Here are some quick facts you need to know about General Murtala Muhammed:
* General Murtala Muhammed ruled for just 6 months before he was assasinated on February 13, 1976.
* He delivered this speech at the OAU Summit and it practically sealed his death:
“Africa has come of age. It is no longer
under the orbit of any extra continental power. It should no longer take
orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are
in our hands to make or to mar. For too long have we been kicked around:
for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern
their interests and act accordingly. For too long has it been presumed
that the African needs outside ‘experts’ to tell him who are his friends
and who are his enemies. The time has come when we should make it clear
that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and
how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African
problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which,
more often than not, have no relevance for us, nor for the problem at
hand.”
After that speech, he was a walking corpse.
Murtala was a man who didn’t believe in
formalties. He adopted a low profile policy. So, for the 200 days he was
Head of State, he lived in the same house he had occupied as Director
of Army Signal Corps, and drove to work at the Dodan Barracks every
morning from his house. No convoy. No sirens. No outriders. Few days
after his assumption of office, Murtala shunned the sirens and convoy
and rode alone with his driver, from Lagos to Kano, a journey of more
than one thousand kilometres, in his personal car. It was reported that
after his assasination, he had only Seven Naira Twenty Two Kobo (N7.22)
in his bank account.
Murtala never detained a single person in
the 6 months that he led the Nigerian nation. When former Lagos
University Law Lecturer Dr. Obarogie Ohonbamu wrote in his magazine,
African Spark, that Murtala had corruptly enriched himself before
becoming Head of State, and accused him of owning fleets of trailers and
rows of houses, Murtala did not descend on him with his heavy boot as
most military dictators, he quietly went to Igbosere magistrate court
and sued Ohonbamu for libel. At the last hearing, the case was adjourned
till 17th March, 1976, but Murtala was assassinated on 13th February.
My question is, why all the systemic
killing of leaders that could have brought Africa out of the paws of
‘know-all’ nations who are determined to keep Africa enslaved?
As this generation stands, with no
leadership strong enough to challenge the nations that have made
themselves Africa’s adopted big brothers, Kenn Saro Wiwa’s words ring
true once again; Africa kills its Sun. The question is, if Africa
continues to aid the killing of its Sun, how long before a perpetual
darkness descends on her?
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