Muhammadu Buhari was involved in the coup which overthrew Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi in July 1966

[Abraham Madu]

African History Archive

Jfmanu2aia87ry 2tS8 0aont1 1su10:039 or1PdM  ·

Lt. Colonel Chris Ugokwe (left) and Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari captured together in an undated  photograph (Likely circa early 1980s).

Both men joined the Nigerian Army in the early 1960s (Ugokwe claimed that he enrolled on the same day as both Buhari and Shehu Musa Yar'Adua).

Ugokwe was officially put on army leave after the "reprisal coup" of July 1966. His escape from the North which had become unsafe for officers and people of Eastern Region origin was facilitated by Lt. Colonel Hassan Usman Katsina, the governor of the Northern province to whom he was serving as aide-de-camp. In September 1966, Ugokwe was escorted to Kaduna Railway station by Ibrahim Babangida and Garba Duba before embarking on his journey to the Eastern Region.

Ugokwe fought on the side of the secessionist state of Biafra between 1967 and 1970 as a brigade commander. He was reabsorbed into the Nigerian Army after the civil war with a loss of seniority.

He was significantly involved in two prominent military operations after his reabsorption into the Nigerian military.

 . As a Major, he was instrumental in flushing out  dissident soldiers led by Lt. Colonel Buka Suwa Dimka from Broadcasting House during the abortive coup of February 13th 1976. The mission was organised by the "Core Commander" of the Armoured Corps, Lt. Colonel Babangida (in relation to whom Ugokwe had had 6 months seniority when both were members of the Armoured Recce Squadron prior to the civil war) and carried out on the ground by Ugokwe, the Regimental Commander, and Lt. Colonel M.B. Mayaki; Ugokwe leading the armoured offensive and Mayaki (himself an armoured corps officer) the infantry assault. Captain Jimmy Okojoko was also an influential fighter on the ground.

. As a member of the General Staff in April 1983, Lt. Colonel Ugokwe was assigned by Major General Buhari, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Third Armoured Division in Jos, to recapture 21 islands located on Lake Chad from Chadian forces led by Idriss Deby, the Chief of Army Staff. Ugokwe arranged for the relocation of the headquarters of the Third Armoured Division to Maiduguri and in combination with 21 Armoured Brigade succeeded in recapturing all 21 islands along with an extra two islands that were seized.

He retired in 1985 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Lt. Colonel Ugokwe died on December 30th 2016.

Muhammadu Buhari was involved in the coup which overthrew Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi in July 1966 and fought for the Federal side in the Nigerian Civil War. He was also involved in the coup of July 1975 which removed General Yakubu Gowon and brought to power Brigadier Murtala Muhammed.

During the 1970s, Buhari served as a military administrator of Bornu State, the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources and as Military Secretary.

Buhari graduated from the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as a Master in Strategic Studies. During the early 1980s, first as a Brigadier and then as a Major General, he went on to perform General Officer Commanding roles for army divisions; two infantry and the other armoured, before he emerged as the Head of State following the coup which overthrew the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari on New Years Eve in 1983.

Buhari was himself overthrown by a coup led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. He was placed in detention for a period of time.

Buhari made a number of failed attempts at becoming a civilian president during the 2000s, but is presently serving his second term as a civilian president of the Fourth Republic.

[Nebukadineze Adiele]

Didn't they start eating at the same time, how come Ugokwe emptied his plate and with his mouth seeming as if he ate nothing at all, while Buhari's plate was still full? This dining epitomizes their military career -- he was a mere Lt. Col. when Buhari, his course mate, was a Major General. I commend him, Ebitu Ukiwe (Buhari and Babangida's military senior) and other Igbo military officers who humbled themselves enough to rejoin the Nigerian military wherein they became juniors to their erstwhile mates and juniors. 

Yes, there ought to have been a consequence for fighting against Nigeria but it mustn't have been to the degree of losing three ranks to your course mates; Ugokwe should have been a Brigadier here to Buhari's Major General. Why did they retire him in 1985 when his course mates of Babangida, Buhari, et al were in charge of Nigeria? This unfairness is why Nigeria is ruined beyond redemption. 

Nebukadineze Adiele
Organized religion sired irrationality.

[Afis]

Nebu, you’re partly why he no go ever better for Nigeria!

So in your Inyanminrin world, the punishment for going AWOL, and starting a war against your country is to take the treasonous fellas back into the Army, but in your own mind their ranks should’ve been fully restored.

You wrote this being of sound mind, and with a straight face and in good conscience, Nebu?

Really?

In a well organized, and law and order conscious country, you think a soldier who abandoned his post, disowned his country, fought a disastrous Uncivil War against his while declaring allegiance to a secessionist Head of Rebels,  would be taken back into the army, and just to be fair to him and his tribe, his army ranks would be fully restored.

Wow! You are a terrible tribalist!

I’m quiet sure you will tell a long story now of how John was shot and no blood was found around his dead body.

Afis

“Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.” — Dhamapada, verse 81.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 31, 2022, at 4:29 AM, 'Nebukadineze Adiele' via ||NaijaObserver|| <naijao...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



--
To join this group, send email to naijao...@googlegroups.com
 
View this message at https://groups.google.com/a/googlegroups.com/d/msg/naijaobserver/topic-id/message-id
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "||NaijaObserver||" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to naijaobserve...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/naijaobserver/1957219889.2189841.1643599439729%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Abraham Madu]

Fools ask how but not why!

Why did they retire him in 1985 when his course mates of Babangida, Buhari, et al were in charge of Nigeria? This unfairness is why Nigeria is ruined beyond redemption. 

Nebukadineze Adiele
Organized religion sired irrationality.

[Ishola Williams]

Ogbuefi NA.It is difficult for outsiders to understand in a situation where Northern Coupistss succeeded and Southern coupists always  failed from 1966.

TRUST IS INDISPENSABLE IN ANY ORGANISATION AND MORE SO,WHEN YOU ARE A LOSER.

That said, the case of Alison Maduekwe  who was my NDA Course 1 was demoted to Course 2 and went on to be come the Chief of Naval Satff

In the same course was Brigadier-General Ikegwuohartd who survived a plane crash in Kano many years ago.

Sometimes,Patience cannot explain how Goodluck went on to become Governor and President of missed opportunities for 6 straight unprecedented 6 years.

Que sera sear.iw

--
To join this group, send email to naijao...@googlegroups.com
 
View this message at https://groups.google.com/a/googlegroups.com/d/msg/naijaobserver/topic-id/message-id
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "||NaijaObserver||" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to naijaobserve...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/naijaobserver/1957219889.2189841.1643599439729%40mail.yahoo.com.

--

Ishola Williams

Maj-Gen (Rtd)

Exec Sec

PANAFSTRAG

Lagos.

isholaw...@gmail.com

isholaw...@yahoo.com

panafstraginternational@yahoo.com

08056210960

www.panafstrag.org

[DIPO ENIOLA]

“Didn’t they start eating at the same time, how come Ugokwe emptied his plate and with his mouth seeming as if he ate nothing at all……..” - Nebu

This is typical of Orlu men. It is known as ‘shop and clean mouth.’  The last time Wharf Snake and I went out to dinner at one Amala joint, I had barely settled down for my meal when I noticed Wharfry had finished his big portion. He was starring at my plate. Typical shop and clean mouth, Orlu style.

The Oha 1

Ahu Nze Ebie Okwu

The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates

If the truth shall kill them, let them die

- Immanuel Kant

[DIPO ENIOLA]

Begin forwarded message:

[Nebukadineze Adiele]

Thanks, General Williams, for adding wisdom and objectivity to this topic. Yes, your explanation is not only reasonable but it also cleared some misinformation that we were fed with -- that all reabsorbed Igbos into the Nigerian military lost 3 years of seniority, which is the equivalent duration of the war. Until reading you now, I was of the belief that Alison Madueke (not Maduekwe -- two different names), like Ike Nwachukwu, stayed behind and fought for Nigeria during the war. We were told that his fighting for Nigeria was why he rose as high as he did, but in retrospect, that couldn't be why he rose that high since Ebitu Ukiwe rose higher (in political office holding in the military era) than he did, and Ndubuisi Kanu wasn't too far behind him -- they both returned and fought for Biafra.  

Cheers.

[Nebukadineze Adiele]

Afis,

You make an ass of yourself sometimes, and unnecessarily too. Why? Here is what I wrote, relative to your dishonest distortion:

Yes, there ought to have been a consequence for fighting against Nigeria but it mustn't have been to the degree of losing three ranks to your course mates; Ugokwe should have been a Brigadier here to Buhari's Major General. (Nebu)

How could an educated, reasonable, and non-trouble looking adult construe the excerpt above as:

• So in your Inyanminrin world, the punishment for going AWOL, and starting a war against your country is to take the treasonous fellas back into the Army, but in your own mind their ranks should’ve been fully restored.(Afis)

No, Afis, your dishonesty, hypocrisy, and self-consuming Ngbati tribalism is why Nigeria is a mess and would remain so. In your dishonesty, no Igbo should have been allowed into the Nigerian Armed Forces after the war, the "No victor, no vanquished" meant nothing. Or, if Igbos should be accepted, it absolutely must exclude those already commissioned into the Nigerian army but who found themselves, by no faults of theirs, on Eastern Nigeria when the war broke out and they became basically conscripted into defending their territory? Are you aware that soldiers of Igbo/Eastern Nigeria origin were formally evacuated to Eastern Nigeria long before the war began? Should they have folded their arms or gone back to the same Nigeria, from where they were evacuated, once the war began? 

Don't you know that the reason they returned to Nigeria was that Igbo reaccepted Nigeria in 1970 and the leadership of Nigeria promised reabsorbing soldiers and Civil Servants who couldn't help but fight for or serve Biafra? Even at that, I recognized that there had to be some consequences outside of the severity of losing three ranks to one's course mate. Ugokwe was Buhari's course mate who was an ADC to Governor Usman Katsina but was formally sent back to the East (escorted to the train station by Babangida, et al to ensure his safety). Nigerian government reasonably recognized that his relocation to the East in 1966, which made it inevitable that he fought for Biafra, was no fault of his, so it reabsorbed him into the army with his war experience to boot. Yet you sadistically couldn't be touched that 15 years later he wore a Lt. Col. rank while Buhari, Babangida, Vatsa, etc. who were his course mates wore the rank of Major-General? 

Three ranks reduction/demotion is an overkill, Afis, that was my position, not that he shouldn't have been penalized some how. You seem to not know what fairness is once Igbo is involved, that is a shame that you will continue to inflict on yourself every time you say something as thoughtless and illiterate as this. Contrast your bigoted utterance with General Williams' addressing of my observation to see how hollow and unlettered you made of yourself. He explained that the severity of punishment was not across board by citing Allison Madueke who eventually rose to being the Chief of Navy Staff. In my recognition of his wisdom and objectivity, I acknowledged that Ebitu Ukiwe who also fought for Biafra was reabsorbed into the Nigerian Armed Forces and he rose to being the Chief of General Staff (VP in layman's term), notwithstanding that he was still outranked by Buhari, et al who were his juniors before the war -- Madueke stayed in the military much longer, up to the late 1990s to have risen that far. That's how fair minded adults address matters, not through your coming into conversations with ingrained bias that makes one question your maturity and enlightenment sometimes.  

I wouldn't have seen this crap had Mazi Madu not reposted it.



African History Archive

Jfmanu2aia87ry 2tS8 0aont1 1su10:039 or1PdM  ·

Lt. Colonel Chris Ugokwe (left) and Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari captured together in an undated  photograph (Likely circa early 1980s).

Both men joined the Nigerian Army in the early 1960s (Ugokwe claimed that he enrolled on the same day as both Buhari and Shehu Musa Yar'Adua).

Ugokwe was officially put on army leave after the "reprisal coup" of July 1966. His escape from the North which had become unsafe for officers and people of Eastern Region origin was facilitated by Lt. Colonel Hassan Usman Katsina, the governor of the Northern province to whom he was serving as aide-de-camp. In September 1966, Ugokwe was escorted to Kaduna Railway station by Ibrahim Babangida and Garba Duba before embarking on his journey to the Eastern Region.

Ugokwe fought on the side of the secessionist state of Biafra between 1967 and 1970 as a brigade commander. He was reabsorbed into the Nigerian Army after the civil war with a loss of seniority.

He was significantly involved in two prominent military operations after his reabsorption into the Nigerian military.

 . As a Major, he was instrumental in flushing out  dissident soldiers led by Lt. Colonel Buka Suwa Dimka from Broadcasting House during the abortive coup of February 13th 1976. The mission was organised by the "Core Commander" of the Armoured Corps, Lt. Colonel Babangida (in relation to whom Ugokwe had had 6 months seniority when both were members of the Armoured Recce Squadron prior to the civil war) and carried out on the ground by Ugokwe, the Regimental Commander, and Lt. Colonel M.B. Mayaki; Ugokwe leading the armoured offensive and Mayaki (himself an armoured corps officer) the infantry assault. Captain Jimmy Okojoko was also an influential fighter on the ground.

. As a member of the General Staff in April 1983, Lt. Colonel Ugokwe was assigned by Major General Buhari, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Third Armoured Division in Jos, to recapture 21 islands located on Lake Chad from Chadian forces led by Idriss Deby, the Chief of Army Staff. Ugokwe arranged for the relocation of the headquarters of the Third Armoured Division to Maiduguri and in combination with 21 Armoured Brigade succeeded in recapturing all 21 islands along with an extra two islands that were seized.

He retired in 1985 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Lt. Colonel Ugokwe died on December 30th 2016.

Muhammadu Buhari was involved in the coup which overthrew Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi in July 1966 and fought for the Federal side in the Nigerian Civil War. He was also involved in the coup of July 1975 which removed General Yakubu Gowon and brought to power Brigadier Murtala Muhammed.

During the 1970s, Buhari served as a military administrator of Bornu State, the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources and as Military Secretary.

Buhari graduated from the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as a Master in Strategic Studies. During the early 1980s, first as a Brigadier and then as a Major General, he went on to perform General Officer Commanding roles for army divisions; two infantry and the other armoured, before he emerged as the Head of State following the coup which overthrew the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari on New Years Eve in 1983.

Buhari was himself overthrown by a coup led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. He was placed in detention for a period of time.

Buhari made a number of failed attempts at becoming a civilian president during the 2000s, but is presently serving his second term as a civilian president of the Fourth Republic.

[Afis]

“ In your dishonesty, no Igbo should have been allowed into the Nigerian Armed Forces after the war, the "No victor, no vanquished" meant nothing. Or, if Igbos should be accepted, it absolutely must exclude those already commissioned into the Nigerian army but who found themselves, by no faults of theirs, on Eastern Nigeria when the war broke out and they became basically conscripted into defending their territory? ”……..Nebu.

NEBU is full of crap!

“No victor, no vanquished”, does not include allowing Nigerian army officers of igbo extraction to come back into the same armed forces they abandoned, and took allegiance to Biafra.

First, it’s more than risk taking bordering on security risks.

Second, an AWOL in the army is an offense.

Third, a soldier that turns against the army is also a grave offense.

What part don’t you get, homie?

No victor, no vanquished, does not say “restore to full ranks all igbo soldiers that turned against Nigeria”.

So, after the war, those Nigerian soldiers who fought to restore the nation should be taking orders from a former rebel?

That makes sense to you, Nebu?

Nebu’s nebulous self comes out to play when he’s dubiously saying “In your dishonesty, no igbo should’ve been allowed into Nigerian Armed forces”.

Who’s dishonest among the two of us, Nebu?

Did I say “no igbo” or igbo soldiers that went AWOL?

Nebu is a card carrying full fledge tribalist. His ears prick when he hears “Inyanminrins”. 

You no well sef.🤣

Afis

“Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.” — Dhamapada, verse 81.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 1, 2022, at 7:52 AM, Nebukadineze Adiele <Nebuka...@aol.com> wrote:



[Nebukadineze Adiele]

• “No victor, no vanquished”, does not include allowing Nigerian army officers of igbo extraction to come back into the same armed forces they abandoned, and took allegiance to Biafra. First, it’s more than risk taking bordering on security risks. Second, an AWOL in the army is an offense. (Afis Odidere)

Afis,

Here you go again, disgracing yourself with childish lies and unintelligent distortion of events of history. On this topic, you are not entitled to your false facts, you are bound by history, so stop sounding like an uneducated motor park thug. Here are your lies and biases:

(i) Contrary to your dishonesty, "No victor, no vanquished" included letting back some soldiers of Igbo extraction into the Nigerian armed forces of 1970. I am not just saying so, I know so because it happened, hence Ebitu Ukiwe, Ndubuisi Kanu, Allison Madueke, Samson Omeruah, Chris Ugokwe, and a host of others were reabsorbed into the Nigerian armed forces. In addition, most Federal Civil Servants, Customs, police officers, Immigration, etc. were reabsorbed too. This is a fact of history that any Nigerian of our age, and with a mere elementary school education, should either know or bury his/her head in shame. If you don't know so, say you don't know so, don't lie about it, doing so makes you look stupid.

(ii) You write in so abject an ignorance that you assume that your restating a falsehood would make it truthful. Nigerian soldiers of Igbo extraction did not abandon their positions in the Nigerian Armed Forces, they were hounded and killed in Nigeria after July 1966, so some of them sought refuge in the East, while others were formally repatriated to the East (through an agreement between FG and Eastern Region's government -- that agreement formalized the actions of those soldiers who had made their ways to the East already). This was not an abandonment of one's post or going AWOL. You should hide your ignorance by admitting that Gowon and his colleagues knew the difference between going AWOl and what happened to Nigerian soldiers of Igbo extraction between 1966 and 1970. Again, this is a fact of history, you are not entitled to distorting it and then expecting enlightened people to not treat you as if you aren't lettered.

(iii) There are rules of engagement in war and there are also rules of disengagement from war. The days when the conquered became enslaved became obsolete after WWII because the borderline enslaving of Germany after WWI led to WWII. Taking the lessons of WWII into consideration, conquerors no longer do house cleansing as used to be the case and at which period your primitive mind recalls. Yes, Nigeria won the war, but it had international obligations to honor in terms of treating the conquered Biafrans. On paper, Gowon's Nigeria of 1970 complied with the rules of disengagement from war through some of the actions it took right after the war. Those actions, like not be overtly vindictive against civilians and surrendered soldiers, not treating Igbos punitively as a collective, etc., were required of Nigeria by international law. To its credit, FGN complied reasonably right after the war, although it changed tunes and began hostile policies once the international community had commended its initial measures and turned their eyes away. 

So, Afis, you are being ignorant in assuming that Gowon and colleagues weren't doing the right thing in reabsorbing their former colleagues into the military after the war. I knew that they lost some credit upon reabsorption but I never knew that it was as severe as losing 3 ranks to one's course mate until I saw the picture of Buhari wearing a Major-General's rank to Ugokwe's Lt. Col's, even though they were course mates. As typical of me, I cry out against injustice irrespective of upon whom it is visited, so I wondered why such harsh treatment of reabsorbed Igbos into the armed forces of Nigeria. General Williams clarified, that it was not a one-measure-fits-all application, that some soldiers (like Madueke) made up the lost rank over time. Not only is that a sensible clarification, it also fits with history. Instead of you to leave it at that, you boorishly brought your thuggish and street corner sense into it by distorting history and discarding the respect for international law as faintly honored by Gowon and company. 

Why do you posture needlessly from time to time and make an ass of yourself, Afis? This is pathetic, just enjoy your Nigerian journey, ojare, and let go of your intellectual wuruwuru.  

Nebukadineze Adiele
Organized religion sired irrationality.

-----Original Message-----
From: Afis <odide...@yahoo.com>
To: Nebukadineze Adiele <nebuka...@aol.com>

[afis]

Anwiru onwiru.

So Nebu, why are we arguing, genius?

They got their ranks back, abi?
😂😂😂

Take care.
Afis
Sent from Yahoo for iPhone

[Abraham Madu]

Why do you posture needlessly from time to time and make an ass of yourself, Afis? This is pathetic, just enjoy your Nigerian journey, ojare, and let go of your intellectual wuruwuru.  

Nebukadineze Adiele
Organized religion sired irrationality.

[Abraham Madu]

Afis:

let go of your intellectual wuruwuru.  

Nebukadineze Adiele
Organized religion sired irrationality.

[Imperial]

I learned Lt Col Chris Ugokwe was eventually made the Executive chairman of the Nigerian Population Commission by the military President Ibrahim Babangida . 

Why the endless protest from some people ?

Sent from my iPhone

On 1 Feb 2022, at 16:31, Abraham Madu <abraha...@yahoo.com> wrote:



[Nebukadineze Adiele]

Imperial Wizard,

Why can't you help being dishonest of late? When did asking questions become protesting? Is it difficulty for some of you to comprehend the crux of subject matters involving Igbo? I didn't know that reabsorbed Igbos into the Nigerian military lost as much ranks as did Ugokwe to their course mates, so I expressed my shock and asked why so. 

Ugokwe was a Lt. Col. when his course mates Buhari, Babangida, Vatsa, etc were Major-Generals, that should raise a red flag to anyone who frowns at injustice. Of course, I didn't expect him to not have lost some rank upon reabsorption, I just didn't know that such rank loss was as punitive and far stretched as three ranks differential. General Williams explained it to my satisfaction -- it wasn't a one-measure fits all, citing Madueke who stayed long enough to become Navy Chief. 

If Ugokwe wasn't Igbo, I would still have raised the same concern. That he was appointed head of Population Commission doesn't erase the fact that he was made to retire at the rank of a Lt. Col. at the same time that his course mate, Babangida who appointed him to that Population Commission, was a four-star General. Again, General Williams' answer resolved my curiosity -- some of the reabsorbed soldiers overcame the rank loss overtime, while others didn't; he attributed it to certain factors in the military that civilians wouldn't understand. 

I am satisfied with General Williams' explanation. My question was not because Ugokwe was Igbo, it was because I smelled injustice, so some of you fake justice warriors and Igbophobes should go and get a life