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Chukwuma Nzeogwu

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Chukwuma Nzeogwu
Birth namePatrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu
Nickname(s)"Kaduna"
Born(1937-02-26)26 February 1937
Kaduna, British Nigeria
Died29 July 1967(1967-07-29) (aged 30)
Near Nsukka, Nigeria
Buried
Kaduna
Allegiance
Service / branch Nigerian Army
Republic of Biafra Biafran Army[1]
Years of service1957–1967
RankLieutenant-Colonel
Battles / wars
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
Nzeogwu's voice
from an interview, 16 January 1966

Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu (26 February 1937 – 29 July 1967) was a Nigerian military officer who played a leading role in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état, which overthrew the First Nigerian Republic.[2]

Early life

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Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu was born on 26 February 1937 in Kaduna, Colonial Nigeria. The city was the capital of the Northern Region at the time. Born into an Anioma family, he attended two Christian schools in Kaduna for his elementary and secondary education, the Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School and the Saint John's College. At the second school, Nzeogwu became close friends with Christian Anufuro.[3]

In March 1957, Nzeogwu enlisted as an officer-cadet in the Nigeria Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force and proceeded on a 6-month preliminary training in the Gold Coast. He completed his training there in October 1957 and proceeded to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England where he was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1959. He later underwent a platoon officer's course in Hythe and a platoon commander's course in Warminster.[4] Nigerian historian Max Siollun has described Nzeogwu as a "devout catholic, a teetotaler, a non-smoker, and who despite being a bachelor, did not spend much time chasing women".[5]

Military career

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On his return to Nigeria in May 1960, Nzeogwu was posted to the Nigeria Regiment's 1st Battalion in Enugu where Major Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was the second-in-command under a British officer.[6] He was later posted to the 5th Battalion in Kaduna where he became friends with Olusegun Obasanjo.[6] His Hausa colleagues in the Nigerian Army gave him the name "Kaduna" because of his affinity with the town.[7] After serving in the Congo in 1961, Nzeogwu was assigned as a training officer at the Army Training Depot in Zaria for about 6 months before getting posted to Lagos to head up the military intelligence section at the Army Headquarters where he was the first Nigerian officer.[8]

The forerunner of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps (NAIC) was the Field Security Section (FSS) of the Royal Nigerian Army, which was established on 1 November 1962 with Captain PG Harrington (BR) as General Staff Officer Grade Two (GSO2 Int). The FSS was essentially a security organization whose functions included vetting of Nigerian Army (NA) personnel, document security and counter intelligence. Major Nzeogwu was the first Nigerian Officer to hold that appointment from November 1962 to 1964. As a military intelligence officer, he participated in the treasonable felony trial investigations of Obafemi Awolowo and other Action Group party members. According to Olusegun Obasanjo, "Chukwuma had some scathing remarks to make about [Nigeria's] national security, and about those who were being investigated. If he had his way, he said, his treatment of the whole case would have been different".[9] Nzeogwu reportedly antagonised some army colleagues in his capacity as a military intelligence officer and even clashed with the Minister of State for the Army, Ibrahim Tako.[8] Consequently, he was posted to the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna where he became Chief Instructor.[8]

1966 Nigerian coup d'état

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Main article: 1966 Nigerian coup d'état

Planning

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The planning of the coup began with an inner circle of university-educated young officers who intended a national military revolution by seizing power in the regional capitals of Kaduna (Northern Region) and Ibadan (Western Region), and later taking control of Lagos (Federal Territory). Nzeogwu was tasked with leading the revolution in the Northern Region starting with Operation Damisa on 15 January 1966 and, at later stages, Operation Kura, Operation Zaki and Operation Giwa which would have culminated in the murder of the northern establishment.[10][11]

Nzeogwu had started his preparation by organizing a two-day night exercise "Damisa" (Operation Tiger) to train soldiers in new fighting techniques. The exercise was approved by authorities of the 1st Brigade Headquarters apparently unaware of the real intentions of Nzeogwu and the Brigade Major, Alphonso Keshi had sent circulars to all units operating under the Brigade to contribute troops towards the success of the exercise. By the time Major Keshi realized "Operation Damisa" was actually a military conspiracy, it was too late to counter the operation.[11]

Execution

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In the early hours of 15 January 1966, Nzeogwu led a group of soldiers[12] on a supposed military exercise, taking them to attack the official residence of the premier of the north, Sir Ahmadu Bello, in a bloody coup that saw the murder of the Premiers of Northern and Western Nigeria. The Prime Minister (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa), a federal minister (Festus Okotie-Eboh), and top army officers from the Northern and Western regions of the nation were also murdered. From the existing government, the premier of the Eastern region (Michael Okpara), the President of the Nigerian federation (Nnamdi Azikiwe) and the Igbo Army Chief (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi) were notable survivors. Nzeogwu's modus operandi in the North contributed in no small measure to the success of the coup in Northern Nigeria.

According to a Nigerian Police Special Branch Report, Nzeogwu executed at least four army and police security personnel including one of the men on his team (Sergeant Daramola Oyegoke). Nzeogwu also participated in the execution of Col. Raph Shodeinde, his superior officer at the Nigerian Military Training College[13] After waiting for an early morning radio announcement from Major Adewale Ademoyega in Lagos which did not take place because of the failure of the coup in Lagos, Major Nzeogwu made a mid-afternoon announcement, declaring martial law in Northern Nigeria.

Arrest

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Following the announcement from Kaduna, and information that Nzeogwu was gathering forces to attack Lagos which was a huge possibility at the time, Commander of the Army, Maj. Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi sent emissaries led by a man Maj. Nzeogwu heavily respected, Lt. Col. Conrad Nwawo, to Kaduna to negotiate peace talks with Maj. Nzeogwu and a possible surrender. Maj. Nzeogwu set conditions which Gen. Ironsi agreed to. Aguyi Ironsi assumed power, and Nzeogwu was later arrested in Lagos on 18 January 1966 contrary to agreements earlier reached between Nzeogwu and Ironsi.[10] He was held in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos before being transferred to Aba Prison in the Eastern Region where he was released in March 1967 by Governor of the Eastern Region and future President of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

Civil war and death

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On 30 May 1967, Biafra declared its independence from Nigeria; this was spurred by the incessant killing of Igbos in Northern Nigeria because of the coup that was led by Nzeogwu which killed most leaders from the northern and the Western Nigeria. This led to the retaliation by the northerners on the igbo civilians which led to riot amd killing and General Yakubu Gowon refused at first to mobilize security personnel to stop the killings.[14] On 29 July 1967, Nzeogwu - who had been promoted to the rank of a Biafran Lt. Colonel - was trapped in an ambush near Nsukka while conducting a night reconnaissance operation against federal troops of the 21st battalion under Captain Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi.[15] He was killed in action and his corpse was subsequently identified;[16] however his sister insisted he killed himself to avoid being humiliated by the federal troops.[17] After the civil war orders were given by the Nigerian military head of state General Yakubu Gowon, for him to be buried at the military cemetery in Kaduna with full military honours.[18]

Legacy

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Some viewpoints have romanticized Nzeogwu as a revolutionary however his actions along with those of the 15 January 1966 coup conspirators constituted a putsch against a democratically elected Nigerian government. The coup resulted in the murder of top government officials and gave way to a 13-year stretch of military rule (1966 to 1979), punctuated by a democratic Nigerian government from 1979 to 1983, which was stopped by another military intervention that lasted an additional 16 years until 1999.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Davies, Patrick Ediomi (June 1995). "Use of propaganda in civil war: the Biafra experience" (PDF). core.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Nzeogwu after 50 years: The nationalist dressed in the garb of a tribalist, by Reno Omokri". Vanguard News. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  3. ^ Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9789780291341.
  4. ^ Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. pp. 29–33. ISBN 9789780291341.
  5. ^ Siollun, Max. ""The Five Majors": Myth and Reality". Archived from the original on 2 August 2002.
  6. ^ a b Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. pp. 45–47. ISBN 9789780291341.
  7. ^ Siollun, Max (2009). Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing, 2009. p. 36. ISBN 9780875867106.
  8. ^ a b c Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. pp. 71–77. ISBN 9789780291341.
  9. ^ Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. p. 73. ISBN 9789780291341.
  10. ^ a b "Military Rebellion of 15th January 1966: Part III". Archived from the original on 27 September 2002.
  11. ^ a b Siollun, Max. "The Inside Story of Nigeria's First Military Coup - Part 1". Archived from the original on 11 May 2006.
  12. ^ Siollun, Max (2009). Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing, 2009. p. 44. ISBN 9780875867106.
  13. ^ Omoigui, Nowamagbe. "SPECIAL BRANCH REPORT: "Military Rebellion of 15th January 1966". Gamji. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  14. ^ Omaka, Arua Oko (2018). "Conquering the Home Front: Radio Biafra in the Nigeria–Biafra War, 1967–1970". War in History. 25 (4): 555–575. doi:10.1177/0968344516682056. ISSN 0968-3445. S2CID 159866378.
  15. ^ a b "Nzeogwu: Hero or villain?". The Nation Newspaper. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ^ Obasanjo, Olusegun (1987). Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Spectrum Books, 1987. p. 141. ISBN 9789780291341. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Kaduna Nzeogwu killed himself, younger sister reveals why he did it". Nigerian Voice. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  18. ^ Siollun, Max (2009). Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing, 2009. p. 242. ISBN 9780875867106.
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