Major Nzeogwu: Northern Respect and the True Roots of Nigeria’s Civil War

Historian Dr. Nwankwo Anthony Nwaezeigwe highlights that many Northerners admired Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu as a committed Nigerian nationalist rather than an ethnic partisan. He argues that Nzeogwu’s role in the Biafran cause was shaped by the political fallout of the January 1966 coup, not by separatist convictions. Pre-coup riots in Jos (1945) and Kano (1953), along with the May 1966 anti-Igbo massacres, show that ethnic tensions predated his actions. Citing former Defence Minister General Domkat Bali’s praise for Nzeogwu’s discipline and principle, the historian notes the respect accorded to him at burial in Kaduna. He calls for a balanced, fact-based reassessment of Nzeogwu’s legacy to advance national understanding and reconciliation.

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