There Was Never an ‘Igbo Coup’ — Ralph Obioha

Six decades after Nigeria’s first military coup, Chief Ralph Obioha has again challenged the long-standing narrative that the January 15, 1966 putsch was an “Igbo coup,” describing the label as inaccurate and deliberately harmful.

Obioha, an elder statesman and former chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), said the coup has been wrongly ethnicised to stigmatise the Igbo and justify their marginalisation in Nigeria’s political history.

According to him, there was never any collective Igbo decision or mandate to overthrow the government. “There was nowhere the Igbo met to authorise a coup,” he said. “It was not an Igbo coup.”

He explained that the misconception arose largely because Igbo officers were numerically prominent in the Nigerian Army at the time. Since coups are executed by military officers rather than ethnic groups, the participation of many Igbo officers created a false impression that the coup was ethnically driven.

Obioha, who lived through the period as an adult, said the coup reflected the restlessness of young officers influenced by the wave of military interventions sweeping across Africa in the 1960s. In his view, the action was unnecessary, driven more by impatience than by an objective crisis that required military intervention.

He added that the coup plotters were not from one ethnic group alone. “There were Igbo, Yoruba, and even Hausa officers involved,” he said, stressing that the ethnic imbalance mirrored the composition of the officer corps at the time, not an ethnic conspiracy.

Despite this, Obioha acknowledged that the “Igbo coup” label has had lasting consequences. He said the continued suspicion and exclusion faced by the Igbo are rooted in what he described as a long-running “Igbo question and Igbo solution” mentality within Nigeria.

“The way the Igbo have been treated has hindered Nigeria’s growth,” he said, arguing that no country can progress while systematically limiting the contribution of a major part of its population.

On whether the current situation is linked to the outcome of the civil war, Obioha said the defeat of Biafra continues to shape attitudes toward the Igbo, despite the federal government’s declaration of “no victor, no vanquished” at the end of the war. He noted that the overwhelming international support for Nigeria during the conflict made Biafra’s defeat almost inevitable.

He also maintained that the desire for Biafra remains strong among the Igbo. According to him, many would still choose secession over what they perceive as persistent indignities within the Nigerian state. However, he cautioned that some of the methods adopted by pro-Biafra agitators have worsened the plight of the Igbo rather than resolving their grievances.

On Nigeria’s broader condition, Obioha drew a stark contrast between the country of the 1960s and today. He described the pre-coup era as a time of promise and relative stability, compared with what he called the widespread poverty and hardship facing most Nigerians now.

Still, he expressed optimism that Nigeria could recover, pointing to China’s transformation from widespread deprivation to global economic power within a few decades. He argued that ethnic diversity and internal divisions are not insurmountable obstacles, provided there is political will.

Obioha called for a national conference where Nigerians can renegotiate the terms of their coexistence, address resource control, and dismantle what he described as entrenched systems of entitlement and marginalisation. He said true marginalisation lies in unequal access to resources and opportunities, not cultural differences.

On the possibility of future coups, Obioha said Nigeria cannot afford complacency. While he did not predict another military takeover, he warned that unresolved injustice and exclusion make instability a recurring risk.

“Never say never,” he said. “What matters is creating a system where everyone has equal rights and a stake in the country. That is the only lasting safeguard.”