Buhari, the new Nzeogwu - Ojukwu

President Muhammadu Buhari has been described as an identical twin, in character and disposition, to the late Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, who led the first abortive military coup in Nigeria, which took place in January 15, 1966.
This characterization was made by Honourable Juventus C. Ojukwu, one of the key actors in the botched 1966 coup.
He told The AUTHORITY on Sunday in an exclusive interview in Enugu, that he knows the two men very closely.
The ex-military officer, who as a lieutenant participated in the coup in Kaduna and was jailed for several years for his involvement, insisted that Buhari’s coming to power at this point in time is “the best thing that can happen to Nigeria” because, according to him, Buhari has assumed the mantle of leadership in the country to tackle those same ills which Nzeogwu and his team had attempted to root out in 1966.
“There are many similarities between Nzeogwu and Buhari”, Honourable Ojukwu who represented Idemili Federal Constituency twice at the House of Representatives, during the defunct Second Republic pointed out, saying that, “ Nzeogwu was a no-nonsense person who believed in probity and integrity and as well, as a very religious person. We were all in Kaduna, and I knew him as a very religious and very just person”.
Continuing, the ex-military officer remarked, “Buhari is also a no-nonsense person, too, who does not stomach injustice and corruption”.
Honourable Ojukwu maintained that when he talks about being religious, he is referring to “people who are just and have the fear of God and not people who wear long robes and go to church or mosque”, as according to him, even though he knew Nzeogwu as an ardent Catholic who went to Mass every day, it was more important that Nzeogwu was more reputed because he honoured and feared God and respected people. Far from religion, merely going to the church and the mosque, he sees both men as possessing similar attributes, in terms of the aversion for “injustice and evil”, adding that the two personalities were determined to fight them.
According to Hon Ojukwu, who claimed he was contemporary of President Buhari and were commissioned at the same time in the Nigerian Army, he insisted that Nigeria must be grateful to God that Buhari was coming at this point in time when Nigeria needs a man whose courage and action are guided by the fear of God and natural sense of justice.
“I know Buhari well enough, and continues to know him even after we had left the Army, and so, I am qualified to characterize him,” ex-Lieutenant Ojukwu maintained.
“Buhari’s administration should be likened to a continuation of 1966 and we need it. We, the young officers that struck in 1966 were imbued with high idealism and a deep sense of patriotism, but as it turned out, with hindsight, we were too idealistic and misguided, and maybe naïve too,” Ojukwu lamented.
Stressing that Nigeria needs Buhari he maintained that “anybody who wants to tell himself the truth will admit that the corruption that existed in Nigeria as from 1959 through to 1966, and which the people who lived at that time thought was gargantuan, was just like a child’s play, in comparison to the situation which Buhari inherited in Nigeria today”.
He pointed out that the situation at the time which the late Major Nzeogwu spoke about in his coup speech, had grown into hydra-headed dimensions, which President Buhari has come to confront head-on, emphasising that he has all it takes to tackle the malaise.
“For once, let it known that someone can say ‘no’ to evil; let it be known that someone cannot only say ‘no’ to evil, but can stand against evil. For once, let it known that you cannot just do anything because you have money and power and get away with it; that was how Nzeogwu felt then; that is how Buhari feels now”, he enthused.
According to Ojukwu, who is not a relation of the defunct Biafran leader (Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu), but rather hails from Awka Etiti in Anambra State, “whether the people like Buhari or not, the fact remains that like the late Nzeogwu, he is ultra-patriotic; he may make some human mistakes in style, but juxtapose that with our needs and problems, I insist that Buhari is the best thing to happen to us now and for a long time to come”.