How Dr. Michael Okpara, Premier of the East, was Captured & Released Alive in the January 1966 Coup

In this video we take you back in time to how Dr. Michael Okpara was captured during the January 1966 coup, taken away from his house and, by what many have described as a stroke of luck, his life was spared. Grab your seat and take a bottle of drink in your hand and relax yourself as we unfold the story for your viewing pleasure, entertainment and education.

[@HumbleNaija]

From your narration, it is evident that Lt. Oguchi arrested Okpara despite the delays he faced, including leaving Lagos late and dealing with a broken-down vehicle also waiting for the Cyprus leader to depart. However, He arrested Okpara and took no further action, while others proceeded with their assignment. Given these circumstances, I find it convincing enough that Okpara’s survival was due to favoritism.

[@12tribes37]

More oil to the BIH group. Thank you for these refreshing memoirs of Nigeria's history.

[@RufunJauro]

It wasnt a stroke of.luck. it was an igbo coup and opkara was spared as he was igbo

[@moham.279]

Well Said. People should stop beating around the bush..

[@TochukwuNdukwe-dp4zv]

Ur agent Lucifer that refused to say the truth of how those histories played out at the same time continue this Ur mind set that made Ur father be amongst the people that killed the Igbos with name pogrom

[@HispleMedia]

Well done boss ❤

[@olusegungodswill7479]

Great man. In his period Eastern Nigeria was the highest growing economy all over the world.

[@yomimondayaiyesimi2774]

Where did you get your source?

[@smithobuus5433]

​@@yomimondayaiyesimi2774 go google it. You are asking of source

[@aduyemiblessing1613]

From which source

[@olusegungodswill7479]

Please Google it

[@GboladeFabusuyi1]

………can u imagine ? Fastest growing economy in the world ? Not even in Africa

[@marvinstone9651]

Thanks 🙏

[@breakthroughetim7189]

Thankyou my learned boss

[@muhammedtaiwo1607]

Love this ❤

[@JosephMusonda-j3b]

Soldiers ruling a country. Not good Never good.

[@elishaoluwafemi1982]

The major culprits for the coup were the ruling parties hostile to Awolowo, the people that put him in prison. The intent was to remove these men, release Awolowo from prison, and install Awolowo as prime minister. Okpara and Awolowo were planning for a unitary government. Hence, there might not be much need to eliminate Okpara. The sentiment was there.

[@thelagosianmagazine4090]

Oguchi was conveniently late in getting to Okpara but leaders of the West and North were murdered. The two Ìgbò premier were not touched. Hmmm

[@moham.279]

We know the reason why as a Northerner..

[@ugojoshua4963]

did Igbo have two premiers then ?

[@gibsonlibingi2637]

I love your narration of history, but my concern you are to much on Nigeria. Cover the whole world your page will grow fast.

[@backinhistory9]

You have a point broh. I will look in that direction too. I have videos from other countries already though but will do more. I appreciate your thought.

[@WaleIbironke-s5k]

It was an Ibo coup...Period!!!

[@FidelisOgburie]

If not your selfish thinking lgbos was majority in the army then .and the chief of army starff was all so lgbo then who quench the Coup lgbos .are you realy ok?

[@WaleIbironke-s5k]

@FidelisOgburie Well, I was brought up to be kind and respectful to people even if they choose to exhibit the highest levels of asinine tendencies. How convenient that no Ibo military or political leader was killed. Zik was coincidentally away on medicals. Aguiyi miraculously outsmarted the coupists, and Okpara somehow managed to escape death. Who is fooling who? Let's admit the truth and move on. Mistakes have been made. Let's learn to avoid a repeat. If there had been Ibo casualties in the Jan 66 coup, the events that led to the revenge in July precipitating the Civil War could have been avoided. Imagine innocent Ibos who lost their lives in that massacre! I am deeply pained just thinking about it!

[@onlineprenuerdiscuss8505]

I love your respectful and matured response. We can discuss the history without insulting each other no matter the side of thought you belong to. This is simply a military coup first before dissecting wether is igbo or non igbo coup. ​@WaleIbironke-s5k

[@stuckintha90s]

A Yoruba man and Jan 15 conspirator, Adewale Ademoyega wrote a book in which he totally eviscerated this "Igbo coup" joke.

[@WaleIbironke-s5k]

@stuckintha90s That's what the fellow coupists made him to believe.

[@MohammedTsonga-qi1cv]

He wasn't captured, there was no coup in the Eastern region during the Jan nor July 66

[@UgwuanyiEmmanuel1]

Do you know more than the original narrator? Aboki and $tupidity

[@MohammedTsonga-qi1cv]

@UgwuanyiEmmanuel1 I'm not aboki and I'm not stupid. You that you are upright, tell us what captured means in English language and if that applies to Okpara during that fateful day of 15 Jan 66

[@MohammedTsonga-qi1cv]

@UgwuanyiEmmanuel1 I'm not aboki and I'm not stupid. You that you are upright, tell us what captured means in English language and if that applies to Okpara during that fateful day of 15 Jan 66

[@aduyemiblessing1613]

GOD we help us But what's done during that time is wrong

[@ogunpidanakinropo9258]

The Coup failed as a result of lack of political experience of the Coupists, dictated by their relative young age. If the intention was to arrest the politicians and some military officer killed, the Coup would have been successful. But a situation where some parts of the country were mourning and others not mourning left much to be desired, even though, Fate played its part. Perhaps, the Coup could have succeeded if the frontlines politicians, were arrested and banned from politics, whereby a new generation of young politicians occupied the stage, without any bloodshed.

[@GboladeFabusuyi1]

Really ?

[@ugojoshua4963]

and you think it will be possible? The banned old political gigolos would still have fought back for power. Someone like Akintola and Amadu Bello would have created chaos in the country .

[@ezekpe]

Nice Way to narrate the story

[@kunlrjaiye7294]

Who captured him or the igbos hide him and kill others Because I don't see why he was not killed while the Yoruba premier was killed for Nigeria Sin That is why okpara said his greatest political blunder was advising Nnamdi azikwe against awolowo

[@ezugharacharles8073]

Do you know that the deputy premier of Western Region, Fani-Kayode father was captured but was not killed.

[@charlesking7331]

The reason why Southeast and mid-western premier survived the January 1966 coup is because the coup plotters targeted the seat of power and the party members who controls the nation. Secondly, these two regions of Enugu and Benin cannot help matters, North and west are the 2 regions that you need to conquer first before taking over the government till today. There is no foul play on this matter. Lastly, if Ironsi troop did not succeed in foiling the coup at those early hours of January 15th, then Okpara and Osadebe could have face the music as their colleagues. Assuming if such coup happened today in Nigeria all the top APC members in power today will suffer in their numbers regardless of their tribe or region. It is very simple to understand, even the revenge coup of July,1966 took place only in Lagos and Ibadan. Benin and Enugu are safe because they have little or no power to be worried about. The target is to conquer the seat of power which they failed to accomplish in January 1966 coup.

[@WaleIbironke-s5k]

@@ezugharacharles8073 Bros, leave that. The target was the Premier. Fani Kayode was not so relevant in the scheme of things!

[@mandemfromlondon3098]

Stroke of luck indeed.

[@primeminister51]

The narrator either by act of omission or commission conveniently failed to outline the underlying, fundamental factors for the killings of Balewa, Bello, and Akintola. Nigerians should know that the aforementioned three politicians were the principal actors who were destabilizing Nigeria through political thuggery and other outright violence. The Western Region was over heated with chaos and anarchy that threatened the country's stability. Balewa, Bello, and Akintola were responsible for the upheaval in Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. The Army, led by Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna were motivated to strike, out of patriotism, to save Nigeria. So, targeting the eliminations of these three principal actors would have made sense from a strategic and practical sense. However, the coup executors were naive in assessing Nigeria from a non-tribal perspective and that was one of their undoing. It was the main factor that caused their failure. They were idealistic. No one told them that Nigeria is not a nation. No wonder that after over fifty years, Nigeria is yet to outlived tribalism.

[@LawalShuaib-o6t]

That Is Great

[@backinhistory9]

Well, every video has its title, and the story told in each video justifies the title. So, the current video isn't about the underlying factors for the Jan. 1966 coup. Ademoyega has outlined the factors in the first two chapters of his book WHY WE STRUCK. If you ask me, those factors (though strongly argued) were not sufficient to warrant the killings. Several lives were lost. The 8 months' old pregnant wife of Brig. Samuel Ademelegun was not a public officer neither was she corrupt, yet she was killed in Kaduna along with the husband. The Sadauna's wife, Hafsatu, was not a politician, and yet she was killed with the husband. It was such a brutal adventure that even the coup leaders would have struggled to justify for many years if they had succeeded in taking power. No explanation can justify the killing of an un-armed pregnant woman. Every attempt to justify the Jan. 15 1966 killings will certainly fail.

[@GboladeFabusuyi1]

As a matter of fact , the coup aggravated the mutual distrust that bedeviled the major ethnic nationalities in the country. Some of the coup leaders were nationalistic in their views, a few had ethnic sentiments . How do u explain the stupid narration u heard above to the families of those killed ? An officer leaked the coup and gave Ironsi’ orderlies certain information. Ironsi left Apapa Baracks to hide in Ikeja Cantonment from where he was able to hijack the coup . He was under pressure to try the coupists,at least to calm down frayed nerves . He failed till July 66 coup when he too was killed. The coupistswere very naive in not understanding the deep heterogenous nature and political peculiarities of Nigeria. The forth columnists in their rank and file messed up the coup. They were the ones that gave the coup an ethnic coloration . Where was Lt Oguchi from if I may ask

[@GboladeFabusuyi1]

@@backinhistory9The Brigadier’s offense was his closeness to the Northern establishment , so the wife had to taste from his punishment. How else could life be more cruel 😩

[@temitayoolufemi4364]

Ma people de try pad yash wey de open to the public. No amount of narration can override the motives behind killing women and leaving some concerned men alive.