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Biafra Agitation: Any Justification
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 7]
Page 4 of 7
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In the West it was Action
Group party crisis through which Awolowo and his group were permanently
neutralized with the purported treason offence and Akintola imposed on
the people despite their protests. The West turned into ‘Wild-West.’ The
East had relative peace except for the census crisis of 1962/63 and
federal election crisis of 1964, none of which was regional crisis in a
strict sense, and perhaps, the case of Isaac Adaka Boro. In the North,
the Chief actor was Ahmadu Bello who ruled the whole federation from
Kaduna through the puppet Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. He
was a Muslim fanatic and an Hausa-Fulani ethnic bigot.11 He was openly,
and shamelessly too, an ethnic chauvinist to an embarrassing degree.[2]
He was the unrivalled leader of NPC, a party which developed from a
Northern ethnic organization. Because of the regional imbalance, this
party would perpetually have the majority seat in the Federal House of
Representatives and therefore was very powerful. The Sardauna was
therefore very powerful and enjoyed an unrivalled popularity in the
North. Because of his unrivalled popularity among the Northern
politicians, coupled with the Northern domination in the Federal House
of Representatives, he held the whole federation to ransom, and was
politically undisciplined. He was actually the Prime Minister in the
body of Sir Tafawa Balewa.[3] He used federal institutions like the
military at will. Thus he used the military for private matters and
mainly for political purposes; with the federal Army he politically
suppressed Tiv minority uprising in the North. He was equally behind the
crisis in the West.[4]
In his bid to stuff the whole rank and file
of the federal military with the Northerners he suffocated it with
Northern chaffs, that every Northerner on trousers became a military
man, just to out-number the Southerners. Because of his power and
influence, military promotions were mainly based on ethnic identity,
which naturally favored the Northerners, while the Southerners who were
ambitious had to openly identify with Northern politicians before
realizing their dreams.[5] The military thus turned into a place of
political maneuvers. The climax of this maneuver was the competition
between Brigadier Ademulegun and General Aguiyi Ironsi on whom to
succeed the last British General Officer Commanding (GOC). Ademulegun
was seriously romancing with Northern politicians by all means while
Aguiyi Ironsi showed little interest, but the latter was however made
the GOC after everything.[6] The result of all these was that the
military became a mockery; where seniority and competence did not matter
again, and they became politically conscious. The standard was fast
running down to zero degree because recruitments and promotions were
based on ethnicity, rather than competence. When all these things were
happening remember, people were daily being killed in the West and in
Tiv land on political basis.[7] Worse still, there were strong reasons
to believe the rumours of an impending Islamic jihad which was again
linked to the Sardauna.[8]
As usual, the poor masses bore the brunt
of the above situation and could naturally anticipate a military
revolution. In the military, the issue of an impending coup became a
common talk. Seeing what was going on in the federation, some more
radical soldiers believed that coup d’etat was the only way out and
consequently struck on January 15, 1966. This coup, generally accepted
as Nzeogwu’s coup (but Ifeajuna’s for Ojukwu), took about a total of
fifteen lives of both soldiers and civilians, including the Surdauna and
the Prime Minister.[9] It succeeded in the North while failed in the
South for the following reasons.
The soldiers had different views
about the coup d’etat. There were those who believed that the only way
to move the federation foreword was through coup d’etat. They include
Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emma Ifeajuna, Don Okafor, Chris Anuforo,
Wole Ademoyega and their accomplices. Some supported the coup but would
not risk their lives and thus, remained neutral. Some others saw it as a
mutiny, considering their reaction during the coup. There were equally
some others who would not support it if they knew about it. These were
mainly those who dinned with the corrupt politicians; the circumstance
favoured them. And so on.
The soldiers led by Major Nzeogwu succeeded
in the North as Nzeogwu was in total control of Kaduna. However, it is
clear Odumegwu Ojukwu anticipated the coup and was on the watch out. He
could therefore arrest those sent to take over his unit and maintained
peace in Kano.[10] In the South, the coup was a total mess-up. General
Aguiyi Ironsi, the legitimate commander of the whole federal military,
escaped those sent for him in Lagos and still retained the control of
the army especially in Lagos.[11] Those sent to the East were placed
between the devil and the blue sea. They were placed in dilemma of
either endangering the life of an international guest, Archbishop
Makarios, the Cypriot leader who visited the Eastern Premier, Dr.
Michael Okpara, as they went on with the coup or, save his life by
waiting till he left, which means delaying the coup.[12] After
everything, the coup was a caricature. Ironsi, still retaining his
power, having escaped the soldiers and seeing the coup as a mutiny,
could successfully foil it in the South. When some of the soldiers
taking part in the coup found out that Ironsi was still in control of
the army in the South, they immediately switched over to his side in
fear while others ran away.[13] Everything now boiled down to a
situation of polarization of power; Ironsi in control of the South while
Nzeogwu in control of the North. Ironsi ordered Nzeogwu to surrender
but Nzeogwu was ready to have it out to a conclusive end with Ironsi
before he was advised by some army officers to surrender to Ironsi, at
least having succeeded in dethroning the corrupt regime.[14] Nzeogwu
eventually surrendered on certain conditions, which included non
execution of those who took part in the coup.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 7]
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