“Dan Najeriya na gaskiya/Allah Ya jikan Janar Murtala…” so sang Musa Dankwairo in 1976 when General Murtala Ramat Muhammad, Nigeria’s finest leader and most-celebrated hero, was assassinated.
“Mutum de yawa shi ne ya yi kuka/Lokocin da Murtala ya mutu…” echoed Haruna Ishola, the famous Yoruba musician, around the same time on the same subject.
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Today, February 13, 2021, is exactly 45 years since Nigeria’s ONLY hero was felled by coupists’ bullets on his way to work that Friday morning of February 13, 1976. Up till today, those 200 days Murtala spent as Nigeria’s leader remain the most successful, memorable and impactful in the history of this country – before and after.
Once after every five years or so, this Column celebrates this giant of a patriot; this epitome of selfless leadership; this dashing example of courage; this charming example of bravery; that was the Nigerian Head of State from July 29, 1975 to that fateful Friday morning.
If Nigeria were looking for a combination of George Washington, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Ze Dung, it doesn’t need to look far; all of these national heroes converge on one person – Murtala – our only legit hero. It has been a refrain of this Column that this day, February 13, be declared Heroes’ Day in Nigeria to celebrate Murtala, whether with a public holiday attached, or not, but preferably with.
Murtala has now spent more years in his grave (45) than all the years he had spent alive (38). And of all my colleagues who would write, or have written, on Murtala this week, I again have the good fortune and privilege of writing on the exact day, February 13. It is not every day that this Column falls on the exact date – it did five years ago when last I visited this subject.
Some years ago, the children and I prayed Eid el Fitr (Karamar Sallah) at the Murtala Muhammad Mosque Eid Ground. After Salah, I took the children to the graveside of the late leader just a few metres away and asked them to guess whose grave it was (such a simple, unadorned resting place for such a giant in our history). The children were stumped, so I gave them a clue; a very important personality lay there. The guesses started: Shaikh Isa Waziri? (Imam of the Mosque for several years)? NO! Emir Ado Bayero? (He had died not too long ago)? NO!
When I told them that it was Murtala (whose history they knew from school and from what I told them) they were shocked and awed – much in the same way they reacted when, on a visit to Sokoto and the Sultan’s Palace many years ago, they saw the late President Shehu Shagari. One of them had asked: “Shehu Shagari of Social Studies?” Now it was the same reaction: “Murtala Muhammad of History and Social Studies etc?” Yes, he. Allahu Akbar!
(Whoever lives in Kano or visits Kano with his children owes his kids a visit to this grave instill in children that Nigeria once had a leader, and that they should have hope, and that they should aspire to be the next greats. Murtala was an inspiration, a motivator, leadership encapsulated!
This Column continues to argue that Murtala did more for this country, and Africa, more than any other leader past or present – and only Allah knows the future. Many people may disagree, and they have every right. First, even my premise is subjective: didn’t know First Republic leaders directly – all their good deeds I learnt second hand. But Murtala I knew, even if not personally. I was aware when he was around. Secondly, perhaps because my father was an Imam and a school teacher and was not a ‘big government official’, I did not directly ‘suffer’ from Murtala’s bulala. Thirdly, as the seventies were the era of leftist politics, my opinion and judgment may have been clouded by the philosophy of the times.
Be that as it may, I have always wondered what Murtala would have become, or done, had fate not befallen him – and us – that Friday morning in Lagos. Wondered about a Murtala in life-after-retirement after handing over to civilians in 1979. Wondered whether the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) would have won an election under a decidedly left-of-centre Murtala. Wondered if many of the contestants of the 1979 elections would have even contested.
If Murtala were alive, would he, could he, have kept quiet in the face of the country’s current iniquities? Would Murtala have supported the military coup of 1983? Would he have done a Mahathir Muhammad or an Obasanjo – come out of retirement and contest election? Would he have refused to be rendered irrelevant after leaving office? We qualify these posers with ‘walLahu A’alam’ – only Allah would have known what Murtala would have done, or become.
Murtala is a legend, he is history, but he is also current affairs. Our social studies and history books should be reviewed so that we can teach our children the Story of Murtala. The younger generation needs hope, and there is a lot of it in this man. Our children should be told this feel-good story: that there was once a Nigerian leader who epitomised selflessness, discipline and decisiveness. They should know, for example, that Murtala would have executed, as they do in China, all corrupt government officials who steal a threshold to be determined; in fact, the culprits would not have dared steal ab initio.
It is not enough, nay, unfair, to list Murtala among the ‘has-beens’ of Nigerian leaders. Murtala was E Pluribus Unum! (From Many, One!)
An NGO is keeping the Murtala Story alive – Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) (http://mmfnigeria.org), dedicated to engendering socio-economic change through encouraging discourse and debate on issues pertinent to Africa’s development, and programmes specially focused on citizens in a democratic state of law – via the thoughts of this Great Leader. MMF’s CEO is Aisha Oyebode, the late General’s first child, herself an accomplished legal practitioner with an LLM and MBA and more besides.
Much has been written about Murtala and much will continue to be written. Apart for from the fact that, within the 200 days (199 actually) he was Nigeria’s Head of State (July 29, 1975 to February 13, 1976) Murtala initiated return to civilian rule, created seven additional states, initiated local government reform, initiated the movement of the Federal Capital from Lagos to Abuja. But it can be argued that his most important contribution to nation-building was in instilling discipline in the citizenry.
One thing Murtala had in abundance was charisma, known in Hausa as kwarjini. This was not unrelated to the fact that he had been fearless (jarumi) since he was small.
Murtala’s foreign policy was decisive. On January 11, 1976, at the extra-ordinary meeting of OAU Heads of Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he spoke on the Angolan question, his historic and powerful Africa Has Come of Age speech wherein he said: “Mr Chairman, Africa has come of age. It’s no longer under the orbit of any extra continental power. It should no longer take orders from any country no matter how powerful…gone are the days when Africa will ever bow to the threat of any so-called superpower…’
Allah Ya jikan Janar Murtala! Dan Najeriya na gaskiya!
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