army. Was it also Ironsi's fault? Lastly, it was Ironsi who promoted him to an 'acting Brigadier' and sent to Kaduna to command the 1st Birigade after Ademulegun who held that position was killed in the Jan. coup. You still had the temerity to accuse and insult Ironsi. Let others be the judge for themselves.

gidgiddy:
This guy keeps raising this stupid thread and not asking himself simple questions. Why did Bassey's juniors overtake him? Why is it that by 1965, Ironsi, Ademulegun, Ogundipe, Maimalari and Shodeinde were already Brigadiers, but Bassey was still a Colonel even though he was senior to all of them?

In the military, if you do not upgrade, do the necessary courses and show capacity, your juniors who show more capacity and ambition will overtake you. Bassey simply had no capacity, he was just an ageing NCO who was sent on 3 months officers course abroad, in a trial program,
and made an officer. You cant even compare him with likes of Maimalari who went to the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy, England for years. He was no battle field commander, and if not for shortage of Military officers at the time, would have been retired after independence

Christistruth02:
Don't you find it annoying how Wellington Duke Umoh bassey Of Calabar And his Army Career were almost destroyed to make way for his junior Officer Gen Ironsi to Emerge as the Head of Army

azikiwe was supposed to have been fighting for all of bassey's delayed Promotions since bassey was from Calabar in azikiwe's Eastern Region
To add insult to injury they tried to eliminate bassey during the Jan 1966 Coup

Ironsi Got to Power again only to make Ojukwu who was 11 years Basseys Junior Officer the Governor of the Eastern Region

But to be honest azikiwe complained to Ironsi about that one




Below are excerpts From Azikiwe's publication "Origins of the Cjvil War".

Just look at what azikiwe wrote in his book
" Origins of the Nigerian Civil War " on pages 1 and 2 admitting that Gen Ironsi had played the tribalism Card on Wellington bassey to make Ojukwu who was 11 years his Junior Officer the Governor of the Eastern Region

Buccalcavity2:
Frankly, Zik was the foundational problem of Nigeria but pretended to be a nationalist. Igbo tribe became an accomplice by not calling out his errors. Clearly Bassey was sidelined. Btw 1960 and 1966, Igbos became majority officers in Armed forces, became majority senior civil servants (white paper report) and started asking (ojukwu) leading question about most potent BTW PM and president....
Power hungry and eventually shot themselves in the foot. Every effort to revise 1966 history is just stupid!
It is crazy that it is also thesame people claiming victims now. Even within "eastern region", others where oppressed. Haba!
I will never be but this is history statring us in the face!

FSBoperator:
It backfired on them.

And that's all that is important