FIRE HAS NO SHADOW

Mbadiwe was the last to leave before midnight,and was verbally abused by a private secretary for keeping his master up so late. At about 1 o’clock, after telephoning the Sardauna and relaxing into some dazed chattering with the madaki of Bauchi about how ‘ “friend Akintola” has got us into this mess, and now only God can get us out of it’, Abubakar complained that his body was aching, and retired; one of his children shared his room, and two wives slept elsewhere; Inni was in Bauchi, eight months pregnant.

The army’s leaders had been preoccupied throughout the evening, since it had been suggested to General Aguiyi-Ironsi that he should be the guest of honour at a party at the Ikoyi home of the popular Kanuri Brigadier Maimalari, to celebrate the brigadier’s marriage to a new wife from Kano; Lt-col Gowon was only one of many high-ranking officers who went with sundry pressmen and foreign guests to the fairy-lit festivities, which left the reactions of those whose custom allowed alcohol less than usually sensitive. Gowon is said to have been warned later by a friendly Igbo girl at a night club that danger was afoot, gave observers the impression that he was driving to Ibadan but, observing unusual military activity, left early for Mushin instead of returning direct to barracks, where he would easily have been found. Aguiyi-Ironsi went merrily on to another party on the Elder Dempster line flagship “Aureol” at Apapa wharf. It was time for the plotters to act.

Late on the night of 14 January Ifeajuna called in his fellow Lagos conspirators and, for the first time, most of the captains and subalterns who had been identified as reliable supporters, including Okafor, Ifeajuna (now brigade major 2 bde, having been relieved by Major Murtala Muhammed as acting chief signals officer), Anuforo and Chukuka of army HQ, and Ademoyega and a Captain Oji, thirteen in all assembled at his house in Apapa (where most army officers were quartered).several had been drinking and laughing at the Maimalari party. He expounded on the betrayals committed by corrupt politicians, the chaos in the western region, the danger of the army becoming involved in internecine political violence, and the collapse for which Nigeria was headed— would they help in the plan to end this disaster? The single doubter was persuaded, possibly recognizing that those who were not with the insurrection would be treated as against it, and would be marked men. Seven separate objectives were allocated between them: to abduct the prime minister and minister of finance; to kill Colonel Muhammed and Lt-col Unegbe; to capture or kill General Aguiyi-Ironsi and Brigadier Maimalari; to kill Lt-col Pam; to occupy the police control room; to occupy the telephone exchange; to occupy the ECN building. Other eliminations may have been left unspoken, such as that of Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim. Action in Kaduna, Benin city and Ibadan was to have been co-ordinated, and Ifeajuna would proceed to Enugu preoccupied, were to be called out for bogus ‘internal security operations’ between midnight and 1 am, so that ammunition and transport would become readily available. They should parade armed in battle order at 2 Brigade headquarters. On completion of their missions, all should rendezvous at the federal guard’s mess at Dodan barracks in Obalende, Ikoyi.
They went their ways, and at 2am everybody moved off to their allotted targets. By the end of the night seven other commissioned officers had become involved on their side.

Ifeajuna’s convoy, with two subalterns and 22 soldiers, closed off the Onikan roundabout by the prime minister’s lodge, opposite the Yoruba tennis club. The six policemen posted there with a guard dog were easily intimidated into surrender of their rifles, and were detained in the gatehouse; they were prepared to deal with burglars, not mutinous servicemen in battle order. Ifeajuna had a few of his group through the back gate and rounded up a few domestics. The invalid police ADC Kaftan Topolomiyo, for once sleeping in his official quarters, woke up and supposing the noise to be the police guard stopping some intruders, belted his revolver round the shorts he was wearing. He emerged, to be seized and forced into a chair with a pistol to his head; he heard it misfire as one of his fingers was broken in the trigger guard when Ifeajuna pulled his own gun from him. A young son of Kaftan ran in to defend him with a stick, and was knocked into submission as he himself was manhandled towards the main rooms, denying in the face of death threats that he knew where the PM slept or where the main doors or bedroom keys might be. After some exchanges between them in Igbo, the party next hammered on the door of the other ADC, Maxwell Orukpabo, who had been seen by police guards through a window for some time before, walking up and down in his room. He came out in singlet and lappa, also to deny knowledge of keys and be threatened with shooting; he said that the senior steward might have keys and, his turn to have a gun at his head, led Ifeajuna and Kaftan’s escort to Audu’s room. When Audu denied having keys either, Kaftan was turned on again. He told them to carry on and shoot him, for all that that would gain them.
The black farce continued with an assault on the glass front door and a dramatic armed break-in of an empty pantry, after which Kaftan, for the moment convinced that he was in the hands of political traitors disguised as soldiers, was forced up the stairs and tried to make them continue up the second landing, where there was only empty guest accommodation. This time Orukpabo was behind, and someone called them back. Standing outside Alhaji Sir Abubakar’s bedroom, Kaftan continued to insist that he was a stranger in this part of the house, but after another exchange in Igbo, Orukpabo, still held at gunpoint, nodded at the door.

Ifeajuna knocked and a voice said, “Who is it?” Kaftan answered, “Sir, it is I”. – “What happened?” – “Sir, I am under arrest and taken by the soldiers”. Before he could say more he was given a bun butt in the back and told to “shut up” for mentioning “soldiers”. Orukpabo called out something like, “Pa! Make you come outside, Sir”. Abubakar opened the door, Kaftan was hurled in, and Ifeajuna doubled up and crept quickly after him like a commando, below hand-gun level. The prime minister was standing unarmed in his night clothes. Ifeajuna scrambled up, saluted and said, “I come here with respect, I will take you with me”. Abubakar reached for his day gown, but was told he had clothes enough.; Kaftan protested that this was a distinguished man, and should have proper clothes against the damp. He was allowed to put on his vest and trousers, white gown, cap and slippers, and to take his prayer beads, while insisting that he should say his prayers before leaving. Kaftan demanded to know what “Alhaji” had ever done, to deserve this, and what they were going to do with him. Ambiguously Ifeajuna said, “I am not going to do anything with him, I will take care of him”, and in the corridor and downstairs called those soldiers who did not salute to come to attention and salute the prime minister. The party bundled itself hastily out, leaving a helmet and a firearm behind in the confusion. The madaki heard all this, locked into his bedroom, his wife having hidden the key.

In the open a dignified Abubakar walked calmly in front, followed by Kaftan, still pinioned in the hands of Ifeajuna’s squad, through the gatehouse and back to the roundabout. The leader affected to reassure his captive, “We know all the trouble going on in the country is not your fault”. All that Abubakar was heard to say was, “Yes”. At a tree near the memorial hall he was stopped and Kaftan who had continued to cry that “Alhaji” was the only son of his mother, and to keep asking about their reasons and intentions, was told to return home. He refused, despite more browbeating with cocked revolvers, until Abubakar himself told him not to worry and to go back; but he watched them go down Awolowo Road towards the Force Road roundabout near the museum and Onikan swimming pool, where Ifeajuna’sget-away pick-up was parked.

Excerpts from pages 791 to 793 of the book, “A Right Honourable Gentleman: The Life and Times of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa” by Trevor Clark.
 Credit:  Jeff Unaegbu