Rotimi47:
I have one question to ask you based on your write up and I will appreciate it if you can give me a straight forward answer;

Do the north ( Soldiers of northern origin ) accept responsibility for the coups spearheaded by them?

T8ksy:
Old boy, abeg leave that matter for Mathias, jo.

It was a Police Special branch report following their investigation into the planning of the coup. Nzeogwu it was who recruited Ademoyega around November but Nzeogwu himself was recruited by ANuforo, so how then can Ademoyega be a ringleader in a coup that was already ongoing long before his involvement?

naijaking1:


Thank God, you don't, and would never belong to that class of Yorubas who believed first in honesty, justice, and equity. People like Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin, Gani Fawehinmi supported the Igbos based on principles, you, my friend and your ilk are of lower class-focused only short term benefits!

naijaking1:


Of course they take responsibility for their coups, especially the successful ones!
Do they take responsibility as Hausa or Fulani soldiers? That should be your question, because despite being 70-80% northerners, they never came out to say" Dear fellow Nigerians, we Fulani soldiers had executed this coup", blah, blah.

Maybe they never even saw themselves as Fulani soldiers in the first place, just like the Igbo officers of the 1960s. They always believed in some sort of national and patriotic duty to this country. Personally, I don't believe them, and I have never associated my poor Hausa/Fulani mai-guard with the exploits of Murtala Mohammed, Buhari, or other Fulani coup plotters.

In the case of the Igbos, bigotry easily eclipsed seemingly educated and enlightened minds (in the west , mid west and north)who now go to all sorts of length to prove that Igbos both great and small sat down somewhere, sometime, planned, and executed the first coup.
You know that was not so, but you may not say it openly, because it provided primitive justification for all sorts of atrocities and collective action against ALL Igbos as a race.

Rotimi47:
Let me say that denial is a major problem in Nigeria, Africa and the 3rd world and the only time we can make meaningful progress is when we start accepting responsibility for our actions.
Let me put it to you that most people don't label Igbos as those that took the action that led to the civil war but people rather pin point the officers that are the brain behind the coup but rather than some people addressing this, they rather get confrontational and throw caution to the wind by insulting anybody that see things differently from them.

Thank God you know that northern officers who spearheaded coups accept responsibility for their actions one way or another but why is it difficult for some people to do the same?

The north see themselves as one and they talk with one voice as per coups and even anything that have to do with the North; although things are changing bit by bit as of date.

As per the counter coup of 1966, the soldiers that took part in it came out and stated reason's why they carried out the coup; Danjuma never denied the part he played in the counter coup to this day and it was after the 1st coup that soldiers planning coups have to really carry soldiers of other ethnic groups along because they have learnt a hard lesson that you cannot go all the way with mostly your tribes men when carrying out coups .The coup planners discovered that a coup most have national appeal to a certain level so as to prevent it from being labeled as a tribal coup.

Further more, let me digress a little; I want to say that we all have to see ourselves as one as all these tribal bashing only take place here in Nigeria; we tend to see ourselves as one when we met outside the shores of this country but immediately we land at the airport here we simply start seeing ourselves differently and this is the problem as we start suspecting each other.

Finally, we should think deeply before making assumptions about others because most of the time what we see might not be what it is.

Rotimi47:
You're super poor at reasoning!

IgrigiKillandGo:


**grins** Mr I'm-not-nigerian-but-jerk off-on-nigerian issues, You can spin it anyhow you like but;

1.) The Igbo coup theory has been bursted.

2.) The Lies about soldiers starving civilian bursted too.

This is the Infocentury, yoruba lies can't survive for long, they die as soon as they rear their ugly heads. Make peace with that. **grins**

naijaking1:


I have no family member in either officers' corp or regular enlisted men of the Nigerian army. When the killing of Igbos started, the official reasons were Igbo planned coup, Igbos dancing on the streets, and Igbos listening to Rex Lawson music-ewu n'ebe akwa, however no honest observer of the Nigerian debacle would deny that my family member and other innocent Igbos who were brutally murdered by fellow Nigerians did so simply because they were Igbos. Common this 2016, Fulani herdsmen pillage villages and nobody, not one person has ever approached the Fulanis with a view of exterminating them Gowon's government did to Igbos.



Remember my point about being more in number at that time. Northern unity vs southern unity is topic for another thread



The issue is that all coups need to be condemned, not rationalized on some tribal principles.


I agree with you 100% on this last point, because as a physician working in an NYHHC hospital, I can't tell you how many time Igbos,Yorubas, Tivs, Cameroonians, Sierra Leonians, Togolese and of course Ghanians insisit on seeing 'their African doctor brother'.
Unfortunately, speeches that initially started as light hearted jokes among us have degenerated into serious and escalating enemity.

Rotimi47:
Let me say that this is a great write up and you have earned my respect.

I must say that beautiful writeup like yours is hard to come by as you hit the nail on the head with great accuracy and your post really show that you're a very mature person who knows what he is talking about.

Let me add a little to our discussion; The United states is where it is today because people of different races decided to stick together as one and that's why America is the most powerful country in the world and China which happen to be the 2nd largest economy happen to be a country that make sure it tribes/communities stay together as one.

Isreal also come to mind; isreal have survived everything thrown at it due to all Jews sticking together irrespective of skin colour and country of origin, Nigeria should not be an exception.

Bro, If we can all set aside ethnic sentiments and address issues the right way, Nigeria would have moved forward more that where the country is today and the citizens would have been better for it.

Conclusion, Let me say that several politicians have played with our minds and they are still using us against each other so as to achieve their selfish aims but I believe people are getting wiser than they think and one day true change will take place in this country.


Do stay blessed and get locked into God's plan for your life. Cheers big time.

naijaking1:


I have no family member in either officers' corp or regular enlisted men of the Nigerian army. When the killing of Igbos started, the official reasons were Igbo planned coup, Igbos dancing on the streets, and Igbos listening to Rex Lawson music-ewu n'ebe akwa............

T8ksy:




Am sure you will have an explanation for Ironsi's decision to promulgate Decree 44 along with his dumb decree 34 after his fellow kinsmen have killed off leaders of other rival regions in the country.

HungerBAD:
Interesting.

The part where he said the Easterners were not chasing him from the East, is really an Eye opener. The truth is, if i were him i probably would have stayed back in the East and fought on the side of those that freed me from Prison.

He could have been killed when the Eastern Soldiers Soldiers met him in Prison.

His interview, also confirmed to us what we had known for a long time, and that is, ZIK and other top Eastern Politicians were tipped off by the Eastern Coup Plotters, and that is why they were conveniently not around, when they struck.

I have also followed the stories, and the name calling of those from the West as "COWARDS" all this years. But, reading this story now, will tell you it was actually the East that played a fast one on the West, by hiding their own Politicians while killing those from the North and West.

A very interesting interview.

ccoolitempa:
I just don't understand with Yorubas sometimes....what possessed those people to defend people who hate us so much....never never never again....

omoelesa:
U dont have enough weapon, u went to war thinking u could win by mere chest beating, and the same thing wants to repeat itself today.i have never seen a people who uses their heart most, than their head like the ibos.

Demmocrats:
Whether Youraba, Hausa or Igbo we are all one. When we start seeing our selves as one and forget about the hate which our fathers and grand fathers created among themselves because of different tribe we will move forward. Biafra, Southwest and Fulani-Hausa slave mentality was creatd by our fathers which has destroyed us, why should we inherent sins of the father and causing so much division.

#One Nigeria.

eagleeye2:
I have always read anything that has to do with the Biafran war. I real don't care about who is right or wrong, but about what happened. We could argue all day, and still end it with "the war has come and gone".
According to this man, a veteran of the Biafran war, who fought on the side of Biafra, I will give it to him in being as objective as possible.
.
We, the Igbos were not ready with arms and armaments but we still proceeded to war. Though the manpower was there, but like he rightly pointed out, Manpower alone doesn't win a war.
.
I will give it to Ojukwu and the Igbos in treating others fair. Go back to the Federal side if you want, but some chose to stay back. I doff my hat for people like Banjo and this Oyowole who decided to fight for Biafra. It's no mean feat.
.
Why wasn't ABURI ACCORD implemented? That has always been a nagging question. Maybe, we wouldn't know the whole details. I wish Gowon could say something, at least explain things/ events that led to the accord being dumped.
.
It was actually Bifran civilian populace that was feeding the soldiers and not the other way round. I have always known this, because my mum workes with Caritas then. But, some will like to distort that fact for their own reasons.
.
WAR IS NOT ABOUT WHO IS RIGHT, IT'S ABOUT WHO IS LEFT. So blame Awo for all you care, it still doesn't remove the fact that he DID WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS BEST FOR THE FEDERAL SIDE TO WIN THE WAR.
.
Are we ready to get things right I don't think so, not with this animosity building up in the youths of every tribe in Nigeria.
.
Is another war the answer? NO.
.
I still believe that DIALOGUE, True Federalism, Non Quota system, Regionalism, Confederation, Referendum and other civil actions is the way forward.

ideykwum:


You're pretty poor at comprehension!

yellowsun:


So Decree 44 and 34 justifies massacre of innocent citizens abi?


Ironsi's action just like every other millitary ruler is millitarily induced, how come innocent civilians became the scape goat of his actions if there was not an already pre arranged ethnic cleansing in the offin which just needed an incident to tie it to!

plaetton:


You missed the essential thrust of the article.

Igbo- Yoruba POLITICAL distrust started after the civil war, not before.

There is no evidence of any notable animus between Yoruba and Igbo prior to the civil war.

Rotimi47:
You're super poor at reasoning!

ccoolitempa:
I just don't understand with Yorubas sometimes....what possessed those people to defend people who hate us so much....never never never again....

naijaking1:


Of course they take responsibility for their coups, especially the successful ones!
Do they take responsibility as Hausa or Fulani soldiers? That should be your question, because despite being 70-80% northerners, they never came out to say" Dear fellow Nigerians, we Fulani soldiers had executed this coup", blah, blah.

Maybe they never even saw themselves as Fulani soldiers in the first place, just like the Igbo officers of the 1960s. They always believed in some sort of national and patriotic duty to this country. Personally, I don't believe them, and I have never associated my poor Hausa/Fulani mai-guard with the exploits of Murtala Mohammed, Buhari, or other Fulani coup plotters.

In the case of the Igbos, bigotry easily eclipsed seemingly educated and enlightened minds (in the west , mid west and north)who now go to all sorts of length to prove that Igbos both great and small sat down somewhere, sometime, planned, and executed the first coup.
You know that was not so, but you may not say it openly, because it provided primitive justification for all sorts of atrocities and collective action against ALL Igbos as a race.

Demmocrats:
Whether Youraba, Hausa or Igbo we are all one. When we start seeing our selves as one and forget about the hate which our fathers and grand fathers created among themselves because of different tribe we will move forward. Biafra, Southwest and Fulani-Hausa slave mentality was creatd by our fathers which has destroyed us, why should we inherent sins of the father and causing so much division.

#One Nigeria.

T8ksy:



Shows how little you know about ibo-Yoruba relationship before the war.

I bet you don't even know that an ibo man attempted to run the affairs of Yorubas long before we even got independence.

Am certain it will interest you to know that the term "no man's land" in reference to Lagos was actually coined by Zik's and his ibo people in the early 50's.

T8ksy:




But there was an ethnic agenda by the ibos to dominate the rest of us even long before we got our independence from the Brits. In fact, ibos love of One Nigeria at that period in time definitely wasn't for the love they harbour for their fellow countrymen but rather for their covetous nature and greed.

Decree 34 make it possible for the ibos to proceed to the north and fill all the available civil posts in the region on account of the indigenes low educational status. Ironsi was warned against such promulgation but he was egged on by the ibo advisers, he surrounded himself with.

plaetton:


Thank you much for bringing to focus the where the seeds of distrust and tribal politics were sown : In the southwest.
This point is extremely important for this " One Nigeria " hypocrisy.

History shows that it has always been the Igbos who have seen and have Always embraced all parts of Nigeria as one, so much so that it is only an Igbo that contests an election in another part of Nigeria that is far from his hometown.
If that is NOT the EMBODIMENT of the spirit of One Nigeria, I don't know what is ?

So, historically, as you have attested, the seed of distrust between the two tribes was anchored on FEAR, the fear of the roaming , indomitable adventurers from the East.

The carpet- crossing in the Western Parliament marked the beginning of tribal politics going mainstream, and have remained so thereafter.

You claim to be champions of " One Nigeria" , yet you cannot get over calling and regarding settlers from other parts of Nigeria as foreigners.
Can you see the contradiction ?

If there is truly a One Nigeria, then,
I should be called and treated as a Lagosian ,by virtue of my birth and residency , irrespective of what part of the country my parents came from.

No one wanted One Nigeria except the landlocked ibos who were already economic migrants in the other regions.So, ibos contesting for election in another region is your proof of an "embodiment of One Nigeria" and not the love they hold for the indigenes?
At the same time, ibos were also openly bragging that in a matter of time, they will soon be dominating the locals. One does not need a degree in Catering to recognise GREED when it's staring one in the face.

I still can't understand why the president of a wholly tribal organisation (ICU) will see it fit to manage the affairs of another.
I love my brother very much but I will not leave my business, home, wife, concubines and all other affairs in his care when am perfectly able to run them, myself. After all, he's only human. As for the issue of carpet-crossing, show us the election result that necessitated the alleged act or JSTFU. Lying comes naturally to you guys.


There has never been a One Nigeria and never shall there be. You are ibo and am Yoruba and we see things differently. Yeah, by virtue of my birth and long residency, my son should be treated and called an English and not a British. Why are you guys so obsessed with Lagos? Even your duplicitous zik who was born and raised in the north chosed Yoruba land to contest for election. Zik didn't even campaign in the north in the presidential election.

attackgat:


The same decree 34 made it possible for Yorubas to fill in positions in the North same as Igbos. You talk as if this decree was promulgated for Igbos alone. Funnily enough, when this same Decree 34 was removed by the Aburi agreement, not one Yoruba person protested when Gowon and his fellow Northerners enacted a far worse Decree a few months later where they abolished the 4 regions and created States and took away resource control. The Yorubas only know how to talk if it is the Igbos that did something, but if the almighty Nothern masters do the same, they will quickly go deaf and mute.

T8ksy:



No one wanted One Nigeria except the landlocked ibos who were already economic migrants in the other regions.So, ibos contesting for election in another region is your proof of an "embodiment of One Nigeria" and not the love they hold for the indigenes?
At the same time, ibos were also openly bragging that in a matter of time, they will soon be dominating the locals. One does not need a degree in Catering to recognise GREED when it's staring one in the face.

I still can't understand why the president of a wholly tribal organisation (ICU) will see it fit to manage the affairs of another.
I love my brother very much but I will not leave my business, home, wife, concubines and all other affairs in his care when am perfectly able to run them, myself. After all, he's only human. As for the issue of carpet-crossing, show us the election result that necessitated the alleged act or JSTFU. Lying comes naturally to you guys.


There has never been a One Nigeria and never shall there be. You are ibo and am Yoruba and we see things differently. Yeah, by virtue of my birth and long residency, my son should be treated and called an English and not a British. Why are you guys so obsessed with Lagos? Even your duplicitous zik who was born and raised in the north chosed Yoruba land to contest for election. Zik didn't even campaign in the north in the presidential election.