Winifred Bosa.

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has extolled the two late officers Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and Major Gideon Orkar for fighting against injustice ,seekng  equity and fairness.

Fani-Kayode said in a statement recently that  said Nzeogwu and Orkar would be honoured even in death “in a new Nigeria”.

It would be rcalled that in the early hours of January 15, 1966, Nzeogwu led a group of soldiers to attack the official residence of the premier of the north, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

The bloody coup failed, and Nzeogwu was arrested in Lagos on January 18, 1966.

In his coup speech, Nzeogwu said “Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds.

“Like good soldiers, we are not promising anything miraculous or spectacular. But what we do promise every law abiding citizen is freedom from fear and all forms of oppression, freedom from general inefficiency and freedom to live and strive in every field of human endeavour, both nationally and internationally. We promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are a Nigerian”.

However , Kayode who had always condemned Nzeogwu and, to a lesser degree Orkar, for what they did now said,  “given what is happening in Nigeria today I have to say that both of them were not just heroes but men that fought to ensure that we were freed from what is nothing less than injustice, wickedness and slavery.

“They failed in their quest for power and they were both killed: one was shot at the stake by General Babangida’s government and the other was shot on the war front by Federal troops whilst fighting for his beloved Biafra.

“As far as I am concerned, they are both martyrs and their deaths shall never be in vain.

“Continue to rest in peace O Christian soldiers and martyrs of the faith. In the new Nigeria we shall name streets, buildings and airports after you”.