By Chuks Iloegbunam
Reuben Abati earned a PhD in Dramatic Arts over two
decades ago. He was chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian for nine
solid years. And he was spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan for another
four years. In terms of education and exposure, therefore, he ranks with the
best, not just in Africa , but globally. Yet,
in Armed Forces Day: January 15, 2016, Remembering
Where We Came From, an article recently published extensively in both the
orthodox and social media, he made many false and unwarranted statements,
only two of which must be debunked in the space available here.
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| *General Aguiyi-Ironsi |
Abati claimed that in January 1966, “An Igbo man,
Nwafor Orizu, the acting President, handed over power to another Igbo man, General
Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi.” He also claimed that, Ironsi “had been instrumental to
making the coup fail.”
Kaneng Daze, the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel James
Yakubu Pam, a victim of the January 15, 1966 coup, granted an interview, which The
Punch published in its edition of January 17, 2016 and which is also
circulating in the social media. At the time of the coup, Mrs. Daze was only
eight years old.
The following is a part of what she recalled: “So, my father
dressed up and got out of the room and started following them (the coup makers)
down the stairs. Before then, he made some few calls while he was with our mother…
The first was to (Brigadier Zakariya) Maimalari… I think it was that call that
alerted Maimalari that made him to escape. The second call was to General
(Aguiyi) Ironsi. Ironsi appeared not to have shown any surprise as he kept
saying, ‘I see! I see!! Okay!!!’ He dropped the phone and went down the first
stairs.”
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| *Gen Gowon |
Dr. Abati and Mrs. Daze represent two broad types that
straddle Nigeria Nigeria
