Today is the anniversary of the first coup d'etat in Nigeria, though the first treasonable felony convictions were in 1963 of AG politicians including Chief Obafemi Awolowo and 18 others among whom was my granddad, Chief J.O Lawanson who was the first organising secretary of the AG. If any political party could have made Nigeria into Singapore or South Korea, that was the AG, but they were rigged out of power in the West and jailed for treasonable felony. My granddad was in Ikoyi prison while Chief Awolowo was in Calabar and etc. After post election riots had subsided and quiet achieved, the five Majors struck, four Igbos and one Yoruba, they took out the main actors holding the country down. The main culprit was the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, leader of the NPC and Premier of Northern Nigeria, most others were somehow victims of circumstances but they were all brutally slain by the coup plotters who were later arrested by their superiors in the Army led by General Ironsi who was an Igbo man like the majority of the coup plotters. Gen Ironsi assumed power despite being a political feather weight, he left the AG politicians who provided the motivation and moral justification for the truncation of the first republic in jail, probably believing he does not need them. He then unified the country with a decree and neglected to properly try the coup plotters who were reported to be living large in prison. Before long, he was assassinated in a counter coup by Northerners, many Igbo officers went down with him in a shameless mutiny where officers and men turned on their fellow officers who were Igbos and massacred them for being Igbos. Gen Gowon was pushed forward as a compromise head of state and he immediately announced the release of the AG politicians from prison. All surviving Igbo army officers and men withdrew to the East and refused to recognise Gen Gowon's leadership. The stage was set for the secession of the Eastern state. Chief Awolowo was released in Calabar as a result of the federal Government's directive amid tensions and he held a meeting with the military Governor of the East, Col Ojukwu where he clearly stated that if the East secedes, the West will go too since it would be foolish for the West to remain. He then returned to the West. Col Ojukwu was summoned to Lagos, but he expectedly said he will not go to Lagos or anywhere where there are soldiers of Northern origin. So a meeting was fixed for Aburi Ghana to iron issues out. Agreements were reached to maintain the regions as they were but Gen Gowon reneged on the agreement and split the Eastern state and other states by military decree. Naturally it degenerated into a secessionist war. The war was originally between some Northerners and the Igbo dominated Eastern region, also, some Eastern minorities supported the split of the Eastern region by the Gowon regime. It became a civil war, a struggle between the North and the East with the Midwest and the West looking on until the Easterners moved troops into the West, forcing the West and the Midwest to join the war on the Northern side. It lasted for 3 years and over 3 million lives were lost before the Easterners surrendered due to a blockage. There is no event that can be blamed for the unfortunate turn of events than the rigging of elections in the West by a coalition of Chief Akintola's NNDP and Sir Ahmadu Bello's NPC and no one to blame than the main decider, Sir Ahmadu Bello. It is a lesson for all. Do not try to ride roughshod over others, do not think you are superior to others or better than them. The only reason to be in a position of authourity and responsibility is to serve others and improve their lives with the kind of mindset of those early missionaries that came to Africa, many of them dying of tropical diseases, it should not be to rub your ego. This is the only attitude that can save your own head.