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Why We Struck: The story of the first Nigerian coup
194 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1981
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March 26, 2022
I found this book among my dad's old university books it was very old and crumpled the pages were flaking and it appeared like any random history book I had no idea that in the coming days it would have a huge impact on my political standpoint on Nigerian politics ,of all the books I've read this year this is probably the one that has made the most personal impact on me probably because it details several issues and events from several decades and over a century ago that still actively affect my life and my existence especially as an African person of Nigerian origin.
This book starts by detailing the political state of pre-colonial Nigeria detailing Usman Dan Fodio's holy war in the North and its legacy and the debauchery of the traditional Kings in the South and how the British empire took advantage of the political climate at the time to successfully propagate their imperialist agenda and successfully colonize the natives mostly by using the divide and conquer method and might makes right which they used to manipulate the traditional rulers into their empire when the British came Usman Dan Fodio's jihad was being continued and a lot of the indigenous non-Fulani people were being oppressed so when the British arrived there they simply supported the jihadists and forced them upon the inidigenous people in order to enable them to properly consolidate their power in that region by ruling indirectly through the Fulani leaders so in the South they used their Kings to rule them indirectly and did the same in the North eventually they amalgamated both region but tried to ensure as much disparity as possible between the inhabitants of both region and they favored the Northern oligarchy over the Southern system because the Northern oligarchy was conceding and non rebellious while their Southern counterparts were the exact opposite the Southerners who already had forms of democracy and constitutional monarchy(King making councils ) were more opposed to British Imperialism and tried to overturn their rule at every turn while the North who had been psychologically conditioned by their elite to be traditional, conservative, reactionary and non rebellious accepted British imperialism this was the first major disparity that caused some of the biggest problems of the Nigerian nation that would be formed.
Eventually when Nigeria attained Independence the British handed the most important and sensitive federal positions to the Northern Oligarchy and the Southwestern and Southeastern people were subjected to their mercy and all sorts of systems oppression this doesn't imply in any way that the Northern oligarchy was fair to their own masses they weren't fair to them and denied them of their basic amenities and intentionally made sure that their masses were illiterate and uneducated to make it easier for them to control them all of these coupled with ethnic jingoism and religious pandering and the" chop your own make I chop my own" and "he is my brother I will support him mentality" characterized most of first Republic Nigerian politics most of the politicians were in fact not loyal to the nation but to their own personal ethnical affiliations and most of them considered themselves Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Tiv, Igede, Fulani, Kanuri(ethnicities) before considering themselves Nigerian take note that most of them were actually born Nigerians in the colonial era because eventually the local Kingdoms ceased to exist yet most of them still stuck to these ethnical affiliation all of these factors are why the leaders of the First Republic The Prime Minister and the Premier of the Northern region then manipulated census figures in order to give the highest population percentage to the North and consolidate their hold on power because they were aware that the masses would support them regardless of their incompetence or corruption based on the"He is my brother I will support him" mentality another major problem was the quota system that was created that prevented individuals from rising based on merit but allotment in which even in the Army the Northerners had a alloted percentage of slots regardless of Merits which as the author mentioned made even incompetent people to be confident because of the quota system.
Eventually, the author(Ademoyega) details his journey into the army and his training and how he eventually met the other people that they planned the coup together at the time when they started planning the coup the nation was slowly crumbling apart due to increased amount of corruption among the leadership and forceful consolidation of power by Certain Southern leaders who teamed up with the Northern oligarchy in order to maintain their own power and eventually there was nationwide unrest and different sorts of uprisings all of these factors were what convinced the Author and his eventual co-planner that a coup was necessary and eventually after the entrance of the author to the Army he met with other revolutionary people in the Army who wanted to make a better nation the name of the most important revolutionary that the author met was Major Kaduna Nzeogwu a man of great valour, charisma, a genius and a true Nigerian Patriot he and Ifeajuna alongside the author were the major planners of the revolution the three of them developed several ideologies on how the nation should be managed and how politics should be run in order to ensure that Nigeria would emerge as a great nation and this also included Pan Africanist agendas to help other African nations the biggest flaw and the only one in their plan was that they proposed communism because at the time communism was thriving and they had no idea yet how implausible it was( it was during the heydays of the Soviet Union and they wanted to build a state modelled after the Soviet Union that was considered revolutionary rather than the Western capitalist system they considered oppressive and regressive, but reading the book 40 years later while knowing how the Soviet Union dissolved 10 years after the publication of the book too and it's decline before that).Eventually after agreeing on these ideals they slowly worked their way and recruited other revolutionary people towards their cause some of the recruits were not ardent believers and were in it for selfish benefits and some people chose to sit on the fence but all in all the people who planned the coup eventually managed to plan it and they were going to carry it out on the 15th of January in 1966 but by then they suffered numerous setbacks but could not go backwards eventually they planned a nationwide coup that would be bloodless in order to express their honourable intentions to the populace and the author(Ademola Ademoyega) and a couple of other officers were in charge of the National capital(Lagos) and arresting the Prime Minister,Minister for Finance, the General Commanding Officer of the army and shutting down the communications Nzeogwu was in charge of the Northern region and some others were in charge of the Wester region they had carried out reconnaissance and planned it well enough and as the coup carried on they succeeded with the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Those in the West suceeded with the Premier and the Deputy Premier although the former, resisted arrest and was shot to death those in the North headed by Nzeogwu also had tremendous success and their plan seemed to be working well enough but their biggest problem arose when they were unable to capture the highest ranking millitary officer of the nation in person of the General commanding officer of the army( Major General JT Aguiyi Ironsi) a conservative reactionary millitary man who would eventually be their undoing and eventually he managed to escape arrest and he launched a counter attack against the conspirators and eventually hijacked the coup in the South while in the North they coup plotters still managed to hold on to power and the, the plotters in the South made their way to the North to meet Nzeogwu hoping to fight for the rest of the nation with Nzeogwu's support but it was too late because Nzeogwu mostly owing to the fact that he was an honourable man was coerced into surrendering power to the General Commanding Officer who has established himself as Military Head of State after the Prime Minister and other political captives were killed by coup plotters to enable their easy escape to the North and eventually when they arrived at the North they were dismayed to discover that Nzeogwu had honourably surrendered with the hope that the new Military head of state would continue the legacy of their revolution and eventually they were promised amnesty so they all headed to the State capital but they were betrayed and denied amnesty eventually they were all arrested and imprisoned by the new government eventually during their jail time another counter-coup was planned and it was very brutal and saw to the total annihilation of south easterners in top military and economic positions this counter-coup was as a result of the ethnical pandering that the head of state kept reinforcing by promoting the people of his own region(south easterners) to the top millitary positions this enraged the northerners and some southwesterners who felt enraged by the unfairness of it all and that was how the counter coup occured barely 6 months after the first one and with the counter coup a Northern underling of the former head of state his chief of army staff in person of Yakubu Gowon, before the rise of Yakubu Gowon to power the North had threatened secession because of the systemic oppression and the unfairness that was perpetrated against them by the South eastern leadership but eventually after a NNortherner rose to power they supported him regardless based on the "he is my brother i will support him" mentality that prioritized ethnic affiliations over national patriotism all of these ethnic issues further increased the dissidence among the population and eventually when the leadership returned to the North again the South easterners were discriminated against and brutally murdered by Northerners and eventually they threatened secession but the current Head of State Major General Yakubu Gowo came to an agreement that would ensure that the massacre and discrimination would stop and also grant each regions a certain level of autonomy like a confederal system if this agreement was upholded the coming civil war would have been averted and Nigeria might have grown to become one of the greatest nations in the world but of course the Head of State failed to keep his promise and the Governor of the eastern region felt slighted an egotistical man who promised to support the first coup and then played apathetic a shyster all in all got aggravated so he declared war despite the fact that he lacked weapons and trained soldiers he also freed the officers from the first coup imprisoned in his region to use them in his battle and the civil war began during the Civil War the Federal Government of Nigeria had all the advantages while the 2 rebel armies mostly the Liberation Army and the Biafran army were disadvantaged but they freed the author and Nzeogwu to partake in the war for the Biafran and Liberation Army but the disparity in weapons and equipment plus lack of discipline among the Biafran soldiers led to the ultimate defeat of Biafra with Nzeogwu getting killed in action and the leader of the Liberation Army(Colonel Banjo) falsely accused of treason and murdered by his allies(Ojukwu) the author was returned to prison and during his jail time he endured hell as food was scarce and there was widespread hunger in Biafra but he held on to his belief and eventually Ojukwu ran away and Abandoned his people so his Deputy declared surrender and they were granted amnesty one would assume that the author would be granted amnesty too but Alas it wasn't so eventually he was re imprisoned after being freed for a short while during the war that he had to do odd jobs in prison to fend for himself and after several years of illegal imprisonment he was released then he decided to write this book to dispel the myths that were spread about the 1966 coup a lot of people tried to make it appear like a ethnic fueled coup which in fact it wasn't and there were several Northerners among the coup plotters but the media failed to reveal them due to the initial confusion this book also details the blue print for building a great Nigeria and heading her towards the trajectory of greatness regardless of the past.
The most important thing that I want to point out is that the plotters of the coup were not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa men they are in fact Nigerian and didn't subject themselves to ethnocentric beliefs the belief that the first coup was an ethnocentric one was propounded by propagandists who wanted to make the men appear like tribalists when all they were interested in was creating a better nation for themselves and their children and the harsh treatment they got from Aguiyi Ironsi's administration perfectly shows that they were not in league with him and they didn't want him to succeed as a leader they would have probably killed if they had the chance to because they killed several Southerners and Northerners and the book shows all of these. I hope everyone who picks it up will realise the kind of heroes that the first coup plotters were and that they were not chauvinists unfortunately their legacy has been manipulated to make them appear like that it has also set precedent for a lot of successful coups in Nigeria between its independence up till1999 when the Fourth Republic began and the legacy of British imperialism and neo-colonialism in their former colonies in Africa
This book starts by detailing the political state of pre-colonial Nigeria detailing Usman Dan Fodio's holy war in the North and its legacy and the debauchery of the traditional Kings in the South and how the British empire took advantage of the political climate at the time to successfully propagate their imperialist agenda and successfully colonize the natives mostly by using the divide and conquer method and might makes right which they used to manipulate the traditional rulers into their empire when the British came Usman Dan Fodio's jihad was being continued and a lot of the indigenous non-Fulani people were being oppressed so when the British arrived there they simply supported the jihadists and forced them upon the inidigenous people in order to enable them to properly consolidate their power in that region by ruling indirectly through the Fulani leaders so in the South they used their Kings to rule them indirectly and did the same in the North eventually they amalgamated both region but tried to ensure as much disparity as possible between the inhabitants of both region and they favored the Northern oligarchy over the Southern system because the Northern oligarchy was conceding and non rebellious while their Southern counterparts were the exact opposite the Southerners who already had forms of democracy and constitutional monarchy(King making councils ) were more opposed to British Imperialism and tried to overturn their rule at every turn while the North who had been psychologically conditioned by their elite to be traditional, conservative, reactionary and non rebellious accepted British imperialism this was the first major disparity that caused some of the biggest problems of the Nigerian nation that would be formed.
Eventually when Nigeria attained Independence the British handed the most important and sensitive federal positions to the Northern Oligarchy and the Southwestern and Southeastern people were subjected to their mercy and all sorts of systems oppression this doesn't imply in any way that the Northern oligarchy was fair to their own masses they weren't fair to them and denied them of their basic amenities and intentionally made sure that their masses were illiterate and uneducated to make it easier for them to control them all of these coupled with ethnic jingoism and religious pandering and the" chop your own make I chop my own" and "he is my brother I will support him mentality" characterized most of first Republic Nigerian politics most of the politicians were in fact not loyal to the nation but to their own personal ethnical affiliations and most of them considered themselves Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Tiv, Igede, Fulani, Kanuri(ethnicities) before considering themselves Nigerian take note that most of them were actually born Nigerians in the colonial era because eventually the local Kingdoms ceased to exist yet most of them still stuck to these ethnical affiliation all of these factors are why the leaders of the First Republic The Prime Minister and the Premier of the Northern region then manipulated census figures in order to give the highest population percentage to the North and consolidate their hold on power because they were aware that the masses would support them regardless of their incompetence or corruption based on the"He is my brother I will support him" mentality another major problem was the quota system that was created that prevented individuals from rising based on merit but allotment in which even in the Army the Northerners had a alloted percentage of slots regardless of Merits which as the author mentioned made even incompetent people to be confident because of the quota system.
Eventually, the author(Ademoyega) details his journey into the army and his training and how he eventually met the other people that they planned the coup together at the time when they started planning the coup the nation was slowly crumbling apart due to increased amount of corruption among the leadership and forceful consolidation of power by Certain Southern leaders who teamed up with the Northern oligarchy in order to maintain their own power and eventually there was nationwide unrest and different sorts of uprisings all of these factors were what convinced the Author and his eventual co-planner that a coup was necessary and eventually after the entrance of the author to the Army he met with other revolutionary people in the Army who wanted to make a better nation the name of the most important revolutionary that the author met was Major Kaduna Nzeogwu a man of great valour, charisma, a genius and a true Nigerian Patriot he and Ifeajuna alongside the author were the major planners of the revolution the three of them developed several ideologies on how the nation should be managed and how politics should be run in order to ensure that Nigeria would emerge as a great nation and this also included Pan Africanist agendas to help other African nations the biggest flaw and the only one in their plan was that they proposed communism because at the time communism was thriving and they had no idea yet how implausible it was( it was during the heydays of the Soviet Union and they wanted to build a state modelled after the Soviet Union that was considered revolutionary rather than the Western capitalist system they considered oppressive and regressive, but reading the book 40 years later while knowing how the Soviet Union dissolved 10 years after the publication of the book too and it's decline before that).Eventually after agreeing on these ideals they slowly worked their way and recruited other revolutionary people towards their cause some of the recruits were not ardent believers and were in it for selfish benefits and some people chose to sit on the fence but all in all the people who planned the coup eventually managed to plan it and they were going to carry it out on the 15th of January in 1966 but by then they suffered numerous setbacks but could not go backwards eventually they planned a nationwide coup that would be bloodless in order to express their honourable intentions to the populace and the author(Ademola Ademoyega) and a couple of other officers were in charge of the National capital(Lagos) and arresting the Prime Minister,Minister for Finance, the General Commanding Officer of the army and shutting down the communications Nzeogwu was in charge of the Northern region and some others were in charge of the Wester region they had carried out reconnaissance and planned it well enough and as the coup carried on they succeeded with the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Those in the West suceeded with the Premier and the Deputy Premier although the former, resisted arrest and was shot to death those in the North headed by Nzeogwu also had tremendous success and their plan seemed to be working well enough but their biggest problem arose when they were unable to capture the highest ranking millitary officer of the nation in person of the General commanding officer of the army( Major General JT Aguiyi Ironsi) a conservative reactionary millitary man who would eventually be their undoing and eventually he managed to escape arrest and he launched a counter attack against the conspirators and eventually hijacked the coup in the South while in the North they coup plotters still managed to hold on to power and the, the plotters in the South made their way to the North to meet Nzeogwu hoping to fight for the rest of the nation with Nzeogwu's support but it was too late because Nzeogwu mostly owing to the fact that he was an honourable man was coerced into surrendering power to the General Commanding Officer who has established himself as Military Head of State after the Prime Minister and other political captives were killed by coup plotters to enable their easy escape to the North and eventually when they arrived at the North they were dismayed to discover that Nzeogwu had honourably surrendered with the hope that the new Military head of state would continue the legacy of their revolution and eventually they were promised amnesty so they all headed to the State capital but they were betrayed and denied amnesty eventually they were all arrested and imprisoned by the new government eventually during their jail time another counter-coup was planned and it was very brutal and saw to the total annihilation of south easterners in top military and economic positions this counter-coup was as a result of the ethnical pandering that the head of state kept reinforcing by promoting the people of his own region(south easterners) to the top millitary positions this enraged the northerners and some southwesterners who felt enraged by the unfairness of it all and that was how the counter coup occured barely 6 months after the first one and with the counter coup a Northern underling of the former head of state his chief of army staff in person of Yakubu Gowon, before the rise of Yakubu Gowon to power the North had threatened secession because of the systemic oppression and the unfairness that was perpetrated against them by the South eastern leadership but eventually after a NNortherner rose to power they supported him regardless based on the "he is my brother i will support him" mentality that prioritized ethnic affiliations over national patriotism all of these ethnic issues further increased the dissidence among the population and eventually when the leadership returned to the North again the South easterners were discriminated against and brutally murdered by Northerners and eventually they threatened secession but the current Head of State Major General Yakubu Gowo came to an agreement that would ensure that the massacre and discrimination would stop and also grant each regions a certain level of autonomy like a confederal system if this agreement was upholded the coming civil war would have been averted and Nigeria might have grown to become one of the greatest nations in the world but of course the Head of State failed to keep his promise and the Governor of the eastern region felt slighted an egotistical man who promised to support the first coup and then played apathetic a shyster all in all got aggravated so he declared war despite the fact that he lacked weapons and trained soldiers he also freed the officers from the first coup imprisoned in his region to use them in his battle and the civil war began during the Civil War the Federal Government of Nigeria had all the advantages while the 2 rebel armies mostly the Liberation Army and the Biafran army were disadvantaged but they freed the author and Nzeogwu to partake in the war for the Biafran and Liberation Army but the disparity in weapons and equipment plus lack of discipline among the Biafran soldiers led to the ultimate defeat of Biafra with Nzeogwu getting killed in action and the leader of the Liberation Army(Colonel Banjo) falsely accused of treason and murdered by his allies(Ojukwu) the author was returned to prison and during his jail time he endured hell as food was scarce and there was widespread hunger in Biafra but he held on to his belief and eventually Ojukwu ran away and Abandoned his people so his Deputy declared surrender and they were granted amnesty one would assume that the author would be granted amnesty too but Alas it wasn't so eventually he was re imprisoned after being freed for a short while during the war that he had to do odd jobs in prison to fend for himself and after several years of illegal imprisonment he was released then he decided to write this book to dispel the myths that were spread about the 1966 coup a lot of people tried to make it appear like a ethnic fueled coup which in fact it wasn't and there were several Northerners among the coup plotters but the media failed to reveal them due to the initial confusion this book also details the blue print for building a great Nigeria and heading her towards the trajectory of greatness regardless of the past.
The most important thing that I want to point out is that the plotters of the coup were not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa men they are in fact Nigerian and didn't subject themselves to ethnocentric beliefs the belief that the first coup was an ethnocentric one was propounded by propagandists who wanted to make the men appear like tribalists when all they were interested in was creating a better nation for themselves and their children and the harsh treatment they got from Aguiyi Ironsi's administration perfectly shows that they were not in league with him and they didn't want him to succeed as a leader they would have probably killed if they had the chance to because they killed several Southerners and Northerners and the book shows all of these. I hope everyone who picks it up will realise the kind of heroes that the first coup plotters were and that they were not chauvinists unfortunately their legacy has been manipulated to make them appear like that it has also set precedent for a lot of successful coups in Nigeria between its independence up till1999 when the Fourth Republic began and the legacy of British imperialism and neo-colonialism in their former colonies in Africa
June 26, 2017
The earnestness and seriousness of the author here is striking; he is a very focused man, and a patriot to boot. Incredibly he hardly ever jokes throughout this book (about 250 pages); but then again it is not easy to have been close to death so many times, and be in jail for many years. Such is the lot of this intelligent author.
We know of course that he was one of the major brains behind the first military coup in Nigeria which engendered so many deaths, massacres, horrors, including the civil war. In this work he remains intensely loyal to his comrades and aides, Nzegwu, Ifeajuna, Banjo etc. But it is clear that he has little love for Ironsi, and his assassination. He writes: "it was the dramatic end of the regime of deceit, bad faith, ambivalence, misdirection and misrulership. Ironsi's regime was a colossal failure" (pg 165)
Review, part 2 (you will join them together as one as usual): "the author had been through a lot - as if his travails re the first coup were not enough, he finds himself involved in the Biafran war, reluctantly fighting for the rebels though he is beleaguered. And incarcerated once again. We read about the horrors and pains of imprisonment, especially hunger whilst he was trapped in Biafra and had to "manage" non-existent food.
He survives through prayers, hope, yet even after the war is over he continues to be imprisoned - later under brutal conditions. His revulsion over the execution of Ifeajuna, Banjo etc is crystal clear - allied to his shock when he learns that Nzeogwu has perished. Despite all the blood spilled in the course of these events, we find out that we retain a lot of respect for the author as an unwavering man of integrity and purpose. This book stands permanently as a chronicle for researchers and scholars in respect of a turbulent time in Nigerian history
November 23, 2013
Interesting context especially coming from one of the masterminds of the historic coup. That said, the sensitivity and complexity of the spate of events from the January 66 coup up to the Civil War makes for extensive reading of other accounts by other writers cum players. Else, my personal judgement may seem a bit skewed, biased or misleading hence, best kept private. Nevertheless, reading this as with other accounts I've read and watched - specifically the documentary "The Real Story of Nigeria" - helps to better understand the very ills that confront us to this day have their roots in our history. Needless to say, our foundation is one that reeks of tribalism, distrust and ignorance even on the part of our so called founding fathers or heroes past. Today, I learnt of a new book by Alabi Lisama courtesy of The Ake Festival, Abeokuta. It is tilted "The tragedy of Victory" and should spell another interesting account of the coup and civil war by a prominent player. Here's looking forward to it.
November 18, 2018
This is an awesome book for filling in the murky details of Nigeria's history. The author, being one of the organizers of the infamous January 15 coup, had a lot of hope for the country. He even styled the coup as a revolution.
However, contrary to what most people (I inclusive) believed, the coup was only partially successful, and it was this partial success that led to the change in fortunes for the author and the majority of the other "revolutionaries".
The book details the first coup, it's aftermath and the Nigerian Civil War from the author's perspective. In reading this book, the part that touched me most was this excerpt, in which the author lamented the coup's failure:
"Now, leaving the army officers alone, why was it that the average Nigerian was concerned first and foremost for himself and next for his family? Why was it that the usual attitude of the Nigerian is to grab and grab and grab? Why was it that the Nigerian does not care about things that did not touch him personally?
While the people at the top used their power to benefit themselves and their families, why did the people below aspire to do no more than get to the top simply to follow suit?"
This question is one that has puzzled my mind and should puzzle the mind of everyone serious about finding a solution to Africa's problems.
However, contrary to what most people (I inclusive) believed, the coup was only partially successful, and it was this partial success that led to the change in fortunes for the author and the majority of the other "revolutionaries".
The book details the first coup, it's aftermath and the Nigerian Civil War from the author's perspective. In reading this book, the part that touched me most was this excerpt, in which the author lamented the coup's failure:
"Now, leaving the army officers alone, why was it that the average Nigerian was concerned first and foremost for himself and next for his family? Why was it that the usual attitude of the Nigerian is to grab and grab and grab? Why was it that the Nigerian does not care about things that did not touch him personally?
While the people at the top used their power to benefit themselves and their families, why did the people below aspire to do no more than get to the top simply to follow suit?"
This question is one that has puzzled my mind and should puzzle the mind of everyone serious about finding a solution to Africa's problems.
June 16, 2020
I spent one of the most productive 6 straight hours of my life reading the book.
Man, I have never read a more captivating book in my life. I could not stop until I turned the last page.
Adewale Ademoyega together with Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna and other co-conspirators planned and executed the First Nigerian Revolution more commonly know as the first military coup (Igbo coup)...
Many lopsided accounts dominate the mainstream media and history. It seems they were all written in what appears to be an attempt to justify the destruction of 3.5 million lives, lost in the massacres, pogroms and the genocidal war against the people of Eastern Nigeria.
No matter how much you try to suppress the truth, it always bounces back.
This book is a national treasure. If you have not read it... you should!
Luke 1: 1 - 4
```
Dear Theophilos:
Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message. Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative, so that you might know how well-founded are the things about which you have been taught.
```
Man, I have never read a more captivating book in my life. I could not stop until I turned the last page.
Adewale Ademoyega together with Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna and other co-conspirators planned and executed the First Nigerian Revolution more commonly know as the first military coup (Igbo coup)...
Many lopsided accounts dominate the mainstream media and history. It seems they were all written in what appears to be an attempt to justify the destruction of 3.5 million lives, lost in the massacres, pogroms and the genocidal war against the people of Eastern Nigeria.
No matter how much you try to suppress the truth, it always bounces back.
This book is a national treasure. If you have not read it... you should!
Luke 1: 1 - 4
```
Dear Theophilos:
Concerning the matters that have taken place among us, many people have undertaken to draw up accounts based on what was handed down to us by those who from the start were eyewitnesses and proclaimers of the message. Therefore, Your Excellency, since I have carefully investigated all these things from the beginning, it seemed good to me that I too should write you an accurate and ordered narrative, so that you might know how well-founded are the things about which you have been taught.
```
July 15, 2020
The author is actually a very good writer, intelligent, idealistic and principled. I read he died in 2007 and I always wondered if he stayed true to his ideologies and principles until the end? In his book he said he formed the principles and ideology of the revolution, well for a graduate of the University of London, I'm not surprise.
I like the fact that the book was published in 1981, after all other accounts of the January 15 1966 coup had been written. Most of the accounts were lies, rumors, hearsay and half truths. I liked how he thrashed those lies and rumors one after the other in sequence and style.
In one of the published accounts written by another author in 1979 about the coup, questions were raised about Adewale's involvement and in their defense they claimed he was roped in.
In this book he is quoted by saying "preparations of the revolution was between me and Nzeogwu on one hand and I and Ifeajuna on the other hand"... he also went on to say "I and Ifeajuna worked on the Lagos operation for 3 months at the exclusion of the other Majors" hmm so much for one that was "roped in".
I am yet to see any published criticisms of his account of the revolution. His accounts were later confirmed by Captain Ben Gbulie in his book "Nigeria's Five Majors"
The book changed the "Igbo coup" narrative though people still continue to peddle these lies to suit their agenda. The book made me understand that our so called founding fathers are not as saintly as we were made to believe.
I read this book more than 3 or 4 times, imagining all that he passed through, close shave with death, the incarceration and starvation in Biafra and I came to the conclusion that the Forces of this world kept Adewale Ademoyega alive for a reason. Imagine if he died, who would have told the story?
I like the fact that the book was published in 1981, after all other accounts of the January 15 1966 coup had been written. Most of the accounts were lies, rumors, hearsay and half truths. I liked how he thrashed those lies and rumors one after the other in sequence and style.
In one of the published accounts written by another author in 1979 about the coup, questions were raised about Adewale's involvement and in their defense they claimed he was roped in.
In this book he is quoted by saying "preparations of the revolution was between me and Nzeogwu on one hand and I and Ifeajuna on the other hand"... he also went on to say "I and Ifeajuna worked on the Lagos operation for 3 months at the exclusion of the other Majors" hmm so much for one that was "roped in".
I am yet to see any published criticisms of his account of the revolution. His accounts were later confirmed by Captain Ben Gbulie in his book "Nigeria's Five Majors"
The book changed the "Igbo coup" narrative though people still continue to peddle these lies to suit their agenda. The book made me understand that our so called founding fathers are not as saintly as we were made to believe.
I read this book more than 3 or 4 times, imagining all that he passed through, close shave with death, the incarceration and starvation in Biafra and I came to the conclusion that the Forces of this world kept Adewale Ademoyega alive for a reason. Imagine if he died, who would have told the story?
May 3, 2021
A perspective
March 11, 2017
This book acts better as a historical record of the first Nigerian coup and the Biafran war than as a justification for the coup proper. One can argue with Mr Ademoyega about the reason behind his actions but one cannot but admire his resilience through several years of confinement and conflict. Certainly an important book to understanding Nigeria's socio-political history.
June 21, 2017
Understandably, lots of sentiments and skewed perspectives, but the author no doubt is (was) a solid intellectual...writes well too
May 5, 2025
Coups have become a major part of Nigeria’s history, the first of which was the January 1996 coup. I always thought it was caused by power hungry military officers who decided they wanted power to themselves…until I read this book.
The January 1966 coup was plotted by a bunch of young officers mostly in their early 20s and saw themselves as revolutionaries on a mission to save their country. I was amazed to learn that at that age these officers had not just the desire but the will to pull this through! Yes, some of their ideologies regarding nationalisation and a planned economy may have been flawed, but they really put their lives on the line for an entity (nay, contraption) that only became an independent nation 6 years prior.
I have always feared that we Nigerians just don’t care much about the country and that’s why we allow our politicians do as they like. We elevate our ethnic identities over the national one, and who can blame us? The whole idea of this nation was forced on us by the British without the opportunity to cultivate a proper notion of nationhood and sense of belonging to said nation. Regardless, we had passionate revolutionary young patriots like this 60 years ago so I’m hopeful we still do!
Major Ademoyega really put into perspective how the Biafran situation came to be. Ironsi’s actions and inactions after quelling the coup reinforced the belief that it was an “Igbo coup”. What followed is what has become the darkest history of our dear country…
The January 1966 coup was plotted by a bunch of young officers mostly in their early 20s and saw themselves as revolutionaries on a mission to save their country. I was amazed to learn that at that age these officers had not just the desire but the will to pull this through! Yes, some of their ideologies regarding nationalisation and a planned economy may have been flawed, but they really put their lives on the line for an entity (nay, contraption) that only became an independent nation 6 years prior.
I have always feared that we Nigerians just don’t care much about the country and that’s why we allow our politicians do as they like. We elevate our ethnic identities over the national one, and who can blame us? The whole idea of this nation was forced on us by the British without the opportunity to cultivate a proper notion of nationhood and sense of belonging to said nation. Regardless, we had passionate revolutionary young patriots like this 60 years ago so I’m hopeful we still do!
Major Ademoyega really put into perspective how the Biafran situation came to be. Ironsi’s actions and inactions after quelling the coup reinforced the belief that it was an “Igbo coup”. What followed is what has become the darkest history of our dear country…
September 7, 2021
This is an interesting personal account of the first coup Nigeria experienced and the civil war. Nzeogwu and his colleagues coming up with revolutionary ideas in a bid to save their people, the country while preserving the unity of the nation is patriotism at its peak, albeit self-imposed. Still, it's a responsibility they took upon themselves because no one else had an interest or a genuine reason to restore sanity to the nation. The hope and optimism of the major coup plotters, as can be seen in the chapter where the author documents the revolutionary ideas to be implemented after the coup is successful is contagious, even though if they had succeeded, it wouldn't have been that easy to implement. In their selflessness, they seem to have always placed the people first, and that's what we love to see in leaders.
The author explains carefully and answers the main question that must have plaqued people who had no clue as to ‘Why they struck’: Was the January 1966 coup an Igbo coup aimed at Igbo domination?
Interesting book written by a serious author that didn't come to play. I had to give it four stars because it is a personal account that gives room for biases. Still, it's a great read.
An unanswered question; Did Victor Banjo truly betray Ojukwu or was he acting in the interest of the people of the two warring nations?
The author explains carefully and answers the main question that must have plaqued people who had no clue as to ‘Why they struck’: Was the January 1966 coup an Igbo coup aimed at Igbo domination?
Interesting book written by a serious author that didn't come to play. I had to give it four stars because it is a personal account that gives room for biases. Still, it's a great read.
An unanswered question; Did Victor Banjo truly betray Ojukwu or was he acting in the interest of the people of the two warring nations?
February 6, 2018
Nigeria is complex, understanding it's history and events that led up to the first coup and subsequently the civil war is mind boggling. This account in all honesty does justice to it, it can be said to be laced with personal bias but in goes a long way in throwing light on certain issues that would been distorted.
January 20, 2025
I am eternally grateful to Major Ademoyega for writing this heartfelt, powerful, intelligent book. I will cherish it for the rest of my life because it has renewed a political consciousness in me that was hitherto untouched.
January 5, 2019
An attempt to retell history.
January 18, 2019
I can't read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2019
Awesome
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2020
Precise...
May 27, 2020
A fully expository book, a must read for all
October 23, 2020
Adewale Ademoyega shares his eyewitness account of the first Nigerian coup. A must read for every Nigerian citizens.
Want to read
May 4, 2021i know it will be helpful
Currently reading
July 10, 2021Such a nice book
January 31, 2022
Classic and historical.It’s without doubt the real testimony of an actor in the melee
July 27, 2022
Intriguing story that depicts the illness in the ruling class of Nigeria
Read
October 12, 2022Nice history
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
January 12, 2023Please how can I download a PDF copy of the book?
August 4, 2023
Good book
Want to read
April 13, 2024Can I get this book PDF, I need it for my school project
September 21, 2024
Great
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2017
Reading through the pages of this book one feels like watching a replay of a historical event. To what extent can we rely upon the narrative of Adewale Ademoyega as one of the three major soldiers that conceived, planned and executed the coup of January 1966?
Hitherto the argument have always being that the coup was a tribal coup -Igbo Coup to be more precise and from the book the argument isn't true and in fact such claims does a great disservice to the courage and zeal of the dissatisfied soldiers and citizens to bring out the ideal change needed in the young and petrifying nation.
I think this book is a historical asset for Nigerians.
Hitherto the argument have always being that the coup was a tribal coup -Igbo Coup to be more precise and from the book the argument isn't true and in fact such claims does a great disservice to the courage and zeal of the dissatisfied soldiers and citizens to bring out the ideal change needed in the young and petrifying nation.
I think this book is a historical asset for Nigerians.
April 7, 2015
This first-hand narration explains, to a large extent, the events in the country in the 1960s. The author, being a non-igbo but yet fighting on the Biafra side, is quasi-impartial. However, it is imperative to read an account from the Nigerian army's side before drawing firm conclusions.
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