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Forgotten Dairies

Nigeria’s first successful military coup -By Sesugh Akume

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Ironsi and Nzeogwu e1469919532774

Ironsi and Nzeogwu

 

I’ve seen online posts commemorating yesterday, 29 July 2016 as the 50th anniversary of the first successful military coup in Nigeria. As well as the 50th anniversary of the death of Nigeria’s first military head of state, Major-General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi.

I know that this is mainstream thought, but it is factually inaccurate that this was the first successful coup. It’s already a big problem enough that the teaching and learning of history was expunged from our schools, which is unbelievable. But when it is reintroduced, we need to be mindful about teaching and learning the right thing, instead of engaging in revisionism that crafts stories to suit and promote falsehoods and inaccuracies.

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The first successful coup in Nigeria took place on 16 January 1966; the coup that made JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi the first military head of state. It may have been quiet and bloodless but it was a coup all the same.

The unsuccessful coup of 15 January 1966 lead to the death of the prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and many others. The president-general, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe had had wind of a coup and so was away on some sort of leave of absence since October/November 1965. Acting in his stead was the Right Honourable Nwafor Orizu, Nigeria’s second senate president, who as the acting president should simply have sworn in Zanna Bukar Dipcharima as the prime minister without skipping a beat but he didn’t. At the time the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was the majority party in parliament therefore naturally produced the prime minister, thus emerged Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who was the party’s deputy leader, second to Sir Ahmadu Bello, the premier of the northern region (who himself died in the 15 January coup like Balewa, he in Kaduna). Dipcharima was next to Balewa in the House, and seeing as the NPC was the majority, he should naturally have been leader of the party, and therefore sworn in as the prime minister. But this wasn’t done.

The next day 16 January, JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi took over power from Nwafor Orizu for unexplainable reasons, and whereas our history is silent about this encounter, a coup actually took place in that room and thus began the 13-year military rule and a history of coups and counter coups in Nigeria.

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The new head of state didn’t handle things as best as they could. For one, as a soldier he had no business running the country. That’s aside the fact that he wasn’t prepared for the task and wasn’t ready. Second, those involved in the coup of 15 January were not punished, and many other reasons which created the tension that led to the counter coup of 29 July, six and a half months later.

It’s rather ironic is that his Unification Decree 34 [of 26 May 1966] which converted Nigeria from a federal system to a command and control unitary system was a major cause of that uprising that not only removed him but killed him. Every region preferred the autonomy to control their destinies and run their (especially financial) systems as best suited for them, and contribute to the centre. Today Nigeria is federal republic in name, but actually a unitary state in nature and practice with an overbearing centre, and we resist even discussions about restructuring it back to the federal system it should be. Something for which a government was overturned, which in part led to a 30-month civil war.

Only if we accurately know from where we are coming, can we understand where we are and why. Only then can we shape where we want to go. But in the absence of this we shall keep groping in the dark, deceiving ourselves.

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