Igbo Not To Blame For 1966 Coup – Iwuanyanwu

Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, publisher of Champion newspaper, has dismissed suggestions that Igbo political leaders were responsible for the 1966 coup, popularly known as the bloodiest the country ever experienced.

Iwuayanwu, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stalwart, said this during the celebration of his 75th birthday in Abuja.

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According to him, it was wrong for anyone to blame Igbo for masterminding the coup, noting that it was the same Igbo leaders that prevented the coup from actualizing its main objectives.

The coup d’état began on January 15, 1966, when mutinous Nigerian soldiers led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna killed 22 people including the Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Premier of the North, Ahmadu Bello, many senior politicians, senior Army officers (including their wives), and guards.

The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day span of time before they were subdued.

The General Officer Commanding, of the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi then used the coup as a pretext to annex power. It was one of the events that led to the Nigerian Civil War.

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“Before I die, I want to correct the erroneous belief being fed to Nigerian youths that the January 1966 coup was instigated by Igbo leaders. It is not true, Iwuanyanwu said.

“Yes, the person who led it was an Igbo from Delta State but he had with him people from other tribes: Yoruba, Niger Delta and other places. It was a purely military coup. It was not Igbo coup. There was no time Igbo leaders told the military to carry out the coup.

“If for anything, Nnamdi Azikiwe was very sad at the death of Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello and others. I want the younger generation of Nigerians to know that they are being told lies.”

On why the coup failed, he said: “I want them also to know why the coup failed. It failed because an Igbo man, General Aguiyi Ironsi took up arms and arrested the coup plotters and put them in prison.

“Ironsi was the one controlling the army then. If he had supported the coup, it could have succeeded. So, it was Igbo that stopped the coup. Ironsi was eventually killed because all of us said we do not want unitary government. We wanted political restructuring. We are very serious about it and many Nigerians have said it.”

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He also called on the National Assembly to hasten the process of restructuring the country, saying it remains the only way to keep Nigeria united and strong.

“The National Assembly should hasten the process of restructuring this country. The three tiers must be independent of each other. Local councils in my own opinion is the most important tier. They are the one with the masses.

“I advise politicians to stop thinking that councils are for learners. It is for experienced politicians. When people retire, they should be able to aspire for council positions. When that policy is adopted, it means you can carry the experience you have to go and develop your community.

“Councils should be able to build roads, hospitals, boreholes and schools. I don’t see how somebody can sit here in Abuja and build all the roads in Nigeria. It is not possible. We have been working for power to be given to states and it has not worked. We support restructuring.”

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