OkCornel:


Were Aguiyi-Ironsi and Ojukwu part of the coup plotters?

Deadlytruth:


The faults you listed for Ironsi above actually logically suggest that he was sympathetic to the coup plotters assuming that he wasn't actually part of it. Here is the logo:
For item 1. If he wasn't sympathetic to the coupists, he would have arraigned them before a military tribunal and executed them.
2. His constituting an SMC without Northerners and Westerners mirrored the casually pattern of the coup in the sense that the membership of that SMC was Igbocentric just as the casualty pattern of the coup was Igbocentric.

3. The Unification Decree mirrored the intention of the coupists which, according to Nzeogwu in his interview with Ejindu few months later, was to create a stronger center.


For Ironsi to have warned people in power about the coup, it means he had intelligence information from a reliable source about the impending coup long enough before the D-Day, so what held him from being proactive about launching investigation into the brewing plot in order to preempt it? Why did he chose to be reactive after the damage had been done when he had all the foreknowledge of the coup?

OkCornel:


Item 1: Simply tribalism. That’s the only way I can rationalise it.

He wasn’t part of the coup plotters. He warned Inua Wada, Tafawa Balewa and other top politicians of an impending coup, yet those in power did not act on the intelligence report.

Everyone has their share of the January 1966 mess.

danvon:


In preparation for the 1975 coup against Gowon, the coup plotters began spreading false information about an impending coup in an act to confuse the government. When Gowon was allegedly told that Joseph Garba was plotting a coup against him, by then so much misinformation about a coup had been spread that Gowon refused to believe it, Joseph Garba was the one who later announced the coup.

The main reason why Awolowo was sent to prison was because he was accused of plotting a coup with Nkrumah of Ghana.

We do know that Nkrumah granted sanctuary to Ifeajuna after Ifeajuna failed coup attempt, so how much of that story was true, lies and misinformation? My point is that Tafawa Balewa government didn't just ignore coup attempts they took it seriously, Aguiyi Ironsi would have been of better help if he had given them names. If he just told them there's a coup but didn't provide any useful information can you blame Tafawa Balewa for not taking him seriously?

Even if Aguiyi Ironsi wasn't aware of the coup, there are lots of evidence that Ojukwu was definitely aware, Aguiyi Ironsi should have at least not rewarded Ojukwu for hiding treasonable information.

OkCornel:


There was no instance of coup plotters spreading false information of a pending coup in January 1966.

Less than a week to the coup, Nigeria hosted world leaders for an event. I can’t recall the details of the event, but world leaders were in Nigeria.

Do you think the intelligence agencies of leading countries would give their leaders clearance to travel to Nigeria if indeed there were strong rumours of coup? Nah… their high commissioners can be pawned off to attend that event on their behalf.

danvon:


Well, Tafawa Balewa took coup seriously as the arrest of Awolowo proved. If Aguiyi Ironsi brought a serious claim I'm sure they would have taken him seriously.

Again, Aguiyi Ironsi not being aware of a coup doesn't mean those around him were not.

OkCornel:


What is your definition of “serious claim”?

A CCTV footage of the coup plotters?

Please humour me, Awolowo was plotting coup too?😂

danvon:


A serious claim would be, Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna are plotting a coup against you.

Saying someone is plotting a coup against you by itself is very useless information.

I'm saying, the Awolowo coup accusation may have been a misinformation by the coup plotters, pointing Tafawa Balewa in the wrong direction.

OkCornel:


Lmao, is that how security intelligence works?
I pray tell, was anyone arrested or placed on a watchlist on the coup scares that happened in Cameroon and Rwanda last year?

Abeg no make me laugh.

danvon:


If some people were placed on watchlist, you don't expect the security to make that knowledge public?

OkCornel:


So the Cameroonian and Rwandan authorities needed names of coup plotters before they rearranged their military formation/architecture abi?

Clap for yourself.

The coup and coup scares in Subsaharan Africa in the past 3 years is enough for any sensible leader to act immediately on intelligence report available. Rumours or not.

Just like in the 1960s. Before the January coup in Nigeria, there were coups in Togo, DRC, Dahomey, Gabon, Central Africa Republic. I suggest you read up on the coup belt.

An intelligence report from the leading military figure was not something to be dismissed trivially considering the circumstances in other African countries!

While the coupists have their share of the blame, the politicians were dumb and complacent not to act on Ironsi’s report! At the very least, shake up the military formation and reassign the soldiers to different locations/missions.

danvon:


They posted the 4th battalion to Lagos and Ibadan, the 4th battalion was made up of mostly Northerners, many of these Northerners were very loyal to the NPC.

Maimalari and Largema Pam the two highest ranking Northern officers were posted to Lagos.

They probably thought they didn't have to fear a coup in the North, since Northerners are their own people.

In the West, Akintola was armed and had apparently been anticipating an attack.

So they actually took security measures, and this played a big role in the failure of Ifeajuna coup in Lagos and Ibadan but it didn't account for Aguiyi Ironsi coup.

The only 'more' security measures they could take was to retire Aguiyi Ironsi and repost every single non Northern officer to the Eastern and Western region and think of the political consequences this would have.

No amount of security can help when the General of the Armed Forces is plotting a coup against you and the Prime Minister and President are absent.

OkCornel:


No make me laugh abeg, so they posted the 4th battalion to Lagos and Ibadan in response to Aguiyi Ironsi’s coup warning? I hope you know Ironsi messaged the warning on January 12, 1966.

Are you telling us the 4th battalion was posted to Lagos and Ibadan between January 13-15?

So you have shifted your position from “Ironsi’s claim of a coup is not serious” TO “The politicians actually took measures”

Read the screenshot below slowly.

OkCornel:


No make me laugh abeg, so they posted the 4th battalion to Lagos and Ibadan in response to Aguiyi Ironsi’s coup warning? I hope you know Ironsi messaged the warning on January 12, 1966.

Are you telling us the 4th battalion was posted to Lagos and Ibadan between January 13-15?

So you have shifted your position from “Ironsi’s claim of a coup is not serious” TO “The politicians actually took measures”

Read the screenshot below slowly.

Streetinvestor2:
In all the rubbish you wrote. How is that our present problem. If we don't align with north. Who should we align with .Tell me what the SW has ever achieved without the North..
The SE will always be better with the north in everything. You that your biggest interest now is to take over igbo properties in lagos...criminals.
Can the SW alone make TPain president.Is it not the north that made him president. The only history the SW remembers is the one to create enemity btw SE and north.
Tell us the history whr the SW has achieved anything both political and economical without alignment with the north.

danvon:


What is your point exactly? That it's the politicians fault they died?

Even Aguiyi Ironsi was informed of a coup attempt and he still died. Gowon was equally warned of a coup but he couldn't stop it. Murtala Mohammed was also warned of a coup but he still died.

From 1960 - 1997 the only leader who never had a coup attempt on him was Sani Abacha and that's because he fired, arrested and tried anybody on the tiniest suspicion and he even set coup traps to catch would be coup plotters. If the people who planned and executed coups couldn't prevent a coup against themselves, how much more Tafawa Balewa?

The best way to forestall a coup is to know the units involved and arrest or dismiss them, in that regard Aguiyi Ironsi warning was completely useless, the warning came 3 days to the actual coup with no valuable information.

Tafawa Balewa regime took proper security with the resources they had and the regime would have survived if Aguiyi Ironsi had done his duty and returned power back to them.

OkCornel:


I love the way you’re swinging like a pendulum 😅

From
1. Ironsi’s claim of a coup was not serious to;
2. The politicians actually took security measures to;
3. Is it the politicians’ fault they were killed?

Ironsi communicated a coup threat on January 12. Politicians did nothing despite seeing other African governments (Togo, Dahomey, DRC, Gabon, Central African Republic) toppled. 3 days later the coupists struck.

No ooo, no be the politicians fault. Na Ironsi wey warn them get fault.

danvon:


So that justifies Ironsi's takeover? It gave him the right to stage a coup?

danvon:


What is the name of that book?

DMerciful:
You have no point. Ironsi and Nzeogwu acted on their own.

You see how hypocritical you are?

Anytime we talk of Biafra restoration, you'll say we should ask our elected officials in national assembly to move a motion for it. But you want to hold us accountable for actions of unelected people who died long before we were born

OkCornel:


Item 1: Simply tribalism. That’s the only way I can rationalise it.

He wasn’t part of the coup plotters. He warned Inua Wada, Tafawa Balewa and other top politicians of an impending coup, yet those in power did not act on the intelligence report.

Everyone has their share of the January 1966 mess.

Deadlytruth:


But he himself who received the intelligence report and was at the same time the chief security officer of the entire country was the one supposed to act. Why warning the politicians about an intelligence report about which he, as number one security officer of the country, was supposed to deploy his men all around the residences of those very politicians immediately he got the intelligence report? Why wait till the boys struck before suddenly realizing that he was the chief security officer of the country hence the need to rise up and "stop" the boys? His reactiveness as against his supposed proactiveness earlier on indicates a kind indulgence with the coup plotters. Moreover, the intelligence report was about a pending act of lawlessness by boys who were members of the very institution he was heading, so why expect the politicians to be the ones to take an action which he himself was more supposed to take?

OkCornel:


Did the intelligence report mention the names of the coup plotters?

Was Ironsi identified as part of the coup plotters in the intelligence report?

Deadlytruth:


What mattered most was that any military officer regardless of rank knows that a coup plot is always meant to topple the government and distabilize the country and possibly come with bloodshed of innocent people. So Ironsi didn't need to know the names of the coup plotters from his intelligence report before deploying troops to the residences of those at the top power echelons for protection. So the troubling question remains: what exactly stopped Ironsi from beefing up security around the prime minister, the Senate president, the president and the four regional premiers immediately he received that intelligence report despite knowing fully well that those occupying those offices must be the prime targets of any attempt by anyone or group, be they civilians or soldiers, to topple the government of the day? Why warn the civilian prime minister and civilian regional premiers about a coup about to happen? What exactly was he expecting them to do about it better than he himself the overall GOC of the very soldiers, whether he knew them or not, who were 100% under his authority as GOC?

Deadlytruth:


What mattered most was that any military officer regardless of rank knows that a coup plot is always meant to topple the government and distabilize the country and possibly come with bloodshed of innocent people. So Ironsi didn't need to know the names of the coup plotters from his intelligence report before deploying troops to the residences of those at the top power echelons for protection. So the troubling question remains: what exactly stopped Ironsi from beefing up security around the prime minister, the Senate president, the president and the four regional premiers immediately he received that intelligence report despite knowing fully well that those occupying those offices must be the prime targets of any attempt by anyone or group, be they civilians or soldiers, to topple the government of the day? Why warn the civilian prime minister and civilian regional premiers about a coup about to happen? What exactly was he expecting them to do about it better than he himself the overall GOC of the very coupists (whether he knew them or not) would have done to protect the civilians in power? Think about this with an open mind and you will realize that Ironsi wasn't very clean as far as the whole coup thing was concerned.

OkCornel:


Can Ironsi just wake up and order a change of military formation across the country without checks and balances in place?

OkCornel:


At the bolded, do you have any intelligence report indicting Ironsi as a coup plotter? Or is this just your opinion?

I need evidence, not sentiments and personal opinions.

Deadlytruth:


Are you suggesting that a Grand Commander of a country's military institution who got intelligence report about a mutiny in the offing by his subordinates shouldn't have immediately taken decisive action to preempt the mutiny but wait till the mutiny actually happened before taking action? What then is the essence of an intelligence report?

Deadlytruth:

When he set out to "foil" the coup, did he order any change of formation in the military? When he ordered troops to go fight Isaac Adaka Boro and arrest him, did he first change any formation in the military across the country?