Former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, has dismissed claims that the Igbo ethnic group was behind the 1966 coup, revealing in his book that the real plan was to install Obafemi Awolowo as Nigeria’s leader. Read the full story.
Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), has made a shocking revelation, clearing the Igbo ethnic group of blame in the infamous January 15, 1966 coup that altered Nigeria’s political history.
Nearly six decades after the coup, which led to the assassination of prominent Nigerian leaders, including Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and Premier Ahmadu Bello, the narrative has often painted the coup as an Igbo-dominated conspiracy. However, in his newly released book, A Journey in Service, IBB dismisses this long-held belief, asserting that the coup was not driven by ethnic sentiment but by the ambition to install Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Nigeria’s leader.
New Facts Expose Falsehoods About 1966 Coup
For years, a widespread belief held that the 1966 coup was an Igbo-led agenda due to the ethnic backgrounds of most of its key plotters and the survival of General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo officer who later became Nigeria’s first military Head of State. But Babangida’s revelation challenges this assumption, highlighting the participation of Yoruba officers and the involvement of some Igbo officers who opposed the coup.
He also disclosed that Major John Obienu, an Igbo officer, played a significant role in crushing the coup, while another Igbo senior officer, Lt-Col. Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, was brutally murdered by his fellow Igbo officer, Major Chris Anuforo, showing the lack of an ethnic motive behind the killings.
IBB: Coup Plotters Wanted Awolowo as President
In his book, Babangida insists that the coup’s main objective was not tribal domination but the release of Chief Obafemi Awolowo from prison to lead Nigeria. He argues that the coup only appeared ethnically motivated because of the high number of Northern leaders assassinated and the absence of any major attack in the Eastern region.
Babangida further emphasized that Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, widely regarded as the leader of the coup, was only ‘Igbo in name’ but had no strong ties to Igbo nationalism, having been raised in Kaduna and speaking fluent Hausa.
Ethnic Politics Shaped the 1966 Coup’s Aftermath
Despite its original objectives, the coup took on an ethnic coloration, leading to counter-coups and a civil war. The killing of Northern leaders without corresponding assassinations in the East deepened suspicions that the Igbo were behind the plot. This perception fueled ethnic tensions that persist today.
IBB’s revelations offer a fresh perspective, calling for a reassessment of Nigeria’s history. His book underscores the complex dynamics behind the coup and the dangers of ethnic stereotyping in politics.
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