Operation Wetie: Akintola-Awolowo rivalry and Nigeria's first military coup of January 15, 1966

When Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and his colleagues carried out Nigeria's first military coup of January 15, 1966, to end the country's First Republic, one of their grievances was the political unrest in the Western Region of Nigeria.

There were riots, looting, arson, and murder. Political opponents were burned alive. The West which had been an epitome of development was now a political Warzone where thugs and urchins engaged in wanton killings and destruction of properties. The event came to be known as Operation Wet-ie. And the Western Region was nicknamed Wild, Wild West….

The crisis over the struggle for political power during the Western Regional elections of October 11, 1965, was the last straw that broke the camel’s back which really convinced the January boys of their military coup on the morning of January 15, 1966.

The coup led to a counter-coup, which eventually led to the Nigeria-Biafra War which lasted for 30 months, from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970. #HistoryVille #OperationWetie

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