₦airaland Forum

EmeritusMbaM:
Awolowo was in a federal prison, how can Ojukwu release a federal prisoner. If he released him, Gowon would have ordered for his arrest after landing in Lagos. Ask those liars to show you any pics of Awolowo and the pedophile ojuku when he was released. He released Banjo and the rest, reason they had to fight to biaxfra.

Ojukwu never recognized Gowon's powers over him or the East. Until Jan 1970, Gowon had no control over the entire East, and until Calabar fell under the FG forces,Gowon never had control of Calabar.

So, how can Gowon release Awolowo from Calabar prison, when he had no control of Calabar, taking cognizance of the fact that Ojukwu never recognized Gowon's power?

I am waiting.

gartamanta:
Agu-Iyi Ironsi could have returned to Lagos with the same Helicopter he came with but Fajuyi assured him of his safety and he stayed. No doubt that Fajuyi deserves commendation for standing by his Boss till the end. But the tragedy of Fajuyi's death is that it exposed the Yoruba nation as a people who suffer from a perennial fear of the North. A Yoruba man and Governor of the Western Region is kidnapped and slaughtered but Yorubas did nothing. To this day, not one Yoruba man has ever called out the Northerners for killing Fajuyi. General Danjuma who killed Fajuyi is still highly regarded by Yorubas. 20 years later, again the Northerners kidnapp and slaughter MKO in a repeat performance. What did the Yorubas do? Nothing just as in the case of Fajuyi. Yoruba subservience to the North is so bad that the Yorubas will actually attack anyone who stands up the North such as Ojukwu, FFK and even Fayose. A fine Yoruba Solidier like Fajuyi was killed but his death was drowned out because it was Notherners that did the killing. If it had been Igbos who killed Fajuyi, that's when the Yorubas would have known how to talk.

I guess the Yorubas used their sense, Fajuyi sacrificed himself to protect his host...d soldiers never came for him...what transpired at the point the killed him is not known to u and I. so face your ppls betrayal....

[s]

pazienza:
Ojukwu never recognized Gowon's powers over him or the East. Until Jan 1970, Gowon had no control over the entire East, and until Calabar fell under the FG forces,Gowon never had control of Calabar.

So, how can Gowon release Awolowo from Calabar prison, when he had no control of Calabar, taking cognizance of the fact that Ojukwu never recognized Gowon's power?

I am waiting.

[/s]

F.ucking liar, Why was he not rearrested in Lagos. Why is there no pics of the pedophile and Awolowo when he was released. I cant waste my precious time on a devilish liar, you are disgusting.

otitokoroleti:
Almajiris are not loyal, no matter how much you care about them

gerrout!! Do u care about dem wen u killed dier prominent figures? One of d reason i lyk hausas, u might luk down on dem but dey dnt tolerate nonsense.

"Let me say we appreciate the Afenifere, the former Lagos Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, they tried. The house my brother built in Ado was old; they demolished it and built another one for us".Like him or hate him,Tinubu has done his bit.

Princehojay:
The counter-coup of 1966 led by Northern officers was a reaction to the January putsch which was staged by mostly Igbo officers. Northern soldiers were not happy with the murder of their revered leader and Northern Nigeria premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa. They also did not like the killings of four most senior soldiers, Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colonel Kur Mohammed, Lt-Col Abogo Largema and James Pam, which they saw as ethnic cleansing.

The coup which was led by the late Lt-Col. Murtala Muhammed (who later became head of state) and many northern military officers, started like a mutiny at midnight on July 28, 1966 and it resulted in the murder of Nigeria’s first military Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi, who was visiting the Western Region. He was killed along with his host, Lt-Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, the then military governor of the region.

After addressing an assembly of traditional rulers on July 28, Ironsi decided to spend the night in the Ibadan State House with members of his entourage. But his captors seized the opportunity to circle the official quarters to take him and when the plea to spare him by Fajuyi, his host, failed, the governor insisted that both of them should be taken instead.

In this interview with KAMARUDEEN OGUNDELE, the younger sister to late Lt.-Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, Mrs. Remi Ajayi, who was with him on the day of the coup, shares her memory

Where were you on the night that Colonel Fajuyi was killed?

I was with him on the night of the incident. I was with him throughout the six months he was in the Government House in Ibadan as governor. That night, there was a cocktail party for all the Obas (monarchs) who came to Ibadan for a meeting and the Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi, was in attendance. I was watching them from where I was upstairs. After the meeting, everybody departed. Around 4am, I heard gunshots. It was strange to me because I had not heard gunshots before. I just closed my ears and went back to sleep. When I woke up, I went to the kitchen to greet the staff and to collect my meal. Then the staff asked if I heard gunshots. Then I remembered the noise I heard in my sleep, so I said oh! that was a gunshot. I quickly ran into my brother’s room because I thought he had been killed. On getting to his room, I saw him sitting quietly on a chair; that was unlike him. Nevertheless, I was very happy to see him. I rushed towards him and said to him, ‘Brother, I’m happy to see you, I heard there were gunshots in the night. I was afraid something bad had happened to you.’ Then he asked me,
‘Why are you walking about in the house? Aren’t you going to work today?’ I said to him, ‘ I am not going to work. I don’t know what is going on.

What is happening to you?’ Then he said to me, ‘Okay, if you are not going to work, then don’t roam about the house. Go and stay in your room.’
Then, I left him, but I didn’t go to my room. I was worried because of the way he looked. I saw him and Ironsi, they went to his office to make a call in pyjamas. As they were coming, I dodged. After that, I heard Ironsi saying to him (Fajuyi) that, ‘Francis, but you told me I was safe in your territory yesterday.’ Then he replied, ‘Yes, I thought you were safe. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t hear anything. But don’t worry, the two of us will stay together. Go and dress up and I will dress up. Anything that will happen will happen to the two of us.’ Ironsi then went into his room and my brother went to his room too. Before long, they dressed up and they were in the sitting room downstairs in their military uniform. My brother was there before Ironsi and he was pacing up and down in the room. Then Ironsi came down. Meanwhile soldiers were coming in through the main door. Before they saw the Head of State, they told my brother, ‘Give us Ironsi, we want Ironsi. Give us Ironsi, we want Ironsi.’ Then my brother said to them, ‘No, you cannot take him, he is my guest. Why didn’t you take him in Lagos or elsewhere? You cannot take him here. If you are taking him, then you are taking me along.’ At that time, Ironsi was already coming down. The soldiers then went to him and picked him up.

That was how the two of them were taken away from the Government House. The soldiers seized the police vehicle that came to drop those on morning shift and took the two of them in it. That was how it happened. I wanted to go to the house of the Secretary to the Government, Pa Odumosu, in company with my elder brother, Sunday, who arrived the previous night to collect money for his farms. As the two of us were going towards the gate, soldiers sprang up from the bush using their guns to direct us and shouting, ‘go back, go back.’ We were terrified. Soldiers were on top of trees, hiding in the ground, they were everywhere.

Do you remember the person that led the coupists?

I don’t know. But I remember that when my brother heard the gunshots, he sent messages to the guard house and the aid de camp, but they were all not there. They were all Hausa because my brother loved working with the Hausa, including the driver.

Could that mean they were aware of the coup?

Yes, I think they were aware and they did not tell him.

Does that mean he was betrayed?

I should think so because, why didn’t they tell him when they got information about the coup?

What was the altercation between your brother and the coupists when they wanted to take him and Ironsi away?

He insisted the soldiers must take him along with Ironsi.

What was the relationship between the two of them?

I would say it was cordial because Ironsi came that night in a helicopter, he could have gone back to Lagos in a helicopter. But my brother assured him he was safe.

How was the relationship between you and your brother?

We were very close. He loved me so much! I was the only one living with him in the Government House. No wives, no children. The children were in school. He was very kind to me. He was very honest to a fault and loved people who are very honest. He was very honourable and didn’t abuse his office. I remember a time his immediate elder sister visited us in the Government House. She decided to register a company so that she would be getting contracts from the government. The private secretary to my brother helped her to get that done. After she registered the company, she wanted to leave and return later to lobby for contracts. That fateful afternoon, she sat in the sitting room upstairs and showed me the certificate of registration. I congratulated her but warned her not to let my brother know about it. She asked me why. She insisted on showing him. When the governor returned later that day, they exchanged pleasantries and he sat with us. My sister went ahead to show him the certificate of registration thinking the governor would approve of it. To her surprise, my brother’s mood changed. He asked, ‘What is this? Is this why you came from Ado Ekiti to this place? Do you want to soil my name? The thing we want to eradicate, you want me to have a hand in it? You will be going about getting contracts from the ministries? No way, you cannot do that!’ Then he tore the paper and went upstairs. My sister broke down in tears. She was very bitter. If he could do that to his immediate elder sister, then you will know he was an upright man. In another instance, the Head of Service and Secretary to the Government, Pa Odumosu said while bringing the remains of my brother home for burial, that he had never seen such honest man in his life. He recalled that some British men came to have a meeting with them because they wanted to site an industry in Ibadan. He said at a point, the British requested to see my brother privately, so he was asked to leave. They wanted to bribe him, he collected the money from them and sent them away. He then called Pa Odumosu in and narrated what happened to him. He told him that the people wanted to bribe him. He said he collected the money from them because it was part of our money. He then instructed him to pay the money into the government’s treasury. Pa Odumosu said he was so surprised because he didn’t know about the money. There are several instances.

Let’s talk about the first coup in 1966. What role did your brother play?

He didn’t play any role. It was in January of that year. He was here in Ado Ekiti spending his holiday when he got signals that he should report in barracks in Lagos. He immediately left for Lagos. As he told us, when he got to Lagos, it was late in the night, so he couldn’t go to the barracks. He decided to check in a hotel with his driver and orderly. In the morning, when his orderly went out to buy newspapers, he saw soldiers everywhere in Lagos. He quickly ran back to him to tell him of the development. He informed him that the military had taken over everywhere. My brother quickly got up and dressed up for the barracks. When he got to the barracks, he met Ironsi and other soldiers having a meeting. Then Ironsi said to him, ‘Oh Francis you are here. Come, come, come.’ That was when he joined them. That was where they appointed four military governors.

Does that mean the coup had taken place before he went to the barracks?

Yes, the coup took place in the night when he was still in the hotel.

In what way did his death affect the family?

It affected us so much. There was no help from anybody. For somebody to lay down his life for the nation and his family and children were completely forgotten like that; that was very bad. It affected me personally in a great way because it was 10 days to the time I was to travel to the United States for further studies. I had just gained admission into the university. I had already got my passport but I couldn’t go again. I just took some courses in Ibadan because he was the one who trained me through secondary school. My father only paid my fees in the first year in secondary school. When my brother came home on holiday and saw that I did very well in my examinations in Christ School, he was very happy. He gave me one pound to go and buy something for myself. He held me by the hand and took me to our father. He said, ‘Baba, thank you for training my sister.’ He prostrated for him. He said he was happy that our father even in his old age knew the value of education and could send me to a secondary school. He told our father that, henceforth, he would be responsible for my education. One of our sisters tried to stop him because we are not of the same mother. But he said, ‘No, it doesn’t matter. After all we are of the same father. She is brilliant. Whether we are of the same mother or not, we have the same blood.’ That was how he took me along with him.

How long did it take the family to get information about his death?

That day, they killed him with Ironsi. We heard that they took them to Mile 12 in Iwo road, Ibadan. They took them into the bush. When the news got to town that they had abducted Fajuyi and his whereabouts was not known, some farmers said they heard gunshots in the bush. The police launched investigation into the report. They then discovered the shallow grave where they buried him and Ironsi. They then took the bodies to the barracks.

Do you think he had the chance of survival if he had not insisted on going down with Ironsi?

Of course, they didn’t want to take him. They didn’t want to kill him because he was a friend of the Northerners. They loved him. I’m sure of that. Before that coup, the soldiers working with him warned him. They had wanted to stage the coup before that time. He begged them not to shed blood again. He appealed to them to stop the plot. He said in the first one that took place, many people lost their lives. He said it was enough. He asked them to convince their leaders not to do it. But that time, they didn’t tell him. Maybe they felt he would have dissuaded them from carrying it out. They might also have thought that, if he heard about it, he wouldn’t allow Ironsi to stay that night. He would have asked Ironsi to go back to Lagos and come the next morning for the next meeting.

What kind of husband and father was he?

He had three wives and they bore him children. He was a good father and husband. He loved his children very well. He wanted his children around him. His death left a huge vacuum in the family. He was the pillar of the family and everybody missed him.

How were you and the children able to continue with your education?

God made it possible. Their mothers struggled to give them education. In my own case, I went to civil service training school for secretarial studies. I trained as a secretary and started working as a secretary in the ministry. The wives were working. Two of them were traders while one was a teacher.

At what time was the Fajuyi Park created in his honour?

It was when he was buried here. The then Ewi of Ado gave this land for him to be buried here. That day, they immortalised him. The government then beautified the place. The then Military Governor, General Adeyinka Adebayo, who took over, beautified the place and successive governments from the old Ondo State had also done their own bit.

Did his family suffer from accommodation problem after his death?

He had houses so they were not homeless. There was no problem of such.

Is there anything you think the government should have done for the family?

They should have taken responsibility for his children’s education to the university level. Let me say we appreciate the Afenifere, the former Lagos Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, they tried. The house my brother built in Ado was old; they demolished it and built another one for us.

You were close to him, how was his childhood like and what fond memory of him do you have?

He was my senior with about 20 years. When he was 40 years, I was 20.

Whenever he came home on holiday, we used to enjoy with him a lot. He would bring old gramophone and everybody would gather round him and he would play. He was a very jovial person. It was very unlike him that morning when I saw him sitting quietly on the day of the coup. He used to talk to me as if we were mates. He was free with me. He would be chasing me about the Government House telling me he would knock my head. You can imagine a whole governor playing with his kid sister that way.

What would you say is your personal regret about his death?

I should have gone to America for studies, I know my life would have been better if he were alive. He would have improved my life.

How did your father receive the news of his death?

His sudden death eventually led to the death of our father. He was very sad. My brother was kind and generous to everybody. Our father never went out again after his death and he died shortly after.

Since he was the rallying point, after his death, how has the family fared?

We are one, we love one another and we care for one another.

Source:- http://punchng.com/july-1966-counter-coup-fajuyis-aides-knew-coup-betrayed-sister/

EmeritusMbaM:
Awolowo was in a federal prison, how can Ojukwu release a federal prisoner. If he released him, Gowon would have ordered for his arrest after landing in Lagos. Ask those liars to show you any pics of Awolowo and the pedophile ojuku when he was released. He released Banjo and the rest, reason they had to fight to biaxfra.

He released Banjo and d rest to fight for biafra that's true I also read in d comments that Ojukwu also released Awolowo just for him to make d Yoruba's support d igbos in d fight but he didnt do that. This is why igbos said Awolowo betrayed them that's why I said Ojukwu also wanted to use Awolowo wen he killed Banjo he also had bad plans for Awolowo

CONFAMA:
Guy you're a wicked liar. Can you swear with your life that you're not lying? and that it is fajuyis sister and Ironzis mum and sons versions of the occurrence that are lies?

Why swear for a truth that is starring at us all.

Ironsi widow and children are only being wise by looking out for their selfish interests. They know that the Yoruba-Northern alliance was built on the fabricated Fajuiyi matryr story, for without that, the Yorubas would come to ridicule for over looking the murder of the military governor in Yorubaland by Northerners without not only doing nothing about it, but jumping into bed with same Northerners.

The Fajuiyi. falsehood story is the glue that holds the Western propaganda of "Igbo coup", unglue the falsehood, and that Igbo coup story falls face flat.

Aguiyi widow intends to make a table for her self and her children in the one Nigeria national cake table, she wouldn't achieve this by rocking the boat.

Aguiyi Widow saw nada, she was only repeating nationally accepted version of the story, to say otherwise will not bode well for her aspirations.

hefelove:
He released Banjo and d rest to fight for biafra that's true I also read in d comments that Ojukwu also released Awolowo just for him to make d Yoruba's support d igbos in d fight but he didnt do that. This is why igbos said Awolowo betrayed them that's why I said Ojukwu also wanted to use Awolowo wen he killed Banjo he also had bad plans for Awolowo

He never released awolowo. Awolowo is not a kid that wont know the person that released him. Awolowo love his people and cant go to war anyhow, Ojuku fought an ego war and his a.ss whopped. He killed Banjo and other real fighters but the ediot ran away when it was his time to face real war. Very wicked animal

EmeritusMbaM:
[s][/s]

F.ucking liar, Why was he not rearrested in Lagos. Why is there no pics of the pedophile and Awolowo when he was released. I cant waste my precious time on a devilish liar, you are disgusting.

He was not re arrested in Lagos, because with Akintola gone, the North realized they needed another leader that Yorubas listens to, and that can align to the Northern agenda.

For some reason, Awo fitted into that description. He was a valuable asset, moreover the people that had personal beef with him ie Akintola, Balewa and Saraduna were gone, there was simply no point re arresting him. Desperate times, Desperate measures.

EmeritusMbaM:
[s][/s]

The devilish liar is not even ashamed. Imagine the liar insulting the widow just because he want to spread his lies. So you know better than Aguiyi Ironsi family. So Omogui is a liar but you only believe his Fajuyi story. You are a disgrace to sane and honest Iboes.

Omogui was only quoting Ademoyega's "Why we struck".
Yes, even the truth said by the devil remains the truth and vice versa.

Aguiyi Ironsi wife is a liar. I said it. Fajuiyi. was marked for execution, his ADC Lt col Nwankwo who was not watching from the widow, but rather present on ground, confirmed this.

The Coup plotters were arrested but they were not executed in line with military dictates. Aguyi Ironsi slacked at that and that made officers from the north to become suspicious of the whole arrangement and a counter coup was launched.

bakynes:
According to the Documentary i watched he was imprisoned for corruption, using State funds to fund his party the Action Group( AG) and not for treason. Why did you deliberately leave Azikiwe out of the mix of people who rendered him politically useless. It is well recorded Zik formes an alliance with the North to form the NCNC party. Guy try lie small small and to gullible folks not me.

Awo was imprisoned for financial misappropriation charges and for "treasonable felony".

Don't expect me to spoon feed you on this.

pazienza:
Why swear for a truth that is starring at us all.

Ironsi widow and children are only being wise by looking out for their selfish interests. They know that the Yoruba-Northern alliance was built on the fabricated Fajuiyi matryr story, for without that, the Yorubas would come to ridicule for over looking the murder of the military governor in Yorubaland by Northerners without not only doing nothing about it, but jumping into bed with same Northerners.

The Fajuiyi. falsehood story is the glue that holds the Western propaganda of "Igbo coup", unglue the falsehood, and that Igbo coup story falls face flat.

Aguiyi widow intends to make a table for her self and her children in the one Nigeria national cake table, she wouldn't achieve this by rocking the boat.

Aguiyi Widow saw nada, she was only repeating nationally accepted version of the story, to say otherwise will not bode well for her aspirations.

You are so despicably evil. Look at you disparaging the image of your hero Ironzis wife and son just to sell a lie.

You need to be ashamed of yourself...

kenel:
The Coup plotters were arrested but they were not executed in line with military dictates. Aguyi Ironsi slacked at that and that made officers from the north to become suspicious of the whole arrangement and a counter coup was launched.

Fajuiyi kept pleading with Ironsi to "free the boys", he was their mentor and supported their coup.

The northern mutineers was angry that Fajuyi not only supported the "boys" he was also preventing the North from getting the justice they felt they deserved by shielding "boys" from prosecution.

For the above sins, Fajuyi ranked very high in the Northern counter coup plotters Execution list.

This the fact and the truth and no amount of continuous propaganda from Yorubas will erase it.

CONFAMA:
You are so despicably evil. Look at you disparaging the image of your hero Ironzis wife and son just to sell a lie.

You need to be ashamed of yourself...

Sorry to disappoint you. We don't play hero worship in Igboland, and even if we did, Ironsi is far from being a Hero. His naivety cost Ndiigbo so much in blood. We will not sit and watch his widow and children trade our history for contracts and political appointments in Nigeria.

Henrodah:
Am no igbo or yoruba, but I commend you all to try and read Max Siollun's book 'Nigeria's Military Coup Culture' and get clear information about nigeria's history on 'violence'.....contrary to most people's belief, Jan 15th coup wasn't an ibo coup, it was the most nigerianistic coup since this country's inception. But trust the Victors way of narrating stories, it must suit them....please let's read more and Avoid tribalism in any simple historic news we read bout nigeria.

Thanks for the reference.
Just finished devouring the master piece.

Cured my ignorance largely.

The causative factors that drove the imprisonment of Awolowo.
The division of the west--by 1964 called the wild west.

The botched first coup planned by Awolowo, the first real plan to get us to safety.


Never new that the first parliamentary fight was in the west, by the western premiere.

The real reason why Azikiwe "betrayed" the Yoruba, by forming alliance with Nigerian National Alliance to form a government in 1965.

How is Azikiwe's love for power made him a sellout to the Eastern premiere and the western premiere and why there was a mutual suspicion till today.

The counter punitive plan by his ally who felt betrayed in the civil war.

The origin of Igbo far out indiscretion and arrogance.


This book is a must read, to clear all grey areas of our history and to straighten all attempts to re-write history by these self serving fathers Azikiwe, Awolowo, Sardauna and Tafewa Balewa to claim heroes of our shared history.....


In fact am glad I read the book and thanks.

Fajuyi was a soldier's soldier. You can only follow someone to death if you love him to his/her soul or you are professionally loyal to death.

He was the later and yes he is a Soldier's soldier.

Emu4life:
gerrout!! Do u care about dem wen u killed dier prominent figures? One of d reason i lyk hausas, u might luk down on dem but dey dnt tolerate nonsense.

kilode ti o fi n pariwo bii aja digbolugi? awon onilaakaye eniyan ni mo maa n f'oro j'omitoro oro pelu won.

Paretomaster:
haba!...why are u b talking like this na, was the coup schedule to take place at Fajuyi's resident?....

the soldiers saw an opportunity and took it, besides they made it clear them only came for Ironsi....and yes the soldiers with Fajuyi might know nothing about the plan, unless u want to tell me all soldiers of northern extract were informed about the attack...which is not possible..

oga, read the post well and you will see where Maj Gen Fajuyi's sister said that his aides knew about the coup but didnt tell fajuyi. The truth is that yoruba soldiers were betrayed by both the ibo and hausa soldiers in the two coups that occured in that year.

kettykin:
If Aguiyi-Ironsi didn’t depend on the advice of Fajuyi if he did not even trust his assurance, he would have lived.
Another lesson learnt here is that the day any President meets for peace with yoruba obas becomes his last in power ask Goodluck Jonathan

Hahahahhahah..a.a.ha..the most interesting comment so far.

naijafox:
While Awolowo never trusted the Igbos, the north never trusted Awolowo and theYorubas. The northern oligarchy instigated crisis in Western Nigeria in the same manner President Obasanjo used the Uba brothers to instigate crisis in Anambra State. This crisis led to the trumped up charges leading to the trial and imprisonment of Awolowo . Reports has it that he was to be poisoned in prison before the military coup altered the state of affairs.

Awolowo was released from Calabar prison by Biafran leader Odumegwu Ojukwu and there was an agreement that while Ojukwu declares Biafra in the East, Awolowo would declare Oduduwa Republic in the West. The British establishment, sensing the dangers of Awolowo declaring Oduduwa Republic in the West, convinced Gowon and the north to checkmate Awolowo’s secessionist agenda by appointing him the Vice Chairman of Federal Executive Council. This strategy worked effectively and Awolowo was deceived that after Gowon’s tenure he would be given the opportunity of ruling Nigeria. Awolowo thus had to checkmate the Biafran dream to clear any obstacle to his ruling Nigeria while the north was looking for the right opportunity to throw him into the dustbin. In frustration, Awo resigned from Gowon’s cabinet when he realized he has been politically duped.


Awolowo quashed the Biafran dream while the northern establishment killed the Oduduwa dream and betrayed Awolowo’s presidential ambition thrice. This fact was aptly captured by a prominent Yoruba leader and Nigeria’s former minister of aviation Chief Femi Fani-Kayode while replying to a boastful statement by another prominent northern leader, Alhaji Usman Farouk on how the north dominated the Yoruba people and conquered the Niger Delta. According to Fani Kayode, "... the north literally begged Awolowo not to declare Oduduwa Republic and go the way of Biafra even though that was his original intention…Fourthly it was the support that the south west gave to the north that allowed Nigeria to win the war. Fifthly it was the lie that Gowon and the northern leaders fed to Awolowo that he would be made President of the country after the war and after being effectively being made de facto Prime Minister under Gowon during the war that got Awolowo to support them’’, invariably, the Igbos and Yorubas were effectively dribbled, divided, manipulated and overpowered.
h
Northerners were always wise when it came to politics

I totally agree with your last sentence. The sad part of it all is that the Yoruba leaders, particularly, Tinubu, Pa Akande etc have not learnt any lesson from the past. They are still as gullible as Awolowo and Fajuyi. See the way Buhari and his brethren dribbled them into believing that the ACN will be carried along when taking major decisions but see what is happening. Those of us with third eyes knew that the Yoruba leaders will be shoved aside as soon as power returns to the North.

Tunami:
oga, read the post well and you will see where Maj Gen Fajuyi's sister said that his aides knew about the coup but didnt tell fajuyi. The truth is that yoruba soldiers were betrayed by both the ibo and hausa soldiers in the two coups that occured in that year.

no u go back and read well, she said she "think"....she wasn't sure....

" Could that mean they were aware of the coup?
Yes, I "think" they were aware and they did not tell him"

specialadviser5:
[s]True picture of Nigerian., igbos the first coup plotters[/s], yoruba stood by igbo president to the point of death and hausas the betrayals.

Nigerian nationalistic soldiers from all the country including yorubas and northerners the first coup plotters and and hausas the betrayals

seunmsg:
Another lie you people need to stop spreading. Awolowo did not betray the Ibos in any way. Repeating this lie severally doesn't make it to be the truth.

It is the immutable truth. Awolowo is a betrayer same thing that Tinubu is doing now with the same results i.e Northerners use them and then dump them. To my south western brothers open your eyes. The north has no love for you.

May his soul rest in perfect peace. Great hero.

Henrodah:
Am no igbo or yoruba, but I commend you all to try and read Max Siollun's book 'Nigeria's Military Coup Culture' and get clear information about nigeria's history on 'violence'.....contrary to most people's belief, Jan 15th coup wasn't an ibo coup, it was the most nigerianistic coup since this country's inception. But trust the Victors way of narrating stories, it must suit them....please let's read more and Avoid tribalism in any simple historic news we read bout nigeria.

Even BABANGIDA has said this. He said it was not an igbo coup just that it was made to look like that. If the greates coup plotter the country has ever produced can say that. Who are the yoruba's to say otherwise. Freaking cowards

otitokoroleti:
kilode ti o fi n pariwo bii aja digbolugi? awon onilaakaye eniyan ni mo maa n f'oro j'omitoro oro pelu won.

i no sabi wetn u dey talk, therefore d same to u.

mazichika:
Igbos had nothing against yerubas until the infamous betrayal by Awolowo.

Continue to Rest In Peace fajuyi,you are a great and relaible friend!

Awolowo didn't betrayed Igbo, it was Ojukwu that doesn't know what he wants. He wants to secessed but he was capturing more territories. When he was asked, he said he wants to capture Lagos being the then capital of the Nation. How could Biafra capture Lagos without turning Yoruba towns to ruins. Remember battle of Ore in Ondo State. Ojukwu was fighting the Northerners but he his battle attack front was facing the South West.

[/quote][/b]They didn’t want to kill him because he was a friend of the Northerners. They loved him. I’m sure of that. Before that coup, the soldiers working with him warned him. They had wanted to stage the coup before that time. He begged them not to shed blood again. He appealed to them to stop the plot. He said in the first one that took place, many people lost their lives. He said it was enough. He asked them to convince their leaders not to do it. [b][quote]

So he knew about the coup.

mazichika:
you were making sense until you derailed toward your last paragraph.
Who told you that arrest were not made?
Banjo
Nzeogwu
Ifeajuna
Etc
They were locked up.
So don't paint it as if nothing was done,though I agree with you that Aguiyi was naïve and weak!

The coup plotters like Ifeajuna & Nzeogwu were freely living at large, while the northern soldiers are watching. Had it been Ironsi bring them to justice, the July 1966 coup could not have take place.
Therefore, Ironsi paid for his non-action on Jan 1966 coup masterminders.

Lifestone:
It's naive for both Adekunle and Aguiyi not to have known that something sinister would soon happen expecially in Abeokuta and Ibadan axix.
It was well documented that the Northern officers led by Muritala and Danjuma have stopped taking orders from superiors who are ibos and resentments on the first coup were at the highest level. It was also obvious from the ease of the execution of the mutiny that both the Head of State and his host were careless about their personal safety given what was happening at that particular period.
The weakness of Aguiyi created the atmosphere for the revenge attacks on Ibo officers, his own personal death and the slaughter of Ibos in the north and altimately the civil war.
What Nigeria needed at that period in time was a leader who can stand firm, smart enough to heal the wounds of the January coup. For instance, why was there no immediate trial and execution of the coup plotters? Why was there no mass arrest of all participants both military and civilians? All these omissions among others led to the resentments that Aguiyi was simpathetic to the coup plotters, probably because they are mainly of the Igbo origin

He couldn't try dem because de(coup plottrrs ) made him d military head afterwards

I just read an editorial in today's The nation newspaper. It is titled " Crash of the elephant". It gives another account i never heard or read about of that fateful day. I just can't stop thinking why this should'nt be made into a movie.
The narrative of this article felt like a movie to me. Perhaps, all this noise about history missing in our educational system can be re-visited with visual history telling..

PS: i have been trying to get an online link to this story to no avail.

kikies:
He couldn't try dem because de(coup plottrrs ) made him d military head afterwards

He became Head of State as the most senior military officer available. The plotters were not in position to install him. The coup was dead by then.
If you say he became a consequential leader, maybe you are right