Ogbemudia Samuel, served as the military governor of the Mid-West State (1967–1975), which was subsequently renamed Bendel State and part of which became Edo State. A coup d’état toppled Nigeria’s civilian government in January 1966. In July 1966, Lieutenant Colonel Murtala Mohammed led the so-called Nigerian countercoup, which resulted in the deposal and murder of military ruler Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Yakubu Gowon, the chief of staff of Ironsi, was appointed head of state. Ogbemudia, the 1st Brigade’s Brigade Major in Kaduna, was instrumental in the countercoup by ordering his troops to disarm at the request of Lt-Colonel Alex Madiebo, the artillery commander. Lt Buka Suka Dimka attempted to kill Major Ogbemudia during the countercoup/mutiny, but Major Ogbemudia managed to escape thanks to information provided by Major Abba Kyari and Colonel Hassan Katsina. He was moved to the 4th Area Command in Benin City as the Quarter Master-General in August of that year.
Ogbemudia, Major General Ejoor, the Midwestern State’s Military Governor, and Pius Ermobor, the only three officers of the rank of Major and above who did not originate from the Igbo-speaking areas of the Midwest were intelligence officers. These men occupied positions of strategic leadership. Victor Banjo’s Biafran troops launched a surprise attack on Benin City, the capital of the Midwestern area, on August 9, 1967, with little opposition. The 1944 bombardment was made possible in part by adeal that Biafran commanders and a few senior officers from the 4th Area Command had made.While Ogbemudia briefly went into hiding to organize a resistance movement made up of people upset about the invasion, Ejoor was able to flee to Lagos.
Later, he departed for Army Headquarters in Lagos, where he joined the Second Infantry Division under the command of Murtala Mohammed on a counteroffensive into the Midwest.Benin City was taken over by Ogbemudia-led soldiers from Biafran forces on September 20, 1967. After the state was freed from Biafran forces in September 1967, Ogbemudia was named Military Administrator of Mid-West State. On October 26, 1967, Ogbemudia, who had been promoted to Lt. Colonel, was named Military Governor of the state. A devoted nationalist, he spearheaded advancements in sports, urban planning, education, public transit, housing, and business following the war.
He constructed the Ogbe sports stadium, which is currently known as the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and he put the three-story National Museum in Benin City under construction in August 1973.The Agbede Mechanized Farm, Rural Electrification Board, Bendel Steel Structures, Bendel Boatyard, Bendel Pharmaceuticals, University of Benin, and the Bendel Line were among the other initiatives. His governorship was remembered in following years as a period of great accomplishment, interspersed with periods of stagnation under succeeding administrations. Edwin Clark, Lawrence Leo Borha, Frank Oputa-Otutu, and T.E.A. Salubi were among his cabinet members. The twelve military governors who had worked under Yakubu Gowon were retired by Murtala Mohammed upon his ascension to the presidency in July 1975. When governors were found guilty of corruption, their retirement was changed to dismissal.
Among them was Brigadier General Samuel Ogbemudia, who had been unilaterally appointed eight years previously by Murtala, the then-leader of the Mid-West invasion, and who had been replaced by Colonel George Agbazika Innih. A panel looked into Ogbemudia’s case in 1975, but Ogbemudia believed he was not entitled to a fair trial because Ogbemudia had removed the panel’s head from his prior post.
However, the 1975 asset investigation panel deemed him to have engaged in corrupt enrichment. He was exonerated of misgovernance in the second republic by the Bendel State House of Assembly. Ogbemudia assisted in refurbishing Gowon’s London residence following his exile and was present in London during the coup in July 1975.
Jr. Sam Ogbemudia on Friday, March 9, 2017, the son of Ogbemudia confirmed his father’s passing to reporters at the deceased’s home in Benin. He stated his father, who was eighty-four, passed away on Thursday at a private hospital in Lagos.
Picture Info: First Image, In Benin City in the 1970s, Brazilian football legend Pele shook hands with Brigadier General Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia. Dr. Isaac Okonjo is visible in the background, dressed in a white shirt and cap. The image of Samuel Ogbemudia, Gen. Murtala Muhammad, and other officers is on the second image.
