To What Extent Did The Failure of the January 1966 Coup Lead to the Outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War?

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CONTENTS

  • A. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION ……….. PAGE 3
  • B. SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE……….. PAGE 3
  • C. EVALUATION OF SOURCES……….. PAGE 6
  • D. ANALYSIS……….. PAGE 8
  • E. CONCLUSION……….. PAGE 10
  • F. BIBLIOGRAPHY……….. PAGE 11

A. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION

This is an investigation in order to answer the question: To what extent did the failure of the January 1966 coup lead to the outbreak of the civil war? I will evaluate the extent to which the failed coup of January 1966 made war inevitable. I will also evaluate the extent to which ethnic tensions between the mainly Hausa-Fulani Northerners and the Igbo Easterners of Nigeria and the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom in Northern Nigeria, caused primarily by the failed coup, led to the secession of Biafra from Nigeria thus making war inevitable. I will also look at the state of the economy before the war.

Two of the sources used in this investigation-Nigeria 1966: The Turning Point by Chukwudum Ikeazor and Africa: A Modern History by Guy Arnold will be evaluated with respect to their origin, purpose, value and limitations.   

B. SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE

ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS TENSIONS

At independence, Nigeria had been divided into three regions- the Northern Region which was populated by mainly those from the Hausa-Fulani tribe, the Eastern Region, consisting mostly of those from the Igbo tribe and the Western Region which consisted mostly of the Yoruba tribe. Each region had its own government but they felt that the central government in Lagos did not safeguard their interests enough. The Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa came from the Muslim north and the Yorubas and the Igbos complained of northern domination due to the fact that the Northern Region was the most populated region in Nigeria. The Hausa-Fulani were themselves resentful of the fact that about two million Igbos were living in the Northern Region and holding many jobs.

ECONOMIC ISSUES

There was an economic recession which saw prices had risen 15 per cent by 1964 with unemployment increasing and wages remained very low. This lead to the government being heavily criticised and Balewa decided to reply by arresting Chief Awolowo, Prime Minister of the Western Region. The central government had also been accused of attempting to rig the 1964 elections.

THE FIRST COUP AND ITS FAILURES

The first coup, led by Lieutenant Kaduna Nzeogwu, was mounted in 15 January 1966, overthrowing a political class associated with corruption, nepotism and inefficiency. Under General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, a military government was established and army governors were appointed in the regions, with Lieutenant-Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, holding this position in the Eastern Region. Ironsi proposed a unitary constitution instead of a federal one which Nigeria had been under. The Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa was murdered by the perpetrators and the premiers of the Western and Northern regions, Chief Samuel Akintola and Sir Ahmadu Bello received the same fate.  However, the regional premiers of the East and Mid-West did not receive the same fate along with the General Officer Commander of the Nigerian Army, who was an Easterner, and the Southern axis of the coup was aborted thus arousing suspicions of an Eastern conspiracy. Nevertheless, the coup was greeted with widespread jubilation as people were tired of the corruption and constant crises of the First Republic.

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Ironsi chose Major Hassan Katsina, the son of a powerful Northern emir, to be the Northern Military Governor in what was an attempt to overcome the regional antagonisms that had bedevilled Nigeria. However, Ironsi’s honeymoon did not last as his proposal of a unitary constitution had been treated as an Igbo trick to gain dominion over the North. Indeed the army officers responsible for the coup had denied that they had been motivated by ethnic considerations but the fact remained that the coup had failed to deliver balanced ethnic representation in both participation in the coup and execution.

THE COUNTER ...

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