Ibrahim Taiwo (died 13 February 1976) was a military governor of

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

from July 1975 to February 1976 during the military regime of General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammed (; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi a ...

. He assisted in the establishment of the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...

, which was founded by decree in August 1975.

Life

Taiwo was born in Wushishi,

Niger State Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

to the family of Adeosun and Emily Taiwo. He was brought up in Kagara and was sometimes called Ibrahim Kagara while he was in school. Taiwo's father was of Ogbomosho ancestry. Ibrahim Taiwo was educated at Senior Primary School, Minna, Bida Middle School, and briefly attended the Provincial Secondary School, Okene, for his Higher School Certificate.

Military career

Taiwo joined the military in 1961. He started military training at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna and also attended

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. The training course at Mons was for National Servic ...

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. While in the army, he served as a mechanical transport officer, officer commanding 2 Brigade Transport in Apapa, staff captain, Army headquarters, Lagos, officer in charge of 8 Brigade, Asaba and then officer in charge of the transport company, Kaduna. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, he was head of the transport and supplies division of the Nigerian Army.

Participation in the Nigerian counter-coup of July 1966

Taiwo, then a captain with the Lagos Garrison in Yaba, was one of the many officers (including 2nd Lieutenant

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

, Lieutenant

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

, Lieutenant Ibrahim Bako, Lieutenant Colonel Murtala Muhammed and Major

Theophilus Danjuma Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a Nigerian politician and retired lieutenant general who played a key role in post-independence military and political events in Nigeria. Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through shipping ...

, among others) who staged what became known as the

Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 The 1966 Nigerian Counter-coup (also known as the "July Rematch") was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many other northern military officers. The coup began as a mutiny at rough ...

because of grievances they felt towards the administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi's government, which quelled the 15 January 1966 coup.

Participation in the Nigerian Military Coup of 1975

Taiwo played a central role in the coup that ousted

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...

and brought Murtala Mohammed to power, under cover of his supply and transport duties in the army, working closely with Lieutenant Colonel

Casualty of the 1976 Military Coup

Taiwo was the military governor of Kwara State during the failed coup of 13 February 1976, in which the then head of state, General Murtala Mohammed, was assassinated. He was also killed by the coup plotters because of his alliance with the late head of state. General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

was later appointed as head of state, keeping the rest of General Murtala Mohammed's

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. Military chain of command In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders ...

in place.

References

Year of birth missing 1976 deaths Assassinated Nigerian military personnel Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School People from Niger State Nigerian Muslims Yoruba military personnel Nigerian Army officers Governors of Kwara State Participants in the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Participants in the 1975 Nigerian military coup Participants in the 1976 Nigerian military coup People murdered in Nigeria People murdered in 1976 {{Kwara-politician-stub