'MAJOR KADUNA NZEOGWU' Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu was said to have died exactly 42 years ago today at Obollo Afor on 29th July 1967 shortly after the outbreak of hostilities between Nigeria and the breakaway eastern region, which called itself the Republic of Biafra.remarkable young man who, like a meteor, flashed through the Nigerian political firmament and, before we knew it, disappeared the way he came. So, who actually was Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu? Was he the villain he was portrayed to be? Or, was he a patriot, who, unfortunately, was born from the ‘wrong’ stock of Nigerians? Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, if he had lived, would have turned 72 years on February 26, 2009.Chukwuma shot into national limelight on January 15, 1966, when in the early hours of that fateful day; together with his troops Chukwuma stormed the official residence of the premier of the north and the Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, killing him in the process. When Chukwuma and his troops struck, there was widespread rejoicing across the land. The inept leadership of then politicians was too glaring. Barely a few years into nominal political independence, political intolerance in the country had claimed its first major victims: the visionary Chief Obafemi Awolowo and a good number of his political associates were given long prison sentences. The Tiv riots had been ruthlessly crushed. The wuru-wuru national census of 1962 had caused predictable problems. The Midwest Region was carved out of Western Region in 1963 by the NPC/NCNC coalition in order to deal with Chief Awolowo and his followers while ignoring agitations for self-determination in the east (COR) and in the north (Middle Belt). The NPC-led federal government continued to meddle in the internal politics of the Action Group Party in Western Region, which led to the exacerbation of the crisis. By 1965, the Western Region was referred to as the “wild, wild west.” Besides political instability, widespread corruption among the politicians, the 10 percenters, was rife. The Nigerian military had been infiltrated by dubious selfish politicians. Nigeria was tottering on the brink of collapse. Something was bound to happen, to prevent or to hasten it. It was only a matter of time.Welcome to the first military coup d’état in Nigeria’s history. The coup planned and executed by radical elements in the Nigerian armed forces was led by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna (in charge of Lagos axis) and Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, who was in charge of Kaduna axis. Major Chude Sokei was to lead the putsch in Enugu but was unexpectedly sent on an overseas training before the D-Day. The coup was executed to remove visionless politicians who, in the words of the soldiers, “caused Nigerians to feel shame being Nigerians.” Little did the coup plotters know that Nigeria of then was a paradise compared to what it would become later. From demanding 10% bribes corruption has grown wings and become institutionalized. It is now an acceptable way of our national life. Today, nobody feels any shame being associated with corruption. The CVs of our so-called leaders would be incomplete without it. I am not referring to the generals of the north whose birthright it is to steal from our national patrimony. The Nigerian army that produced Chukwuma & co. has become in the words of General Ibrahim Salihu, onetime Chief of Army Staff, “an army of anything is possible.”
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:09:41 +0000
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