Kamanda: "We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup".

It was just a coincidence that Northern and Western leaders were killed and NO Eastern leader was killed.

It was also just a non issue that the Killer Majors were not tried and purnished but went about town like Rock Stars.
The Northerners were supposed to take it in Good Fate and go about their jolly good daily lives.

Kamanda my point is that though no Igbo leader was killed except for Obienu, the coup wasn't initiated on tribal lines. Nigerians soldiers from diverse tribes participated and even Nigerians generally heralded the coup. However, the tribal card was played after the coup by the northern politicians who had lost out. It was they who goaded the northern military officers to react in the manner they did.
The actions of the then northern elders is similar to the attitude of today's northern elders.They are quite persistent in their demands irrespective of how other Nigerians feel.
I read somewhere that politics should be about persuasion and not power, I quite agree with that school of thought.

madam_oringo: Well Useni may not be of much regarded to most Nigerians, especially since he was in cahoots with Abacha. That will be a legitimate reason for the ordinary Nigerian not to be interested in him for whatever reasons. However, the ibos who are talking here are pretending as though they are the saints! They are no better and in fact worse than Useni. So they are mad that Useni gave an interview, they diminish it but when achebe wrote a book of lies and false hood, they glorified it. You see hypocrisy?

When Ironsi was killed, they cried but do not give any credit to Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi at all. What an ungraceful people! They killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, Largema, Maimalari, etc, but allowed Zik and Okpara to escape! This is enough reason to never respond to anyone from other parts of Nigeria who is still upset till today! They cry about the July 1966 counter coup but pretend as though in Jan 1966 Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Onweteagwu, Ademoyega, etc never happened! Is that not the height of hypocrisy! If Ironsi had not carried his badluck to Ibadan, after refusing to do anything to bring his kinsmen coup plotters to justice for about 6 months, Fajuyi would have had a different story. Well, since you don't reciprocate and appreciate the hospitality of your hosts, you should enjoy the brazenness of Useni and co. who are still upset about their commanding officers you killed since after 40 years!

Chinua Achebe wrote his memoir , I have read his book and I wonder what it is that is so foul. Every man is entitled to his opinion. Useni on the other hand granted an interview that was quite candid, again he is entitled to his opinion.
I frown against the tribal coloration of events , comments and what have you. As an Igbo man it is sad to read all that led to the war, as a Nigerian , I am also saddened by the loss of lives in all totality. We young Nigerians need to understand that the initial coup wasn't an Igbo coup per say but a Nigerian coup as all tribes actively participated in the coup.
I like hearing from elders, they are the custodians of history. However, we the young ones should be mindful of all we assimilate . Stories are told to suit the story teller, let's always sieve stories that we hear so as to learn from them and not aggravate the polity.
From all I know as a Christian, there is no Igbo , Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, Nigerian heaven or hell, we are all one people, let us make our diversity our strength.
For posterity sake, I'm adding a piece from Dawodus site on the five majors.
"
 

Because of the death of most of the principal actors, the true sequence of events during Nigeria’s first military coup of January 15th 1966 have become clouded by rumour, and outright mythology.  Several misconceptions formed in the gossipy aftermath of the coup have assumed the status of fact.  I attempt in this article, to expose some of the primary myths. 

FIVE MAJORS?

 

One enduring myth is that Nigeria’s first military coup was carried out by “five Igbo Majors”.   The source of this myth is the “we were five in number” comment, which the coup’s most visible, participant: Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, made in an interview with Dennis Ejindu (Africa and the world - May 1967) after the coup.    The “five Majors” myth was later perpetuated by Captain Ben Gbulie’s book on the coup entitled “Nigeria’s Five Majors”, the title of which he recently admitted borrowing from a BBC play of the same name. 

When Nzeogwu made his infamous “we were five” comment, he made no reference to the rank of the “five”.   He was merely referring to the five designated strategic regional commanders of the coup.  In fact, no less than nine Majors were originally billed to take part in the coup.  These were Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Ademoyega, Okafor, Anuforo, Chukwuka, Obienu, Onwuatuegwu and Chude-Sokei.   Shortly before the coup, Chude-Sokei was posted overseas.  On the coup day itself, Obienu failed to show, leaving seven Majors as participants.   When it came to execution, the Majors designated five officers as regional commanders for the coup’s execution.  Of Nzeogwu’s “five”, there were “the two of us in the North” (Nzeogwu and Major Tim Onwuatuegwu), and three more in the South.   

The head of the Lagos operations was Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.  That makes three Majors so far.   The squad, which killed Chief Samuel Akintola in Ibadan, was led by CAPTAIN Nwobosi.   That makes four (three Majors and one Captain). There was no coup in the Mid-West as no military formation was based in that region.  However, Lieutenant Oguchi was dispatched to the east to arrest the Premier of the Eastern region: Dr Michael Okpara.  The identity of the fifth member is the most problematic.  Majors Don Okafor and Adewale Ademoyega were given much responsibility for the Lagos branch of the coup, and it is likely that one of these two men was the fifth commander. 

WHO WAS THE LEADER?

 

Major Nzeogwu has since 1966, been touted as the leader of the January 1966 coup.  This has been widely presumed due to the visible role which Nzeogwu played during and after the coup.  Nzeogwu was the only Major to successfully execute the coup in his designated target region.   He then followed up his coup success with his infamous “our enemies are the…..” speech.   Thus the (false) assumption that he was the coup leader spread.    The truth may be somewhat different. It was not until the coup plot reached its logistical stage that Nzeogwu was brought in to the conspiratorial group.  The brains behind the coup was probably Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, however Ifeajuna was chased out of Nigeria’s then capital city of Lagos by Major-General Ironsi.  Realising that Ironsi was rounding up those that took part in the coup, Ifeajuna fled to Ghana, leaving Nzeogwu to hold the fort. 

“THESE BOOKISH PEOPLE”

 

The ideological circle of for the January coup seems to have consisted primarily of officers who had embarked upon military careers after completing university degrees. The late former military governor of the Northern Region: Hassan Katsina once commented on the presence of some “bookish people” who had joined the Army for rather different reasons from the normal military crowd.   Katsina was probably referring to the graduates that had begun to join the Army.   These graduates may have been exposed to the left wing political doctrine which was sweeping across much of Africa, Asia, and South America at the time. In January 1966, the Nigerian Army had six graduates: Ojukwu, Olutoye, Banjo, Ademoyega, Ifeajuna, and Rotimi.  Three or four of these graduates were involved conceptually, or physically in the January coup. Of the direct participants, Ademoyega had a degree in History from the University of London, and Ifeajuna was a graduate of the University of Ibadan. 

Although not physically involved in the January coup, Lt-Colonels Ojukwu and Banjo had been accused of showing a greater than average interest in political matters.   Security reports concerning coup plotting by Banjo were passed to Prime Minister Balewa, who ignored them.   Major Ademoyega claims that the Majors had at some point in time, floated the idea of a coup to Ojukwu and Banjo, along with Lt-Colonels Hilary Njoku and Francis Fajuyi.  The four Lt-Colonels were not opposed to a military coup, but Njoku and Ojukwu were “unsure” about whether to participate (see Ademoyega: “Why We Struck”).   None of the four Lt-Colonels got physically involved when the Majors eventually struck and three (Njoku, Ojukwu, Fajuyi) actually played a role (to varying degrees) in crushing the coup, while Fajuyi and Ojukwu became military governors in  Ironsi’s military administration. 

A MAN CALLED KADUNA

 

Nzeogwu was a devout catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and despite being a bachelor, did not spend much time chasing women.  What possessed a puritanical, bible bashing, innocent young man like Nzeogwu to murder unarmed civilians in the middle of the night?   What is clear is that Nzeogwu had harboured some anti-government sentiment for several years before 1966.  Nzeogwu’s boss at the Nigerian Military Training College: Colonel Ralph Shodeinde, had in the past reported Nzeogwu to Army Headquarters for allegedly disseminating anti-government rhetoric to junior officers.  Shodeinde’s report claimed that Nzeogwu had been attempting to poison junior officers’ minds against the Government (see Obasanjo: “An intimate portrait of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu”).  Nigeria’s current Defence Secretary: Lt-Gen Theophilus Danjuma was aware of Nzeogwu’s coup recruitment policy.   As a former colleague of Nzeogwu, Danjuma noted that “Nzeogwu was a very charming person.  He had his method, he would start by criticizing government and then watch your reaction…..if you joined him in criticising the government…..then he would say well, we would (sic) fix them one day.  That’s how he recruited”.  Tim Onwuatuegwu bought Nzeogwu’s anti-government line.  Onwuatuegwu was a colleague of Major Nzeogwu at the Nigerian Military Training College, where Onwuatuegwu was also an instructor.  Onwuatuegwu was tagged a dull, parade ground “goody two shoes” type by one his own course-mates at Sandhurst but fell under Nzeogwu’s spell and was convinced enough to break into the house of, and shoot his own Brigade commander (Brigadier Ademulegun). One officer that seems to have been unaffected by Nzeogwu’s political rhetoric was a cadet named Salihu Ibrahim.   Ibrahim was training at the Nigerian Military Training College while Nzeogwu (chief instructor at the College) and company hatched the coup plot.  Despite being close to Nzeogwu, Ibrahim matured into a “vintage professional soldier” (Chris Alli: The Siege Of Nation) who abhorred military participation in Government.  Ibrahim retired from the Nigerian Army in 1993 after rising to the rank of Lt-General, and serving as Chief of Army Staff.  Strangely for a man who disliked military coups and military governments, he served as a member of firstly Major-General Buhari’s Supreme Military Council from 1984-85, and in Ibrahim Babangida’s Armed Forces Ruling Council thereafter. 

THE ONLY IGBO TO DIE

 

Many claim that the January 15th 1966 coup was a gigantic Igbo plot to transfer control of the Federal Government from northerners to Igbos.   However, one stumbling block in this argument was that the Majors’ killed an Igbo officer during the coup.   The proponents of the “Igbo coup” argument have tried to rationalize the murder of Lt-Col Arthur Unegbe by arguing that he was not initially a target of the Majors, but was only killed because he refused to surrender the keys of the armoury.  This argument displays an ignorance of military postings and procedure.  At the time of the January coup, Unegbe was the Quartermaster-General of the Nigerian Army at Army Headquarters in Lagos.  Not being in command of a combat unit, he had no access to any armoury keys.  As soldiers, the Majors would have known this.   Also, the fact that Unegbe was SHOT proves that the Majors were already armed when they got to him.  Why kill a man in order to get something you already have?   Additionally, the mutineers in other units outside Lagos managed to get their hands on weapons without resorting to killing the respective Quartermasters of their various units.    What is more probable is that Unegbe was killed because he was known to be close to Brigadier Maimalari.  Thus the Majors probably figured that Unegbe had to be silenced in order to prevent him from raising the alarm. 

THE ROLE OF NORTHERN SOLDIERS

 

Not many realize that several officers of northern origin took part in Nigeria’s first military coup.  The “Igbo coup” tag attached to the Majors’ assault ignores the fact that scores of northern officers took part in the Lagos operations, and even assisted Nzeogwu when he stormed the residence of the Northern Region’s premier: Ahmadu Bello.  Nzeogwu  later described the detachment of troops accompanying him to Bello’s house as “a truly Nigerian gathering” (New Nigerian – 18th January 1966).   Nzeogwu pointed out that the northern soldiers accompanying him “had the chance to drop out.  More than that, they had bullets.  They had been issued with bullets but I was unarmed.  If they disagreed they could have shot me….most of the Other Ranks were Northerners but they followed”.   Among the prominent northern soldiers that helped Nzeogwu to overthrow the Northern Region’s government was John Atom Kpera.  Kpera later became the military governor of Benue State.  Many of the soldiers that accompanied Major Ifeajuna when he abducted the Prime Minister: Tafawa Balewa, were also northerners. 

IRONSI

 

The Majors’ failure to arrest or kill the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Nigerian Army: Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, has led some to believe that he was part of, or was at the very least tipped off about, the coup plot.    Ironsi and other senior officers had in the weeks leading up to the coup become concerned by the possibility of a junior officers’ coup.  These concerns were passed on to the Prime Minister who either did not take them seriously, or chose not to act in response. 

Ironsi was definitely on the Majors’ hit list and Major Nzeogwu later regretted that they did not manage to get him (“We got some but not all.  General Ironsi was to have been shot”).  Ironsi’s escape owed much to good fortune, and the Majors tactical mistake in arresting or killing other senior officers before they got hold of Ironsi.  The commotion caused by the murders of other officers alerted Ironsi to the coup and he was able to rally troops who helped him to put down the Majors’ coup.  Ironsi had been tipped off about the coup by a telephone call from the Army’s Adjutant-General: Lt-Col James Pam.  Shortly after ending the telephone call with Ironsi, Pam was abducted and murdered by officers involved in the plot.   On his way to commence moves to crush the coup, Ironsi actually came across some junior officers that were involved in the coup.  It is possible that some of these young officers lost their nerve when confronted by the intimidating presence of their GOC.   When he encountered a checkpoint manned by some of the mutineers, Ironsi simply stepped out of his vehicle, and roared “get out of my way!” (an order which was promptly obeyed) before continuing his journey.  After the coup was suppressed, Ironsi met with the surviving members of the federal cabinet.  Even northern ministers present at that meeting conceded that Ironsi seemed genuinely upset by, and wept about the death of his military colleagues. 

As often happens with emotive events, we sometimes allow our judgment, and the facts, to be obscured by rumour and grab hold of any theory – no matter how implausible.  I hope that I have managed to shed more light on the events of that fateful night that so drastically altered Nigeria’s political landscape"

Guys , I understand the young lady's trauma, it is akin to a man coaxing his househelp to sleep with him. Most times these women fall prey not because they can't say no but because they are intimidated when in the presence of "oga."
Abuse comes in different forms one of which is taking advantage of the fear and respect a subordinate has for you.

Stop talking like this! That isn't the solution to our problems,its time to be the bigger man.
I admire Fashola,he and a few others are worthy of emulation,with his like there is hope for Nigeria.

Yorubest: We don't have time for frivolities

We mean business

We will continue to develop our region and this is no license for those who choose not to develop theirs to keep trooping in

it is painfully to read all the insults being thrown back and forth. I have been a silent observer on this forum for years and just can't fathom what is going on. The moderators of this forum should really do something about the abuse of language, tribe and persons being propagated on this site. Commentators should learn to present their case without the mudslinging. For goodness sake, this is a very popular site not just amongst Nigerians but all who have an affinity for our country.
I quite agree that all is not well within the polity, let us however comment constructively and not destructively.
If OUK has contravened a law, he should be prosecuted accordingly, and if this is political as assumed, the act should be condemned in all totality.
To digress a bit, my parents are easterners and I am a British Nigerian. I say this because I had wanted to vote for Buhari in the last election but didn't when his party didn't do well in the two previous elections. I chose him over the incumbent because of what I perceived they stood for. In GEJ I saw a candidate who flipflopped unnecessarily and to me I perceived it to mean lack of character. On the other hand, in Buhari,I saw a candidate who had conviction no matter the purpose, and to me that is what Nigeria requires.
We are at the corner of another election, and though my perceptions of GEJ has changed, the change isn't major. I had thought that the newly formed opposition party would actually get it right, but it seems like they are beleaguered.
I would like to see a political party in Nigeria with clear cut policies that define where it stands, and is constituted of members with like minds and not the case as of today where political parties are mere platforms to actualize a personal ambition.
Till then, let like minds on this forum get together for the sole aim of effecting a change and not for the thoughtless bickering that prevails here.

we lack quality leadership and that has been our bane. our elders are selfish and our youth are very vulnerable. as it stands, the future of this country is bleak, very bleak!