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| Balewa was not assassinated: The Truth you have never been told |
Prior the revolutionary, political crisis in the Western Region culminated in the conviction (for treason) and jailing of Yoruba leader Obafemi Awolowo in Calabar prison. The revolutionaries attuned to Awolowo's ideology had planned to make him Nigerian leader. Part of the plan was to take Balewa to Calabar to sign his resignation letter and relinquishing of power to Awolowo. This was not to be as Balewa suffered asthmatic attack on the way and died.
According to Mbu, Nigeria’s first high commissioner to the United Kingdom and a veteran of many ministerial portfolios since the 1950s: "Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was not killed as some people wrote. Christopher Okigbo, who was close to the military boys, told me what really happened. He said when Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna led others to arrest the Prime Minister they were not to kill him. He was to be taken to Calabar prison to release Awolowo and also announce that he has handed over to them. That was all the military wanted from him. It was in the car, even before they left Lagos that the late Prime Minister suffered an asthma attack and he died."
Olusegun Osoba, the former governor of Ogun State, who was among the few journalist that discovered Balewa's corpse and wrote a story as a young reporter (published in the Daily Times Of January 23,1966), supported Mbu's story. In an interview with Vanguard in 2010, Osoba stated, "I would not say Tafawa Balewa died of asthma for the fact that I am not a medical doctor. But as an eye witness, the body [of Balewa] that I saw was a fresh body. Fani- Kayode, I can understand his emotions, but I think he is getting too emotional and indirectly politicizing history. The first cliche they teach in journalism is facts are sacred. The first thing my editor told me about the story as I got to the office that day was that,’ don’t embellish your report, don’t be flamboyant ,just be factual ,’and the facts I stated in my story have never ever been denied, debunked, controverted in 44 years. Why now? Fani- Kayode had many mistakes and flaws in his argument."
Olusegun Osoba, the former governor of Ogun State, who was among the few journalist that discovered Balewa's corpse and wrote a story as a young reporter (published in the Daily Times Of January 23,1966), supported Mbu's story. In an interview with Vanguard in 2010, Osoba stated, "I would not say Tafawa Balewa died of asthma for the fact that I am not a medical doctor. But as an eye witness, the body [of Balewa] that I saw was a fresh body. Fani- Kayode, I can understand his emotions, but I think he is getting too emotional and indirectly politicizing history. The first cliche they teach in journalism is facts are sacred. The first thing my editor told me about the story as I got to the office that day was that,’ don’t embellish your report, don’t be flamboyant ,just be factual ,’and the facts I stated in my story have never ever been denied, debunked, controverted in 44 years. Why now? Fani- Kayode had many mistakes and flaws in his argument."
To support this, it is widely known that when the soldiers came to arrest Balewa, he asked them to allow him say his prayers, which they obliged him. Another pointer is if the soldiers had wanted to assassinate Balewa, while take the risk of driving him out of Lagos, when they could have easily shot him in his residence? The controversy surrounding his 'autopsy' also suggests a foul play among northern soldiers who found his death a convenient excuse to strike at Biafrans. Okoti Ebo, the Finanace Minister found alongside Balewa was evidently shot. Some people have claimed Balewa autopsy was conducted in University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH). However, Osoba rejected this version: "That cannot be true because the late Professor Odunjo, the brother of Soji Odunjo, was in LUTH then when I wrote the story and I remember that Soji and I saw him that same Sunday that my report was published and we talked extensively on the matter. So, if there had been autopsy, he would have told me in the course of our discussion."
The second version of the autopsy, which suggested it was done on the spot where the body was found was also refuted by Osoba: "That is an impossible thing scientifically, because the body (of Okotie Eboh) I saw close by was already being infested by maggots and ants such that you had to be careful so that the ants would not get into your body. You can imagine if the ants got into your body, you had to strip naked. It was not an environment that you could ever carry out autopsy. As at the time I wrote my story, the body was already being flown out of Lagos to the north but I guess they had to take it first to Kaduna because I was not sure there were landing facilities in Bauchi where it was buried; they probably had to take the body in the morning to Bauchi and I stated in my report the Indian pilot and the co-pilot that accompanied the body. All this happened within fours hours after I saw the body. You don’t fly a decomposed body and stay in the aircraft for one or two hours and you survive."
Mbu also expressed strong reservations regarding the insinuation that his former colleague in Balewa’s government, ex-Health Minister/Balewa’s doctor, Moses Majekodunmi knew about the autopsy as Majekodunmi was in London when the coup occurred.
The second version of the autopsy, which suggested it was done on the spot where the body was found was also refuted by Osoba: "That is an impossible thing scientifically, because the body (of Okotie Eboh) I saw close by was already being infested by maggots and ants such that you had to be careful so that the ants would not get into your body. You can imagine if the ants got into your body, you had to strip naked. It was not an environment that you could ever carry out autopsy. As at the time I wrote my story, the body was already being flown out of Lagos to the north but I guess they had to take it first to Kaduna because I was not sure there were landing facilities in Bauchi where it was buried; they probably had to take the body in the morning to Bauchi and I stated in my report the Indian pilot and the co-pilot that accompanied the body. All this happened within fours hours after I saw the body. You don’t fly a decomposed body and stay in the aircraft for one or two hours and you survive."
Mbu also expressed strong reservations regarding the insinuation that his former colleague in Balewa’s government, ex-Health Minister/Balewa’s doctor, Moses Majekodunmi knew about the autopsy as Majekodunmi was in London when the coup occurred.
Mbu knew Okigbo, the acclaimed poet and his family very well, so gaining the confidence to reveal this secret is not in question. Mbu’s ties with them predated the civil war; he said Pius believed his brother was closer to Mbu who could be a steadying influence on him. Mbu revealed that Chris Okigbo, Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Bola Ige were mates at the University of Ibadan.
According to Henry C. Onyema, a historian who interviewed Mbu on this, "Mbu conveyed the impression that he was Balewa’s favourite ‘son’ and would be the last person to talk dishonourably about his benefactor. He gave me insights into foreign missions he executed on behalf of the Nigerian government though he was not the Foreign Affairs Minister under Balewa. Notable among them was the Arms Reduction Treaty of 1962 following the US-former Soviet Union face-off that nearly plunged the world into war. Nigeria contributed in no small measure in shaping that treaty. Mbu told me he was popular with the British because of his impeccable grooming and was nicknamed the golden boy of the Commonwealth by his colleagues. Small wonder he won the heart of the moderate, pro-West Prime Minister."
Mbu's recollections of the revolution were vivid. As a junior Minister of Defence he had gone to Kaduna to open an Air Force base on 5 January 1966. In the officers’ mess he clearly heard officers, including his friend, Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun, talking openly about shooting the members of the government for corruption. Ademulegun reportedly assured a frightened Mbu that the officers did not have him on their ‘hit’ list. Likely targets included Festus Okotie-Eboh, the Finance Minister, whom the military accused of corruption. There were allegations that he took ten percent of fees as kickbacks on contracts and the money went to the coffers of the NCNC, one of the ruling parties. Mbu who was NCNC’s treasurer denied that the party got such money. "Whether it went into Okotie-Eboh’s pocket is beyond my knowledge. But the corruption of the First Republic, though child’s play compared to what currently goes on in Nigeria, is well documented," Mbu stated.
Mbu’s efforts to warn Balewa, Dr. Michael Okpara, the Eastern Region Premier and the Sardauna, Ahmadu Bello, were ignored. Mbu was delegated to represent Balewa at Prime Minister Nehru of India’s burial on the eve of the coup. In London, en-route to India, he learnt of the coup and wisely stayed back although Majekodunmi suggested they return home. Mbu reasoned that with the overthrow of the government in what capacity would they be returning?
According to Onyema, Mbu from the often regarded minority group in the then Eastern Region (Cross Rivers), strongly disagreed that the first coup was an Igbo plot to dominate Nigeria. He was emphatic that throughout the First Republic there was widespread discontent in the military and it was not exclusive to Igbo officers. Following Okotie-Eboh’s arrest the soldiers went after Kingsley Mbadiwe, an Igbo Minister. According to Mbu, only Mbadiwe’s comic antics saved him. Fredrick Forsyth’s book ‘The Biafra Story’ stated that Mbadiwe hid in the State House area which the plotters did not search because its official occupant, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, was overseas. Mbu’s account of the coup in the east contradicts that of the ‘Igbo plot’ purveyors. It seems to corroborate those of Adewale Ademoyega and Ben Gbulie who actively participated in the coup. According to Mbu, the soldiers nearly shot Michael Okpara for refusing to alight from his car. It took the intervention of Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam, the Eastern Region governor, to save his life.
http://yllix.com/fullpage.php?section=General&pub=374784&ga=g
Mbu’s biggest bombshell to shatter the myth of an Igbo coup were his views on the role of Major Hassan Usman Katsina, the Northern Region military governor in Ironsi’s regime. The officer, a prince of the Katsina ruling house, was according to Mbu, openly on Nzeogwu’s side throughout the brief period he held sway in Kaduna. He gave interviews supporting the coup.
Some writers on the January 1966 coup have claimed that Nzeogwu used unorthodox measures to get Katsina’s support (see pages 21-22 of Madiebo’s The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War.’). Others like Ademoyega argue that Katsina’s support was reluctant. In ‘Emeka’, Forsyth’s biography of Ojukwu, he states that Katsina was Nzeogwu’s right-hand man but when the coup failed, he claimed he was coerced into backing the plot. One can read about the encounter between Nzeogwu and Katsina’s wife on 10 January 1966 at Kaduna airport (Madiebo, 2000 p.15). It is a known fact that Nzeogwu and Katsina were friends.
The revolution was twisted and turned into an Igbo Coup by Danjuma, Gowon, Murtala Mohammed and co in order to unleash their vendetta on Biafrans. But in the end Truth will always prevail.
Related Stories:
According to Onyema, Mbu from the often regarded minority group in the then Eastern Region (Cross Rivers), strongly disagreed that the first coup was an Igbo plot to dominate Nigeria. He was emphatic that throughout the First Republic there was widespread discontent in the military and it was not exclusive to Igbo officers. Following Okotie-Eboh’s arrest the soldiers went after Kingsley Mbadiwe, an Igbo Minister. According to Mbu, only Mbadiwe’s comic antics saved him. Fredrick Forsyth’s book ‘The Biafra Story’ stated that Mbadiwe hid in the State House area which the plotters did not search because its official occupant, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, was overseas. Mbu’s account of the coup in the east contradicts that of the ‘Igbo plot’ purveyors. It seems to corroborate those of Adewale Ademoyega and Ben Gbulie who actively participated in the coup. According to Mbu, the soldiers nearly shot Michael Okpara for refusing to alight from his car. It took the intervention of Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam, the Eastern Region governor, to save his life.
http://yllix.com/fullpage.php?section=General&pub=374784&ga=g
Mbu’s biggest bombshell to shatter the myth of an Igbo coup were his views on the role of Major Hassan Usman Katsina, the Northern Region military governor in Ironsi’s regime. The officer, a prince of the Katsina ruling house, was according to Mbu, openly on Nzeogwu’s side throughout the brief period he held sway in Kaduna. He gave interviews supporting the coup.
Some writers on the January 1966 coup have claimed that Nzeogwu used unorthodox measures to get Katsina’s support (see pages 21-22 of Madiebo’s The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War.’). Others like Ademoyega argue that Katsina’s support was reluctant. In ‘Emeka’, Forsyth’s biography of Ojukwu, he states that Katsina was Nzeogwu’s right-hand man but when the coup failed, he claimed he was coerced into backing the plot. One can read about the encounter between Nzeogwu and Katsina’s wife on 10 January 1966 at Kaduna airport (Madiebo, 2000 p.15). It is a known fact that Nzeogwu and Katsina were friends.
The revolution was twisted and turned into an Igbo Coup by Danjuma, Gowon, Murtala Mohammed and co in order to unleash their vendetta on Biafrans. But in the end Truth will always prevail.
Related Stories:
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