Obasanjo Calls 1966 Coup and June 12 Election 'Black Days'

On Wednesday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the January 15, 1966 coup, the July 29, 1966 counter-coup, and the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election as some of Nigeria’s “black days.” Speaking during the 60th memorial service for Nigeria’s first military Head of State, Gen. Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, in Umuahia, Obasanjo urged Nigerians to learn from these painful historical episodes to foster unity and national development. He emphasized the importance of restoring History as a subject in Nigerian schools, warning that neglecting the past risks repeating previous mistakes.

Obasanjo reflected on the exclusion, destruction, and division marked by these events, advocating for inclusion, cooperation, and national integration. He also praised Aguiyi-Ironsi as a father figure who treated younger officers with respect and recalled his significant military career, including his service in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo.