Guestlander:


Ojukwu did not foil any coup from Kaduna. Nzeogwu was effectively in control of the northern region, he was persuaded to stand down after the coup had failed in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria. This is probably one of the reasons why Ironsi was reluctant to execute the plotters, eventually leading to his own downfall.

CharleyBright:


You are entitled to your opinion, am not going to argue with you unnecessarily.
I have told you what happened as narrated by credible writers and sources.
Go and do your research.

Guestlander:


What credible writers? Ojukwu did not foil any coup, if anything he could have acted as an intermediary between Lagos and Nzeogwu. Stop spreading lies and distortion of history.

CharleyBright:


Perhaps you have a personal beef against Ojukwu.... that's your cup of tea. Let me leave you to it.

Guestlander:


Perhaps you have a beef with the truth. If Ojukwu foiled the coup in the north why then would Ironsi enter into an agreement with Nzeogwu to stand down.

HedwigesMaduro:


Maybe Zik's bolting to the UK on the eve of the coup had something to do with it. Or all regional heads (apart from the one in the east) being assassinated. Or the fact that the major target that needed to be neutralised first as the head of the military (who happened to be from the East) "escaped" assassination. I don't know. Just my thoughts.

CharleyBright:


Mister Man, If Ojukwu was part of the Nzeogwu coup, why was he never arrested or named as one of the plotters long after the coup plotters were arrested? Why was Ojukwu still allowed to command the Kano Battalion after the Coup?
Why is it that till today, no one has ever linked Ojukwu to the Nzeogwu coup, except you?
It is you, that is coming with such erroneous narrative.
Sources and writers has it that Ojukwu who was commander of the Kano Battalion then, fought and repelled Nzegwu (who was said to be relieving Lt Col. Kurubo and temporarily overseeing the Kaduna Battallion the day the coup happened), as Nzeogwu tried to takeover Kano Battalion from Kaduna.


Point of information, Ojukwu left Kano to Onitsha after he protested the ending killings of many Ibo officers following the Nzeogwu coup.

CharleyBright:


Mister Man, If Ojukwu was part of the Nzeogwu coup, why was he never arrested or named as one of the plotters long after the coup plotters were arrested? Why was Ojukwu still allowed to command the Kano Battalion after the Coup?
Why is it that till today, no one has ever linked Ojukwu to the Nzeogwu coup, except you?
It is you, that is coming with such erroneous narrative.
Sources and writers has it that Ojukwu who was commander of the Kano Battalion then, fought and repelled Nzegwu (who was said to be relieving Lt Col. Kurubo and temporarily overseeing the Kaduna Battallion the day the coup happened), as Nzeogwu tried to takeover Kano Battalion from Kaduna.


Point of information, Ojukwu left Kano to Onitsha after he protested the ending killings of many Ibo officers following the Nzeogwu coup.

Guestlander:


Perhaps you have a beef with the truth. If Ojukwu foiled the coup in the north why then would Ironsi enter into an agreement with Nzeogwu to stand down.

owobokiri:


Gowon was in Uganda when he was overthrown! Maybe he was also tipped off.. idiagbon, the brain behind Buharis regime in the 80s was in Saudi Arabia when their government was toppled and it has been said that the coup plotters planned it that way to make sure he wasn't around to mess up things! Maybe he was tipped off too.. Most coup plotters will prefer the commander in chief not being around to command a reactionary force during the coup process. It was the case in nigeria as it was the situation elsewhere in different occasions... About Ironsi not being "assassinated"? Looks like you like assassinations a lot.. Don't know what else to add to that. If everything written here by others couldn't clear you on that, nothing I will say can help.., so..

Guestlander:


I never said Ojukwu was part of the coup! Where did you get that from?
Ojukwu did not fight Nzeogwu because the north was effectively under Nzeogwu. Nzeogwu surrendered after some agreements with the authorities in Lagos.

CharleyBright:


No Sir. The North was not entirely under Nzeogwu control during the coup.
If Nzeogwu had captured Kano Battalion during the coup, where was Ojukwu who was the commander of Kano Battalion then? And what happened to Ojukwu then?
And if Nzeogwu didn't capture Kano Battalion, what stopped him from doing so?
What happened was that, (as alleged) Nzeogwu had been drafted to temporarily relief Lt Col Kurubu as commander of Kaduna Battalion. Nzeogwu was already in charge of Kaduna Battalion the day coup took place, not that he over ran it.
However, Emeka Ojukwu was the commander of the Kano Battalion. And when the coup happened, Nzeogwu tried to over-run Kano from Kaduna, but was repelled by Ojukwu and was pushed back to Kaduna.
Nzeogwu never took control of Kano under Ojukwu during the coup. Nzeogwu only took hold of Kaduna Battalion and refused to Stand down in Kaduna days after the coup had been botched.

CharleyBright:


Point of Correction, Aguyi Ironsi did NOT forcefully take over the govt, Pls dont mislead readers.
He became Head of state as the Most senior military officer after the coup.
Secondly, you are absolutely wrong by saying that Ironsi was only listening to IBo advisers. Rather, he failed to listen to his fellow IBO officers who had warned him and informed him that there was a coup plot on ground. He failed to listen and take measures, and that led to his death.
Infact, Ironsi leaned too much to the Northerner Officers so much that he fell out with some of his fellow Ibo officers.

Christistruth00:



Ojukwu and Ironsi were part of the NCNC Coup Nzeogwu was a pawn in a bigger Grand Plot

HedwigesMaduro:


Gowon went for OAU meeting. As the head of state he had to go. Idiagbon went for Hajj. As a Muslim he had to. Zik went for... I can't remember. I like assassinations a lot? Like you like travelling a lot is the reason you touched on Gowon and Idiagbon. And I'm here thinking we are being serious?

thatigboman:
Zik went to the UK to see the Queen. Any other question?

thatigboman:
records have proven that obasanjo was the mastermind of the coup. Killed his oga and became head of state

CharleyBright:


No Sir. The North was not entirely under Nzeogwu control during the coup.
If Nzeogwu had captured Kano Battalion during the coup, where was Ojukwu who was the commander of Kano Battalion then? And what happened to Ojukwu then?
And if Nzeogwu didn't capture Kano Battalion, what stopped him from doing so?
What happened was that, (as alleged) Nzeogwu had been drafted to temporarily relief Lt Col Kurubu as commander of Kaduna Battalion. Nzeogwu was already in charge of Kaduna Battalion the day coup took place, not that he over ran it.
However, Emeka Ojukwu was the commander of the Kano Battalion. And when the coup happened, Nzeogwu tried to over-run Kano from Kaduna, but was repelled by Ojukwu and was pushed back to Kaduna.
Nzeogwu never took control of Kano under Ojukwu during the coup. Nzeogwu only took hold of Kaduna Battalion and refused to Stand down in Kaduna days after the coup had been botched.

seunmsg:


You are really funny. Was Ironsi the next in line to become the head of government after Balewa? After putting down the coup, was it not logical that he should support Dipcharima as the leader of the party with the majority in parliament to take over as prime minister?

Ironsi with the support of other senior officers foiled the coup quite alright. However, he executed another coup immediately in conjunction with NCNC politicians. He took over the government forcefully from elected parliamentarians instead of supporting them to restore normalcy.

Ironsi as the head of the military was not entitled to take over the government after the failed coup. The military must always support civilian government always. He had the choice of helping to restore civilian rule after the murder of Balewa but choose to forcefully impose himself as head of state and supreme commander.

Guestlander:


Ojukwu did not foil any coup from Kaduna. Nzeogwu was effectively in control of the northern region, he was persuaded to stand down after the coup had failed in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria. This is probably one of the reasons why Ironsi was reluctant to execute the plotters, eventually leading to his own downfall.

owobokiri:


You are trying to teach the unteachables... They will never agree to the truth unless you tell them the same story their uncles told them. Most of them are getting their real basic education about these events on this platform for the very first time! This means that all the conjectures and conspiracy theories they have been peddling all along about the Jan 15 coup and the other subsequent coups are utterly wrong! They won't own up to their misunderstanding of facts, events and of course history because by doing so, they will start to see and seem to agree to the treacherous roles played by their uncles during the follow up events. So rather than read and accept the facts as you have stated here continuously, they will argue and argeu and argeu and drag you from all sides till they mess up the whole thread!

What I will not understand is why somebody born many years after an event will choose to speak of the same event that happened years before he was born so authoritatively that even the recorded views of the participants in such events are discarded! Mischief much!? There are books written by participants of January 15, 1966 coup! Both by Ben Gbulie (Nigerias Five Majors) an Igbo and Adewale Ademoyega (Why We Struck) a Yoruba! None mentioned Ironsi as a member of their group!! They rather bemoaned the inability of the Lagos group to track him down and arrest him. Why are these revisionists here desperate to name Ironsi as a member of the coupists plotters then?

nku5:


Nzeogwu was only really in charge of the capital of the north which was Kaduna. Ojukwu in Kano refused to cooperate with Nzeogwu. When the latter sent an emissary to Kano, he was promptly arrested. Nzeogwu never agreed to stand down, he was deceived into meeting with Ironsi in Lagos for peaceful talks and was arrested immediately.

As for Ironsi not executing the plotters, they were all arrested pending investigation and trial. Gowon was directly in charge of supervising the Special Branch (CID) that was conducting the investigation. He was obviously busy planning to seize power instead of getting to the bottom of the coup plot

CharleyBright:


These unneccesary back and forth argument with some of these Nairalanders can be so annoying sometimes. Most especially people who have no knowledge about an issue but will come up and be arguing endlessly based on their fixated preconceived and prejudiced mindsets.

CharleyBright:


You have good knowledge of what happened. These people have been dragging me with argument back and forth about Nzeogwu taking over Kano battalion during the coup.
What happened was that Nzeogwu had been drafted to temporarily relief the Kaduna Commander when the coup happened. Nzeogwu was already in charge of Kaduna battalion that day and he tried to over run Kano Battalion from Kaduna thinking Ojukwu will let him do that. But Ojuwkwu fought him and pushed him back to Kaduna where he remained until he surrendered several days after the coup.

nku5:


Thanks boss. I love history more than palmy Just one correction, Nzeogwu never surrendered, he was cajoled by Ironsi into flying to Lagos for talks and was welcomed by machine guns at the airport. Ironsi tossed him into jail sharply

nku5:


Nzeogwu was only really in charge of the capital of the north which was Kaduna. Ojukwu in Kano refused to cooperate with Nzeogwu. When the latter sent an emissary to Kano, he was promptly arrested. Nzeogwu never agreed to stand down, he was deceived into meeting with Ironsi in Lagos for peaceful talks and was arrested immediately.

As for Ironsi not executing the plotters, they were all arrested pending investigation and trial. Gowon was directly in charge of supervising the Special Branch (CID) that was conducting the investigation. He was obviously busy planning to seize power instead of getting to the bottom of the coup plot

owobokiri:


You are trying to teach the unteachables... They will never agree to the truth unless you tell them the same story their uncles told them. Most of them are getting their real basic education about these events on this platform for the very first time! This means that all the conjectures and conspiracy theories they have been peddling all along about the Jan 15 coup and the other subsequent coups are utterly wrong! They won't own up to their misunderstanding of facts, events and of course history because by doing so, they will start to see and seem to agree to the treacherous roles played by their uncles during the follow up events. So rather than read and accept the facts as you have stated here continuously, they will argue and argeu and argeu and drag you from all sides till they mess up the whole thread!

What I will not understand is why somebody born many years after an event will choose to speak of the same event that happened years before he was born so authoritatively that even the recorded views of the participants in such events are discarded! Mischief much!? There are books written by participants of January 15, 1966 coup! Both by Ben Gbulie (Nigerias Five Majors) an Igbo and Adewale Ademoyega (Why We Struck) a Yoruba! None mentioned Ironsi as a member of their group!! They rather bemoaned the inability of the Lagos group to track him down and arrest him. Why are our resident revisionists here desperate to name Ironsi as a member of the coup plotters then?

Guestlander:


Both of you are talking rubbish. Did Nzeogwu need to take Kano in addition to being in control in Kaduna?
Six months later when Murtala and his gang took control of Lagos even when the head of state was killed in Ibadan, did he also need to physically take other formations in the country?
Kaduna was the seat of power in the North, that is why it was taken by Nzeogwu. Whether Ojukwu was the GOC in Kano was irrelevant. Nzeogwu was most certainly ready for any pesky opposition from any quarters.
You are probably learning basic stuff on this forum yourself.

CharleyBright:


My dear young man, you don't need to resort to insults to prove your point. You don't say people are talking rubbish because you don't agree with their position. Be civil online cos you don't know when you are talking to your elders.
Firstly, let me inform and educate you. The Murtala Mohammed coup did not happen 6months after the Nzeogwu coup. After Nzeogwu coup, Ironsi took over. Then Ironsi was assassinated, then Gowon took over and was Head of State all thru the Civil War and after. When Gowon was removed thru a coup, Murtala Mohammed took over before he was assassinated 6 months into his govt. So your point that Murtala Mohammed coup happened 6months after Nzeogwu is wrong.
Secondly, the Dimka coup that assassinated Murtala Mohammed was the most flawed and badly planned and executed coup ever in the history of Nigeria and Africa. Even the Coup Message was badly written that when it was read, it showed that they were confused on their intentions. And these and other silly mistakes they made were many reasons why it failed. You made reference to Dimka coup as didn't bother to be in control of other army artillery in other locations in the country. My young lad, that was the very key reason why the coup failed. They were very incompetence and foolish to think they can do a military coup without disarming other military locations and taking charge. They failed in that coup cos other Military divisions rose up to close in on them in Lagos.
Now going back to the Nzeogwu coup, there were a few Army Battalions then during Nzeogwu coup. One in 2 Battalions in Lagos, one in Ibadan, One in Enugu, one in Kaduna and one in Kano. All these Battalions needed to be taken over as key to their coup plan. Enugu and Kaduna were taken over by the coupists. Lagos and Ibadan were almost taken over, but Ironsi fought back and overpowered the coupists maned in Lagos. Nzeogwu who was in Kaduna then tries to take Kano, but Ojukwu in Kano fought back and repelled him.
Go and read books written by Army Officers who were on ground and later wrote books about what transpired.
Knowledge is Power. Read and acquire knowledge and stop arguing blindly and insulting people unnecessarily.