As Twitter Nigeria goes abuzz as regards a series of tweets by @Reedahkh, where she wrote she won’t vote any Igbo person to be president, blaming Kaduna Nzeogwu coup for the decision, we bring you facts about Late Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu some people don’t know about.
His Birth And Education Background
Kaduna Nzeogwu was born on the 26th day of February in 1937, in the capital of Kaduna to Igbo parents from the Region-Okpanam Town, near Asaba in the present-day Anioma Delta State. He did his Primary and Secondary school in Kaduna state
His Military Background
In March 1957, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu enlisted as an officer cadet in the Nigeria Regiment of the West African Frontier Force and proceeded on a 6-month preliminary training in Ghana, then Gold Coast.
On his return to Nigeria in May 1960, Nzeogwu was posted to the 1st Battalion in Enugu where Major Aguiyi-Ironsi was the second-in-command under a British officer.
He was later posted to the 5th Battalion in Kaduna where he became friends with Olusegun Obasanjo(Former Military and Civilian president of Nigeria).
His Hausa colleagues in the Nigerian Army gave him the name “Kaduna” because of his affinity with the town.
After serving in the Congo in 1961, Nzeogwu was assigned as a training officer at the Army Training Depot in Zaria for about 6 months before getting posted to Lagos to head up the military intelligence section at the Army Headquarters where he was the first Nigerian officer.
The forerunner of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps (NAIC) was the Field Security Section (FSS) of the Royal Nigerian Army, which was established on 1 November 1962 with Captain PG Harrington (BR) as General Staff Officer Grade Two (GSO2 Int).
Nzeogwu did not really have a healthy relationship with some of his army colleagues in his capacity as a military intelligence officer.
Consequently, he was posted to the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna where he became Chief Instructor
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1966 Coup (The First Nigerian Coup), The Planning And Execution
In the early hours of 15 January 1966, Nzeogwu led a group of a soldier on a supposed military exercise, taking them to attack the official residence of the premier of the north, Sir Ahmadu Bello in a bloody coup that saw the murder of the Premiers of Northern and Western Nigeria. The Prime Minister (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa), a federal minister (Festus Okotie-Eboh), and top army officers from the Northern and Western regions of the nation were also brutally murdered.
From the existing government, the premier of the Eastern region (Michael Okpara), the President of the Nigerian federation (Nnamdi Azikiwe) and the Army Chief (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi) were notable survivors.
Maj. Nzeogwu had started his preparation by organizing a two-day night exercise “Damisa” (Operation Tiger) to train soldiers in new fighting techniques. The exercise was approved by authorities of the 1st Brigade Headquarters apparently unaware of the real intentions of Maj. Nzeogwu and the Brigade Major.
Maj. Alphonso Keshi had sent circulars to all units operating under the Brigade to contribute troops towards the success of the exercise. By the time Maj. Keshi realized “exercise Damisa” was actually a Military rebellion it was absolutely too late to counter the operation.
The Nigeria/Biafra War
On 30 May 1967, Biafra declared its independence from Nigeria; this was spurred by the incessant killing of Igbos in Northern Nigeria and the refusal of then military head of state General Yakubu Gowon to mobilize security personnel to stop the killings. Nzeogwu was released from close observation and asked to go into battle on the side of the Biafrans.
On 29 July 1967, Nzeogwu – who had been promoted to the rank of a Biafran Lt. Colonel – was trapped in an ambush near Nsukka while conducting a night reconnaissance operation against federal troops of the 21st battalion under Captain Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi.
The Death Of Major Kaduna Nzeogwu
He was killed in action and his corpse was subsequently identified. After the defeat of Biafra and the end of the war, orders were given by the Head of the Nigerian government, Major General Yakubu Gowon, for him to be buried at the military cemetery in Kaduna with full military honors
Additional Credit: Wikipedia
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