20/06/2023
Dear Muhammad,
Thank you for your feedback. The root cause of the Nigerian Civil War was the January 15, 1966 coup by six majors, who were all of Igbo origin, except Major Adewale Ademoyega.
When the coup was announced, there was a nationwide celebration, especially in the North, as it was wrongly assumed that all political leaders of the First Republic had been killed.
However, after the BBC reported on January 17, 1966, that politicians and soldiers from every region had been killed, except those of Eastern region origin, and that the killers had all been Igbos (Major Adewale Ademoyega did not participate in the killings), the celebrations turned to condemnations.
On January 16, 1966, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, assumed power. He promised to try the coup plotters. However, this promise was not fulfilled in the coming months. In fact, rather shockingly, it was alleged that some of them had been promoted while in prison, and all of them had been receiving full salaries.
The new Head of State, Major General Ironsi, appointed a three man advisory committee, who were all Igbos, like him. They included Chief Francis Nwokedi, Dr Pius Okigbo and Colonel Patrick Anwunah. Many leaders of thought, including foreigners living in Nigeria, publicly encouraged Ironsi to appoint at least one non Igbo to that committee. That never materialised.
And from a Western Region of Nigeria perspective, Ironsi stirred the hornet's nest by replacing the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Taslim Olawale Elias (1914-1991), with Chief Gabriel Chike Michael Onyiuke, also an Igbo like him. Ironsi did not just sack Elias, he dismissed him from the civil service, which did not seem to make sense.
Ironsi’s appointments and actions, rightly or wrongly, led many in the military to accuse him of being clannish.
Soon after the coup, some of our Igbo brothers printed almanacs with caricatures insulting prominent Northern, Western and Mid-Western leaders.
In one of the almanacs, Chukwuma Nzeogwu was shown with his leg on top of Sir Ahmadu Bello's head. Interestingly, in that almanac, Ahmadu Bello's head was put on the body of a goat.
Those almanacs outraged Northerners and made them turn against the Aguiyi Ironsi-led government.
In February of 1966, a famous Igbo highlife maestro named Celestine Ukwu released a song titled Ewu Ne Ba Akwa, meaning ‘the goat is crying’.
Rightly or wrongly, other Nigerians believed that that song was mocking the killing of the late Sardauna by Nzeogwu. That song and the almanac mocking the Sardauna ignited a p0grom against Igbos in the North.
Now, because he had not punished the January 15 coup plotters, it was hard for Ironsi to punish those behind the p0groms.
The final straw was when Ironsi abrogated regionalism and promulgated Decree Number 34 on May 24, 1966, which effectively ended regionalism, took control of all resources, including oil, which had hitherto belonged to the regions, and domiciled them in his military government. Other members of the Supreme Military Council alleged that Ironsi did not consult them before promulgating the decree. It is not known if their allegation is true. However, Ironsi's Attorney General, Chief Gabriel Chike Michael Onyiuke, later said Ironsi did not need to consult them.
That act ignited the counter-coup of July 29, 1966, in which Ironsi was killed and replaced with Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon, who did not participate in the coup but was a compromise candidate.
All the Military Governors accepted him except Colonel Ojukwu. Eventually, the Ghanaian military leader, General Ankrah, invited Gowon and Ojukwu for a peace meeting in Aburi, Ghana, between January 4-5, 1967. Agreements were reached, including that Gowon would broadcast first, followed by Ojukwu.
However, upon return, Ojukwu made his broadcast first, which shocked the other regions, and jeopardised Gowon, who was almost removed by those who made him Head of State.
As a result of Ojukwu's broadcast, Gowon issued Decree Number 8, and after that, on May 27, 1967, breaking up of Nigeria into 12 states.
Colonel Ojukwu rejected both actions, and his rejection led to him declaring the Republic of Biafra three days later on May 30, 1967, which led to a police action by the Gowon government on July 6, 1967. Things degenerated from police action into war, which did not end until the defeat of the Republic of Biafra on January 15, 1970, after Colonel Ojukwu fled on January 11, 1970.
The war may have been prevented if Ojukwu broke away with only the East Central state, which was homogeneously Igbo. However, he insisted on the whole Eastern Nigeria, which included non Igbos in Calabar and Rivers, whose leaders, like Isaac Boro, and Ken Saro-Wiwa, rejected Biafra.
Thanks, Muhammad, and may God bless you.
