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Don Okafor
Major Donatus Okafor (died July 1966) was a Nigerian army officer, Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria. Early life Okafor was born in Kaduna and was fluent in Hausa. His father reportedly had a business in Kano and his mother was a Tiv. Career Okafor joined the Nigerian Army as non commissioned officer (NCO) and received short service training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England in 1959. Participation in the January 15, 1966 coup As Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, a unit tasked with providing security to Nigeria's Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Okafor was critical to the January 15, 1966 coup conspirators considering his intimate knowledge of the Prime Minister's routine. Okafor had a personal relationship with the Prime Minister and was considered a member of Balewa's household. On the ni ...
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1966 Nigerian Coup D'état
The 1966 Nigerian coup d'état began on 15 January 1966, when mutinous Nigerian soldiers led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna killed 22 people including the Prime Minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, many senior Army officers (including their wives), and sentinels on protective duty. The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day span of time before the coup plotters were subdued. The General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, was compelled to take control of the government of a country in upheaval, inadvertently putting Nigeria's nascent democracy on hold. His ascendancy to power was deemed a conspiracy by the coup plotters, who were mainly Igbo officers, to pave the way for General Aguiyi-Ironsi to be Head of State of Nigeria. Consequently, the retaliatory events by Northern members of the Nigerian Army that led to deaths of many innocent Igb ...
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Mons Officer Cadet School
Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit. The training course at Mons was for Short Service Officer Cadets, Territorial Army officers, and those joining the Regular Army as graduates. It was relatively short, usually lasting only six months or even less, compared with two years at Sandhurst. History Mons Barracks was originally constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the Royal Signals. In 1939, Royal Military College, Sandhurst became the home of 161 Infantry Officer Cadet Training Unit (RMC): that unit moved to Mons Barracks at Aldershot in 1942, and subsequently became known as the "Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit (Aldershot)". In 1947, the Mons Officer Cadet Training Unit (Aldershot) was re-organised as an OCTU for short service and National Service officer cadets ...
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Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation (which also includes other towns such as Camberley, Farnborough, and Farnham) has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK. Aldershot is known as the "Home of the British Army", a connection which led to its rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. History Early history The name may have derived from alder trees found in the area (from the Old English 'alder-holt' meaning copse of alder trees). Any settlement, though not mentioned by name, would have been included as part of the Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Church of St Michael the Archangel is the parish church for the town and dates to the 12th century with la ...
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ...
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Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day Bauchi State, in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Balewa's father, Yakubu Dan Zala, was of Gere ethnicity, and his mother Fatima Inna was of Gere and Fulani descent. His father worked in the house of the district head of Lere, a district within the Bauchi Emirate. Education Balewa began his education at a Qur'anic School in Bauchi; when southern colonial administrators began to push for western education in the Northern region, Balewa was among the children sent to Tafawa Balewa Elementary School, after the Qur'anic school. Thereafter, he proceeded to Bauchi Provincial School. Like many of his contemporaries, he studied at Barewa College, then known as Katsina College, where he was student number 145. Ahmadu Rabah, later known as Ahm ...
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Emmanuel Ifeajuna
Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna (1935 – 25 September 1967) was a Nigerian army major and high jumper. He was the first Black African to win a gold medal at an international sports event when he won at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. His winning mark and personal best of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) was a game record and a British Empire record at the time. An Igbo from Onitsha, he was a science graduate of the University College of Ibadan and became involved in politics. He later joined the military and played a role in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état. Life and career High jumping Born in Onitsha,Siollun, Max (2005-10-30)"The Inside Story Of Nigeria’s First Military Coup (I)" ''Nigeria Matters''. Retrieved on 2014-07-13. he attended Dennis Memorial Grammar School in his home town and displayed the characteristics that would later define his life. He trained in the high jump under his games teacher,Oliver, Brian (2014-07-13)"Emmanuel Ifeajuna: Commonwealt ...
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Max Siollun
Max Siollun is a Nigerian historian who specializes on Nigerian history with a particular focus on the Nigerian military and how it has affected Nigeria's socio-political trajectory from the pre-colonial era to the present. Siollun was educated in England, graduating from the University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree .... Articles and books Siollun's boo''Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture (1966–1976)'' published in 2009, has received favorable reviews by numerous commentators who note Siollun's contribution to Nigerian history, not least for its dispassionate tone, critical insight and unpacking of a complex series of events which were hitherto poorly documented or not documented at all. Siollun has written about the infamou ...
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Aguiyi-Ironsi
Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was the first military head of state of Nigeria. He seized power during the ensuing chaos after the 15 January 1966 military coup, which decapitated the country's leadership. He ruled from 16 January 1966 until his assassination by a group of mutinous Northern Nigerian officers and men who were led by Major Murtala Mohammed and included Captain Theophilus Danjuma, Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari, Lieutenant Ibrahim Babangida and Lieutenant Sani Abacha in a revolt against his government in what was popularly called the July counter-coup. Early life Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was born into the family of Mazi (Mr.) Ezeugo Aguiyi on the 3rd of March 1924, in Ibeku, Umuahia, Noé in Abia State, Nigeria. At the age of eight, he went to live with his older sister, Anyamma, who was married to Theophilius Johnson, a Sierra Leonean diplomat working in Umuahia. Aguiyi-Ironsi subsequently took the last name of his ...
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1966 Nigerian Counter-coup
The 1966 Nigerian counter-coup, or the so-called "July Rematch", was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many northern military officers. The coup began as a mutiny at roughly midnight on 28 July 1966 and was a reaction to the killings of Northern politicians and Officers by some soldiers on 15 January 1966 (see 1966 Nigerian coup d'état). The July mutiny/counter coup resulted in the murder of Nigeria's first military Head of State General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lt Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi (who was hosting a visiting Aguiyi-Ironsi) in Ibadan by disgruntled northern non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Upon the termination of Ironsi's government, Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon was appointed Head of State by the July 1966 coup conspirators. Reasons for the counter-coup According to historian Max Siollun northern soldiers had a list of grievances following the aborted 15 January 1966, coup which led to the planning of the co ...
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Igbo Army Personnel
Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (other) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra * Ijebu Igbo Ijebu Igbo (Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of Ijebu Ode. Ijebu Igbo, also written as Ijebu-Igbo, is the headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Authority of Ogun State ..., a town in the Nigerian state of Ogun * Igbo bu Igbo {{Disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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Graduates Of The Mons Officer Cadet School
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is also sometimes called: commencement, congregation, convocation or invocation. History Ceremonies for graduating students date from the first universities in Europe in the twelfth century. At that time Latin was the language of scholars. A ''universitas'' was a guild of masters (such as MAs) with licence to teach. "Degree" and "graduate" come from ''gradus'', meaning "step". The first step was admission to a bachelor's degree. The second step was the masters step, giving the graduate admission to the ''universitas'' and license to teach. Typical dress for graduation is gown and hood, or hats adapted from the daily dress of university staff in the Middle Ages, which was in turn based on the attire worn by medieval clergy. The tradition of w ...
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Nigerian Army Officers
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Baron Frederick Lugard, a British colonial administrator. ''Nigeria'' is composed of various ethnic groups and cultures and the term Nigerian refers to a citizenship-based civic nationality. Nigerians derive from over 250 ethnic groups and languages.Toyin Falola. ''Culture and Customs of Nigeria''. Westport, Connecticut, USA: Greenwood Press, 2001. p. 4. Though there are multiple ethnic groups in Nigeria, economic factors result in significant mobility of Nigerians of multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds to reside in territories in Nigeria that are outside their ethnic or religious background, resulting in the mixing of the various ethnic and religious groups, especially in Nigeria's cities.Toyin Fa ...
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