1966 coup not an Igbo coup – Iwuanyanwu

The perception popularly held that the Igbo masterminded the 1966 coup has been clarified by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who stated that the coup was never an Igbo coup, but stated that it was rather foiled by an Igbo man

Iwuanyanwu stated this on Saturday in Abuja during his 75th birthday celebration organised by a committee of friends in collaboration with Ohaneze Ndigbo.

The political icon and board member of the People’s Democratic Party disclosed that although an Igboman led the coup, other tribes like the Yoruba, Igala , Hausa and even the South South actively participated in the coup.

Iwuanyanwu further stated that for the intervention of the late General Aguiyi Ironsi, the coup could have succeeded and Nigeria may not have remained the same, as it is today.

He said, “There is a belief in many places that the coup of 1966 was inspired or instigated by Igbo leaders. It is not true.

“Yes the person who led it was an Igbo man from Delta State but he had with him people from other tribes, from Yoruba, from Niger Delta, from other places. It was purely a military coup.

“It has nothing to do with the Igbo. There was no time Igbo leaders told the military to carry out a coup.

“If for anything, our great leader Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was sad at the death of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the death of the Sardauna of Sokoto and many other leaders.

“I want Nigerians to also know that that coup failed because an Igbo man took up arms, arrested them, that is the coup plotters, and put them in prison.

“That Igbo man was General Aguiyi Ironsi. It is important to know that it was an Igbo man who made that coup to fail. Ironsi was then commanding the army. If he had supported them, the coup may not have failed and may be the story of Nigeria may not be as it is today. So Igbo’s made that coup possible to be stopped”.

On the circumstances leading to the death of Ironsi, Iwuanyanwu continued, “When Ironsi became the Head of State, he was killed because he was talking about unitary government. That is exactly what is happening today, but you know, all of us say that we don’t want unitary government.

He emphasised that the Igbo’s are fully committed to the unity of the country, manifested in the verifiable fact that the Igbo’s have great investment in various parts of the country due to their firm belief in the unity of the country.

The elder statesman stressed that it was very important for him to correct the impression now that he has become a rallying point politically, adding that he was a witness to the coup and was not speculating or talking out of some text book information.

Iwuanyanwu emphasized the importance of a united but restructured Nigeria , saying that the present structure of Nigeria has failed to address the needs of the country and maintained that only power devolution can correct the anomalies.

“We want political restructuring. We are very serious, Ohaneze Ndigbo says it and many prominent Nigerians say it and I want the National Assembly and other Nigerians to hasten the process of restructuring this country” Iwuanyanwu added.

Myke Uzendu, Oluchi Okroafor, Abuja