The President of Nigeria, elected in 1999, gives a detailed account of his friend and colleague Chukwuma Nzeogwu, a young army officer who led the shocking and first military coup d'etat of 1966, which toppled the civilian government and heralded thirteen years of military dictatorship until the elections of 1998. Was he a genuine revolutionary or a reactionary? Was he a hero or villain? The President provides his answers to these questions which have surrounded the enigmatic and controversial Nzeogwu, and supports his views with personal letters and other documents. He describes him as idealistic and patriotic; though exhibiting more enthusiasm and naivety than wisdom or prudence.