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Date: 9th March, 2024

                         
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Former Nigerian winger, Emmanuel Amuneke has put himself in the running to be the next head coach of the Super Eagles.

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, declared the position vacant on Friday following the expiration of erstwhile handler, Jose Peseiro’s contract.

The NFF requested interested coaches to apply for the top job and also listed the requirements.

“Yes I did [apply to be the next manager],” Amuneke told popular journalist Osazu Obayiwana.

The 53-year-old is one of the leading candidates to take over from Peseiro.

The former Barcelona star has handled the Nigeria U-17 side and Tanzania national team in the past.

The Labour Party presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, alongside the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, were among the dignitaries who attended the Christian wake of the late Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and son.

Naija News recalls that Wigwe, his wife Chizoba, and their eldest son Chizzy, were part of an ill-fated air crash in the US about a month ago.

However, Channels TV reports that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalyi Fubara, and Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2023 governorship election in Rivers State, were also among those in attendance to pay their final respects before the burial ceremony scheduled for Saturday.

The bodies of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, as well as those of his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizitere, have arrived in Nigeria ahead of their burial.

Naija News understands the remains arrived in Nigeria from the United States of America via the Port Harcourt International Airport on Friday.

The trio, alongside the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in the United States last month.

The remains of the Wigwes are scheduled for burial on Saturday at Isiokpo, his hometown, in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State.

The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the appointment of Adebayo Ojeyinka, an Osun indigene, among the 18 new permanent secretaries recently appointed across ministries in the state.

Making this disclosure in a statement on Friday, the spokesperson of the governor, Christian Aburime, detailed that the appointments were based on merit.

Naija News reports that the state government also appointed Joachin Achor from Abia State.

Aburime said that a “rigorous and transparent” procedure, comprising a computerized test, a search procedure, and one-on-one meetings with the governor, was used in making the appointments.

The statement read, “This personalised interaction allowed for a deeper understanding of the candidate’s aspirations, vision, and alignment with the government’s objectives, ensuring a well-rounded evaluation.

“It is imperative to note that historically, the selection of permanent secretaries solely rested with the prerogative of Mr Governor. However, this time, a deliberate shift towards a transparent search process was initiated.

“This change aimed to uphold principles of fairness, equal opportunity, and the identification of the most qualified candidates.

“Even younger, very productive civil servants were appointed based on their exceptional abilities.

“This groundbreaking move by Soludo highlights his commitment to breaking down barriers and promoting inclusivity in Anambra State.

“The appointments of non-indigenes and individuals from other states demonstrate a willingness to tap into talent from all corners of the country, rather than limiting opportunities to only those who hail from Anambra.”

It added that the appointment of Ojeyinka from Osun State is particularly noteworthy as it breaks the traditional practice of reserving top civil service positions for indigenes only.

“This move sends a strong message that Anambra is open to all, irrespective of their state of origin.”

The state government further detailed that the 16 other appointees were all indigenes of Anambra state.

Odoh Eric Ocheme has been revealed as one of the suspects wanted for allegedly forging former President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature to effect the disbursement of $6,230,000 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Naija News understands that Ocheme, who served as Emefiele’s personal assistant, is wanted by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Recall that the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, testified before a Federal High Court in Abuja that no fund was meant for the payment of foreign election observers.

Mustapha said the apex bank leadership forged the former President’s and his own signatures to process the payment.

Following the development, the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the CBN under the former Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Jim Obazee, swung into action to unravel the payment.

In February, Obazee had asked Interpol to place three suspects on its watchlist over the $6,230,000 payment. The suspects were Ocheme, Adamu Abubakar, and Imam Abubakar.

Emefiele was also indicted over the alleged fraudulent payment. He is currently facing a 20-count criminal charge preferred against him by the EFCC.

Ocheme is one of those being investigated over alleged fraud in the apex bank. The EFCC recently declared him, Margaret, Emefiele’s wife, Anita Joy Omoile, and Jonathan Omoile wanted for alleged money laundering.

Profile Of Ocheme

Born on May 16, 1981, in Markudi, Benue state capital, Ocheme studied economics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Before his tertiary education, he attended ECWA Secondary School in Markurdi.

According to TheCable, Ocheme, an associate of Emefiele, is one of the directors of Ricrem Limited and Beustone Nigeria Limited, which provides services for agricultural production.

The company, which was registered in February 2012, is inactive on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website, which means that the company has not filed its annual returns up to date.

Those listed as directors of the company are Ocheme, Raymond Sunday Odoh, Livingstone Ocheme Onukwue, and Elliott Ocheme Nwandu.

The second company, Beustone, was established on May 5, 2009. It is also inactive on the CAC website. Ocheme, Livingstone Onukwue, Beulah Ali, and Josephine Odoh are listed as directors.

Ocheme married Chinenyeze Ozioma Okoro in February 2021 in Owerri, Imo state.

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The wedding ceremony, which took place at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Irete, Owerri West LGA, was attended by top politicians and personalities, including Emefiele.

State governors committed to new minimum wage – Bala Mohammed

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted on a living wage for workers in the country.
The Congress asked the Federal Government to allow salaries and wages to be commensurate with the cost of living.

President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero said this at the 11th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja.

On Thursday, the NLC presented N709, 000 for consideration as the new national minimum wage at the public hearing for the North Central.

The Trade Union Congress on the other hand presented N447,000 as its proposal for consideration as the new national minimum wage.

The current minimum wage of N30, 000 passed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari would expire in April this year.

Ajaero lamented that workers have been reduced to beggars because of the economic hardship in the country.

He said: “Food has become so scarce that Nigerians have become scavengers and resorting to raiding food trucks and warehouses for food. If those in government cannot see the danger in what is happening, we see it and must ensure that government fulfills its duties to the people.

“We are increasingly going hungry in our father’s land and cannot continue in this destitution. The greatest unifier and mobiliser of a people is hunger so it insults commonsense when those in government assume that somebody is sponsoring people who are protesting because of hunger.

“If anybody is arousing the people, it is those in government whose policies have impoverished the people and stripped them of those values that make them human beings.

“The looting of food trucks and warehouse is what you get when this happens. Unless something is done, this may unfortunately escalate. We pray it does not.

“Those who therefore think that they can stop us from this divine mission with their threats and violence should think twice. We cannot be cowed. We cannot surrender our natural mandate to powers and agents of poverty and emasculation. We are not after anybody’s job but we must insist that the instruments of governance must be used for the greater good of the people and not to wreck their lives.

“We must insist that any political calculation that does not put the lives of Nigerians first fails abysmally and is totally unacceptable. The people of Nigeria must have to survive first so that Nigeria can survive before we begin to talk about 2027.

“We must all work together to build power with which we can use for successful engagement with those who are in charge of the various corridors of power in our dear nation. Nigerians look up to us and we must not fail them. We in the NLC, which includes your Ag. President and Deputy President of Congress; Comrade Ado Sani Minjibir will always court and cherish your support to build the necessary structures that will make the NLC stronger thus challenge the vicissitudes of the nation’s current socioeconomic realities.”

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha said the government was committed to providing affordable healthcare for Nigerians.

Onyejeocha, who was represented by the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Yusuf Mohammed also said the government was committed to providing better welfare packages for health workers.

Acting National President, Medical and Health Workers Union, Kabiru Minjibir said the removal of fuel subsidy has “unleashed hardship on Nigerians.”

Minjibir noted that “anarchy may be looming if nothing practical is urgently done.”

Meanwhile, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has affirmed the commitment of Nigerian governors to effectively implement a new minimum wage for workers.

The governor made the declaration on his verified Facebook page following his participation in a meeting in Yola, convened by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (North-East Zone) yesterday.

“We are collaborating to ensure the smooth implementation of the new minimum wage,” he stated.

The governor further expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his support to state governments and his endeavors to enhance the well-being of all Nigerians.

Nigerian-born British boxer Anthony Joshua showed class once more early Saturday as he recored a brutal second-round knockout victory over his Cameroonian challenger Francis Ngannou.

The highly anticipated heavyweight clash took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and AJ, a Joshua is popularly called, was simply ruthless as he floored his opponent.

Ngannou, the former UFC champion, entered the bout with the aura of his impressive debut against Tyson Fury, but Joshua proved too powerful, solidifying his title aspirations.

Joshua displayed phenomenal power and precision, dismantling Ngannou in a mere two rounds.

Ngannou, who shocked the world by flooring Fury in November before a split-decision defeat, aimed for a repeat against the former two-time heavyweight champion.

The Cameroonian started strong, threatening with his left hook and a looping right.

However, Joshua countered with a devastating straight right in the opening round, sending Ngannou crashing to the canvas.

The second round saw both fighters swinging wildly.

Former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, says that Steven Oronsaye’s report was not presented to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari during his administration.

Shittu was a minister during Buhari’s first term in office between 2015 and 2019..

According to him, the report was not brought to the attention of the Buhari administration, and as such, there was no need for implementation.

He said, “The report had been with the previous government (Jonathan’s) but they didn’t do anything. Nobody brought it to our (Buhari government’s) attention, at least not when I was there. So, the issue never came up for discussion at the Federal Executive Council meeting at all. If nobody brought it and there were no complaints, we didn’t have cause to look at it at all.”

There was controversy over the report since the Federal Government approved the implementation of some of its recommendations to reduce the cost of governance on February 26, about 12 years after it was submitted.

Twenty-nine government agencies are expected to be merged, even as eight parastatals will be subsumed into eight other agencies, even as some Nigerians fear that this may lead to job losses.

The National President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Tommy Etim, had warned that job losses amidst the current hardship in the country could lead to mass protests.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, described the report as outdated, advising the Federal Government to ensure that “the crisis of insecurity is not compounded through the retrenchment of hundreds of thousands of workers.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Thursday, inaugurated the implementation committee.

Speaking on the matter, Shittu said that civil servants should not be afraid of job losses, adding that only politicians would be affected as the number of appointees would reduce.

“We must avoid or do away with duplication of services because that would increase the cost of governance. When we talk about some people losing jobs, I think that national interest is more important than personal interest, and I don’t see any civil servant losing his job on that,” he stressed.

Also speaking on the matter, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, said implementing the Oronsaye’s report would reduce the excessively complicated administration of ministries, departments, and agencies of government.

Ali said, “One of the things you will find is that there is a lot of inter-agency rivalry. It happens almost everywhere, including in the US. If the report is implemented faithfully, at least we will be out of the problem of rivalry as well as overlapping functions and duties.

“It may not affect the personnel because it will become a larger body. And it will lead to having a leaner government that will be able to manage bureaucracy better. The fact that you are merging A and B does not mean you will dismiss people. It only means that you will have a larger number of people working in the same space.

“If you are talking about the loss of jobs, what will you say with the advent of artificial intelligence and robotics? Should we say people will lose their jobs and not invest in AI, robotics like drones, and others? Anything that will bring progress, we should try to adopt it.”

Negotiations for the release of no fewer than 287 abducted pupils and teachers of the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have begun, according to PUNCH report.

A highly placed source in the Kaduna State Government House, who is close to the negotiations but pleaded not to be identified because of security reasons, confided in PUNCH that the state government had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator (names withheld) for the release of the pupils and their teachers.

The private negotiator is a highly influential negotiator who has been involved in negotiating several abductions with bandits in the past.

Bandits had stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, around 8.30am on Thursday shortly after the assembly gathering and abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools.

It was learnt that the secondary school was relocated to the primary school premises as a result of insecurity in the area.

Governor Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, gave an assurance that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt.

Sani while addressing the community members said, “In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt.”

However, less than 48 hours after the abduction, which triggered national outrage, an official source said the government had reached out to the bandits for negotiations to release the 287 abducted pupils and the staff members of the school.

The source said, “The military has begun combing the forests in search of the children kidnapped by the bandits. Security agents have cordoned off the area and they have started searching for the abducted pupils.

“The government is doing all it can for the speedy release of the abducted school pupils.

“The government has established contact and reached out to the bandits for negotiation through a popular bandit negotiator. The negotiator was the one who worked for the return of some of the students abducted some years back.

“He (the negotiator) had negotiated the return of so many abductees in the past. He negotiated the return of those students abducted in Katsina State years back.”

Two other government officials confirmed the development to one of our correspondents but insisted on not being identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

They also refused to provide additional information as they insisted that doing so might frustrate the ongoing efforts to secure the victims’ release and put them in harm’s way.

One of them said, “You know this is a highly sensitive issue. I can’t give more information on the negotiations because of the security implications. We don’t want the bandits to harm the pupils and their teachers, and we don’t want to put the lives of the negotiator and the security operatives at risk.

“The only thing I can say is that the Kaduna State Government will do everything humanly possible to secure their release, just as the governor promised on Thursday when he visited the affected community.”

It was gathered that an emergency security meeting was convened by the governor on Friday but details of the discussions were not available to journalists.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the security meeting and said details would be provided later.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Shehu, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the development as of the time of going to press.

At least two worshippers were killed during Friday’s prayers at Anguwar Makera in the Kwasakwasa community, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state.

The incident happened around 2pm on Friday, according to locals in the area.

A community leader, Hudu Kwasakwasa, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers.

He said the worshippers were in the second raka’at of the Salat prayer when they were attacked, forcing the remaining people to run for their lives.

He added that a few days ago, bandits abducted about nine persons from the Angwar Kanawa community.

Kwasakwasa appealed for help from the authorities concerned, adding that bandits were raiding the communities unchallenged.

The state government and the police command were yet to react to the mosque incident as the PPRO could not be reached on the telephone and had yet to reply to a text message sent to him seeking confirmation as of the time of filing this report.

When Saturday PUNCH established contact with one of the parents of the kidnapped pupils through a Joint Task Force operative, who availed one of our correspondents of the use of his mobile telephone, the traumatised father, who spoke in the Hausa language amid sobs, said, “I never knew I would be in this situation. I heard of things like this, but I never knew I would be a victim.

“What have I done to deserve this? Please I’m not myself. I should die.

“I pray for the governor to fulfil his promise of my son’s release along with the other innocent children, otherwise, we are finished.”

The JTF source informed Saturday PUNCH that the villagers saw over 100 bandits conveying the pupils on motorcycles.

This claim was also corroborated by a community leader, Alhaji Idris Abdurra’uf.

According to Abdurra’uf, a community leader from Birnin-Gwari, a neighbouring community to Kuriga, residents of the community are fleeing the area for fear that the bandits may return.

Abdurra’uf, who expressed concern over the latest incident, added that Kuriga was the same community where a school principal, Idris Abusufyan, was killed and his wife and two children abducted about three weeks ago and were still being held hostage by the bandits.

He also disclosed that residents of Doka village, which the terrorists used as a pathway to Zamfara State, said they spotted scores of the bandits on motorbikes carrying the abducted pupils.

The community leader told Saturday PUNCH that the residents were yet to ascertain the number of the abducted pupils abandoned by the terrorists on their way to Zamfara State.

According to him, as of Thursday night, they were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren had been evacuated to Birnin-Gwari “and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they would be reunited with their parents.”

He added that the situation at Kuriga was tense even before the latest abduction of the pupils, noting, “Most residents have evacuated their families and they have become Internally Displaced Persons, some in Birnin-Gwari and others in nearby Igawa.

“Kuriga village, which is not more than 26 kilometers from Birnin-Gwari town in the Chukun Local Government Area, is situated along the Kaduna Birnin-Gwari highway.

“The village is not far from the terrorists’ enclave in Manini, which is the gateway to Niger State through River Kaduna; the terrorists from Zamfara pass through that place to Manini to Alawa and Shawara in Niger State.

“Three weeks before the abduction of the pupils, the terrorists had killed the principal of the Government Secondary School Kuriga around 4am, while his wife and two children were abducted. The wife and children are still in captivity.

“The secondary school was the first structure you would see on the road when you are coming from Kaduna before you enter Kuriga, but because of the proximity to Manini (six kilometres), the school was relocated to the main town of Kuriga where the primary school is also situated; that was why when the terrorists struck, they took away pupils of both the primary and the secondary schools.”

Abdurra’uf added, “As it is now, we’re yet to ascertain the number of the primary school pupils the terrorists abandoned on their way to Zamfara. Yesterday night (Thursday), some of the locals in Doka, which is also the root of the terrorists in Zamfara, said that they saw over 100 motorbikes carrying the kidnapped students.

“As of last night, we were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren of Kuriga were evacuated to Birnin-Gwari, and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they’ll be reunited with their parents.

“We gathered that 220 students from both the primary and secondary schools were abducted.

“The situation in that town was highly tense even before the kidnapping of the students. Most people have evacuated their families and they’ve become IDPS; some are in Birnin-Gwari and others are in nearby Igawa, which is also a town on the Kaduna highway, and Buruku close to the Kaduna International Airport, all in the Chikun Local Government Area.”

The abductors of the over 200 IDPs from the Ngala camp, Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State have not contacted the families of the abductees for ransom.

Immediately after the report of the abduction, the state government sent a fact-finding team led by the Director-General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Barkindo Saidu, to the Nigeria-Chad border town.

Saidu told newsmen in Maiduguri on Friday, “No abductor has up to this moment called for any ransom on the abductees.

“We don’t even believe that they were abducted. If they were abducted, the abductors would have by now called for ransom; but nobody has called anybody for any ransom yet.”

The DG argued that the IDPs probably lost their way back home from wherever they went in the bush, adding that some of them had already returned to the camp.

“Already, the IDPs, who could trace their way back home, are trickling back home. Even when I returned to Maiduguri from there yesterday (Thursday), I was called and told that two of the so-called abductees had found their way back to the camp,” he added.

The military refused to say anything other than the initial assurance by the spokesman for the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Ajemusu Jingina, on Wednesday that troops, with the help of the air component of Operation Hadin Kai, had been despatched for search-and-rescue operation for the abductees.

Whenever the issue of the putsch of 15 January 1966, is raised, there is no way it will not awaken emotions and ugly memories for its horrors. Equally merciless and even more bloody and horrendous is what has been referred to as the revenge coup, given the number of deaths, and the rage that swept through parts of the Northern Region. This is why deliberate efforts must be made at reconciliation from deep our hearts, springing from our souls. Careless and impassioned pronouncements cannot be tools of reconciliation and the balm to heal wounds.

The question that has been asked for nearly six decades is what was the objective of the coup? The question could not have been answered better than by those who planned it. Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the leader of the coup makers, said in his broadcast that the aim of the putschists he called the Revolutionary Council was to clean up the country and “establish a strong, united and prosperous nation free from corruption and internal strife.” On the indignity to which Nigerians were subjected internationally, he said: “We promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are Nigerians.” They were poised to fight those who made the country “look big for nothing… “Our enemies are the political profiteers…those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least…”

Was it an Igbo coup? Major Adewale Ademoyega, one of the three masterminds of the coup answers the question in his book, “Why We Struck”: “Contrary to the load of wicked propaganda that had since been heaped upon us, there was no decision at our meeting to single out any particular ethnic group for elimination or destruction. Our intentions were honourable, our views were national and our goals were idealistic. We intended that the coup should be national in execution so that it would receive nationwide acclamation. We planned that the use of force should be minimal so that our methods could at once be seen as superior to those of the politicians, who simply went on killing the very people that they were called upon to govern.”

The Daily Times which was the leading newspaper at the time reflecting the relief and joy of the nation in its issue of 18 January 1966, said in its Front Page Comment: “For some time now—almost right from the day we came onto our own, the country has been, as it were, at the sick bay. We have been groping along—rudderless, hesitant, unsure which foot to put forward first. For some time now—almost right from that day in October 1960 when we put out flags and bunting in celebration of the dawn of a new era—our experiment in parliamentary democracy, Westminster fashion, which we watched our old masters practice may have flourished, but it certainly did not appear to flourish. Opposition was virtually reduced to a position of nullity.

“For a long time, instead of settling down to minister unto the people’s needs, the politicians were busy performing a series of seven days’ wonders as if the art of government was some circus show. John Citizen was not amazed, but he was powerless, he was helpless.

“Indeed, at one period, it seemed as if the country had reached the famous last days about which Paul wrote to Timothy—the days when men become lovers of selves, covetous, proud, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, fierce, despisers of those that are good, heady, high-minded.

“Still we groped along as John Citizen watched politicians scorn the base by which they ascended. We groped from one trouble to another; from one calamity to another. It was too much, it was enough, but none there was to bell the cat, until the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Today, there is a new regime in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a new military regime. About time, too.

“Something just had to be done to save the Federation. Something has been done. It is a surgical operation which must be performed or the patient dies. The operation has been performed. It has proved successful. And it is welcome.”

Ethnic consideration did not cross the minds of the initiators of the coup. Ademoyega made strenuous efforts to convince the world that it was not an ethnic agenda. It began with him sleeping and waking up thinking about revolution and he found himself, in accordance with the Law of nature, drifting towards kindred spirits. When he appeared before the Selection Board of the Nigerian Army to be enlisted, he met Uche Chukwumerije. It was only both of them that came from outside and were to be tested and interviewed to join the Army. The others were already cadets who had gone through the Military Training College in preparation for further training overseas.

Both were eventually selected and were to be trained at Mons Officer Cadet in Britain. They were meeting for the first time and instantly took to each other as if they had grown up together. Chukwumerije hinted him that he wanted to join the Army to stage a revolution. Both met Ifeajuna who had joined the Army in 1960. In their interactions, Ademoyega found that the three of them were birds of the same feather who were to flock together. Indeed, Ifeajuna and Chukwumerije had been together at the University of Ibadan. The latter meeting Ifeajuna was a pleasant reunion. To Ademoyega, too, Ifeajuna’s name rang a bell. He recalled his feat at the Commonwealth Games of 1954 in Canada where he won the gold medal in the high jump. When he got to Zaria to be enlisted in October 1961 he was met by Kaduna Chukwuma Nzeogwu who was the training officer. Lt. Nzeogwu as he then was, gave him a rousing welcome. Ademoyega was touched by what he described as his humbleness and humanity. And immediately they struck a lifelong friendship. Through their interactions, it did not take time for him to discover that he had found another kindred spirit. The four of them in separate discussions found that they shared the same vision of the political, social, and economic life of Nigeria and that revolution was the answer.

That was how the seed of revolution was sown which was to bear fruit albeit unsuccessfully on 15 January 1966. Chukwumerije was later to abandon his ambition to join the Army. He was successful in the selection test and interview in Kaduna quite alright. However, when he was making preparations to resume, he hinted a British professor at the University of Ibadan that he was going into the Army so he could launch a revolution using the Army platform. The Professor shocked him saying that the Army was a most conservative institution. If he wanted to realise his dream of a revolution he would advise him to look elsewhere. The conversation poured cold water on his spirit. Consequently, he backed out; he did not report for the flight with his colleagues to London, and his seat at the cadet college remained vacant. In other words, what was on the minds of the three principal coup plotters was how they could set off a revolution in Nigeria and from where any prospective participant in their operation came did not matter to them, especially at the last minute.

Mass education was top in their ideology and programme. They believed that mass education, formal and informal, was the answer to mass illiteracy in the land. “This was deemed essential to lift the vast majority of our people out of the bog of ignorance and disease, to make every individual a productive… liberate the minds of our people from darkness… Students and teachers must be made aware that they had a common cause “to destroy a common enemy—ignorance.”

One can begin to sense why they were rooting for Chief Awolowo, the chief driver of mass and free education in Nigeria. Nzeogwu said: “Neither I nor any of the other lads was in the least interested in governing the country… Chief Obafemi Awolowo was, for example, to be released from jail immediately and to be made the executive President of Nigeria.” Nwobosi was to say: “We planned after the coup, none of us was going to be Head of State. Awolowo was in Calabar prison and in our own minds this was the man we wanted to put at the helm of affairs of the Federal Government…We wanted to put somebody who was sincere. I don’t think he was even the best friend of Igbo. He wasn’t but we wanted the job done and we knew that the man who would do it well was Awolowo. You know Zik? Zik is from the next door to my place, from my town Obosi, but I wouldn’t trust Zik to do the type of things we had in mind. I’m telling you the honest truth.” The plan was kept to their chest, Awolowo did not know about it.

If a group had a programme meant to be of immeasurable benefit to the whole country and her peoples, such cannot be said to be an Igbo agenda, and therefore an Igbo coup. What was more, they preferred Awolowo, a Yoruba to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Igbo, to be President to superintend over their programmes. They had arranged for an Air Force aircraft to be on standby to go to Calabar and fetch Chief Awolowo in the hope that their coup plan would succeed.

Law and order had broken down in the country, particularly in the Western Region following the Federal elections of 1964 and the Western Region elections of the following year, 1965. Both elections were regarded as a farce. Following frustrations with Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa’s administration there were party alliances to have him defeated in the elections. NCNC, Awolowo’s Action Group, Aminu Kano’s NEPU, and Joseph Tarka’s Middle Belt party, UMBC came together to form the United Progressive Grand Alliance to face Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and Chief Ladoke Akintola’s NNDP together with MDF to form Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). Most of the candidates of UPGA were unable to file their candidacy papers because electoral officials made themselves unavailable. UPGA therefore boycotted the elections and insisted that they be cancelled and rerun elections be held. In some cases where elections were held, losers were declared winners. Government party candidates were announced to have won unopposed. NNA fought back, saying there would be no re-run elections. The President, Dr. Azikiwe, was asked to invite Balewa to form the government. The nation was kept in ominous expectation for days before reluctant Zik invited Balewa to form his government. These resulted in widespread rioting in most parts of the country; in addition to rioting were killings and arson in the Western Region reaching a crescendo in 1965. Nigerians yearned for deliverance. It was clear something must give as the upheavals were getting out of control and the capacity of the ant-riot police to restore law and order. While the Federal Government was planning a clampdown on the West in the third week of January, the putschists hastened their plan to intervene in the second week to pre-empt the clampdown.

The observations about the pattern and the unrepresentative spread of the killings were more of the problem and were not without merit; in many parts of the country, they remained unanswered questions. But then coup making is not what you advertise on billboards, in newspapers, or on television. So they used officers they could trust. The misgivings arose more from unfortunate coincidences and sabotage which led to the unrepresentativeness and presented the events as a continuation of ethnic rivalries among the diverse nationalities that make up the country that is Nigeria. The coup makers themselves were crest-fallen and they panicked. The complexities of our country and the unpredictability of human character stared them in the face. Some of their key officers were not at their duty posts on the night of action. Ademoyega says in his publication: “I recalled that about 14 hours before, five majors were gathered to start this action. Now only two of us were together. The remainder had vanished from our sight since half-past three in the night, that is to say, only four hours after we started and only one and a half hours since when action actually began. We had lost Ifeajuna and Okafor both of whom were our only source of troops, weapons, communication and confidence. If we did not have those two in the first place (in view of the strategic posts that they were holding), we would not have started at all. Now we were left in the lurch. Chuckwuka, too, had not joined us and Obienu did not report with his troops.”

The man in Enugu, Oguchi, was a substitute. Major Chude-Soke originally assigned to there had proceeded on a course in India. It was from Enugu units that soldiers were to be sent to Benin. Seeing that the coup had failed in Lagos, foiled by Ironsi the G. O.C., Ademoyega and Anuforo group made the last desperate efforts to salvage what remained of the operation. They headed for Benin and Enugu. It was all unavailing. There were roadblocks manned by soldiers loyal to Ironsi in several places. By this time General Aguiyi-Ironsi having foiled the coup in Lagos, had also made his broadcast that the coup had failed. This meant they had lost Benin and the Premier of the Mid-West Region, Dennis Osadebay as well. Nzeogwu had taken over in the North and had broadcast to counter Ironsi’s announcement in Lagos. He prepared to invade the East and Benin from Kaduna. The Premier of Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara could not be arrested because he was hosting the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios who came to visit him after the conference of Commonwealth Heads of Government which had just ended in Lagos. Because of international implications in the event anything happened to Makarios, action on unsuspecting Dr. Okpara was put on hold until the visitor left. Troops led by Oguchi surrounded the Government Lodge and put him under house arrest. Orders came immediately from Ironsi and troops loyal to him dislodged those he called “unfriendly forces.”

Were the coincidences contrived? That remains the unanswered question to this day. But certainly not by Nzeogwu and Ademoyega. The North was unimpressed by the narratives and was boiling with anger. In the book titled “Fellow Countrymen—The Story of Coup D’états in Nigeria” by Richard Akinnola, journalist and author of several books, reports Richard Akinjide, then Balewa’s Minister of Education, as giving an account of development in the Ministers’ camp on the day. On realizing that the Prime Minister was missing, they decided to meet where they nominated from among themselves an Acting Prime Minister in the person of Zana Diphcharima. It was only Dr. Azikiwe, the President that could confirm him and swear him in as Prime Minister, and in his absence, by whoever was acting for him. Dr. Azikiwe was out of the country in the West Indies on medical grounds. But there was an acting President, Dr. Nwafor Orizu. When approached he declined to swear in Diphcharima as acting Prime Minister, saying he needed to contact Zik. “Orizu who did not cooperate with us later cooperated with Ironsi and he and Ironsi drafted the speech handing over the government to the Army.” The reasoning was that if their nominee had been sworn in, nerves would have been calmed and tension doused in the North with the assurance that Balewa’s government was still in place. Diphcharima was deliberately nominated being a Northerner. If Ironsi kicked them out it would amount to a second coup. But Orizu said they did not know where the Prime Minister, Balewa was, nor his fate at that point in time. His stance, however, added to the unwholesome speculations about ethnic consideration in the whole saga.

With Ironsi now fully in charge, there was clamour for the trial of the putschists, but they were not brought to trial. The position of the North was six months later to be displayed in an altercation between Major Theophilus Danjuma and the General Officer Commanding, GOC: “You organized the killing of our brother officers in January and you have done nothing to bring the so-called dissident elements to justice because you were part and parcel of the whole thing. G.O.C.: ”Who told you that? You know it is not true.” Major Danjuma replied: “You have been fooling us. I ran around risking my neck to calm ranks and in February you told us that they would be tried. This is July and nothing has been done.” (Excerpts from Danjuma: The making of a General by Lindsay Barrett). The rest as it is said is history. Before the encounter, there had been fighting in Abeokuta, and killings. The North said there were five Battalions in the country. Three were at first headed by Easterners and it rose to four. The fifth was by a Westerner, Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi. There were grumblings that Easterners dominated the higher hierarchy of the officer corps. This broke open after the July revenge coup and Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon came to the saddle. Col. Adeyinka Adebayo as he then was, argued at a meeting of the Supreme Military Council that the way out to bring about balance and reduce the fear of domination was to have equal representation of five candidates per state being admitted at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). The recommendation was accepted.

Before the July coup, Major Nzeogwu held on to his own territory, determined not to surrender but to “liberate” the other parts of the country. He surrendered only after negotiations with Lagos. The Ironsi regime flew in a known friend of his who was a Military Attaché in London, Col. Nwawo, to do the negotiating and persuade him to let go. Nzeogwu spelt out his terms which included a guarantee for compensation to be paid to the families of officers and all men who lost their lives during the coup, a guarantee of safety for all his men–himself and his colleagues and the lower rank men who participated in the event of 15 January; a guarantee of freedom from prosecution; those overthrown would not be returned to power. There was the assurance that he and some of his men would be members of the government to drive their vision and programmes. The conditions were accepted by Ironsi on phone and personally accepted by his emissary. His friends Ademoyega and Anuforo soon arrived in Kaduna and they went through the agreement together with Nzeogwu. They were filled with optimism that all would not be lost after all. As it turned out it was all a ploy to get him arrested and locked up. There was a parade in his honour and after handing over to Lt.-Col. Hassan Katsina both of them embraced. Nzeogwu drove to the airport and flew to Lagos believing he was a free man. He landed in the midst of hostile faces and menacing guns and was driven straight to Kirikiri Maximum Prison where he found his colleagues earlier arrested. With Nzeogwu in the net, the search began for Adewale Ademoyega, Anuforo, and the others.

It was the end of their “revolution”. Memories began to run through Ademoyega. He recalled Uche Chukwumerije had warned him to be weary of Emmanuel Ifeajuna that he was not dependable and that he would let him down when he would need him most. He told Ademoyega of their days at the University of Ibadan and how Ifeajuna “deserted their group in the moment of action.” Ademoyega himself recalled that when he felt uneasy about the attitude of Donatus Okafor, he sought to take over the beat from him, but Ifeajuna prevailed on him with the assurance that Okafor would deliver. It was the two of them that failed the “revolutionaries” thus lending weight to widespread suspicion of ethnic colouration in the endeavours. Early in the life of his regime, Ironsi showed his hands as an ethnic jingoist. In the prison in Uyo, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega resorted to exchanging blows.

I am unable to see Ironsi’s short-lived regime as a continuation of the attempted coup of the Nzeogwu group which was driven by high-mindedness but curtailed by limited appreciation of the complexities of a heterogeneous country such as Nigeria. The accidental Ironsi regime was without a mission. Consequently, it got the earlier adventure compromised and labeled as an Igbo coup. Lt.-Col. Pam was cruelly murdered contrary to the assurance that where there was no resistance, an officer and a high-ranking politician would only be arrested. Pam surrendered and his wife pleaded in vain. His own plea that his family was young, the youngest of his children being only four and a half months old, fell on deaf ears. Why should Col. Shodeinde be killed with his expectant wife? Why should the first wife of Sardauna who came between the invaders and her husband be shot dead with her husband?

In his book, Cannon Fodder, Recollections of Life in Biafra, Emezuom Nworgu succinctly put it: “A coup spearheaded by Eastern officers turned out to have left Easterners marked out for elimination untouched and alive. This was the first of the many chills of 1966.

“The people of the North, not letting matters lie as it were, went on the warpath, letting the blood of their compatriots from the East.”

Mankind is obtuse and obstinate to reflect: Is this how our world is supposed to be and how it will continue? We have fallen short and the truth is not in us. Mankind has deviated from the Will of God; hence the world is upside down. Nature is not mute, it is man that is deaf, so says Terence McKenna. We should begin to listen to the voice of Nature. Putting the harrowing and ugly events behind us is one of its admonitions to us. Grasping it is so the Dark days do not continue to linger and anger does not continue to rage. We must cultivate love for ourselves, for our Neighbour. It is the way to close the ugly chapter of our history and end all recriminations.