200 days of Murtala Muhammed

Nigeria has no one in the class of those leaders who single-handedly changed the course of history of their nations. The nearest we had to a revered leader was General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, whose glorious 200-day government took more important and beneficial decisions for Nigeria than almost all the choices made by his successors to […]

Nigeria has no one in the class of those leaders who single-handedly changed the course of history of their nations. The nearest we had to a revered leader was General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, whose glorious 200-day government took more important and beneficial decisions for Nigeria than almost all the choices made by his successors to date. As a Nigerian leader, Murtala was alone in his class.
General Murtala Muhammed was a very good man; he loved this country. His magic wand was the fear of God and his sincerity of purpose. Whatever Murtala had had to do, he did methodically; most times carefully, and the result was always one thing: positive. He and his colleagues were well aware of the mounting problems waiting to be solved, and as soon as he mounted the saddle, Murtala went about solving them with single-mindedness. General Yakubu Gowon’s military governors were sacked, some of them tried for corruption and their ill-gotten wealth confiscated. General Murtala cleared the “cement armada”; a derisive term for a long line of ships that had practically paralysed the Lagos sea port while waiting to discharge imported cement. There followed a massive purge that affected the civil service, diplomatic service, the judiciary, public corporations, the police and armed forces. General Murtala sought to demobilise 100,000 troops from the rank of the bloated Nigerian Army. He brought broadcasting under federal control, cancelled the 1973 census and began to review the Third National Development plan.
This was a brave new regime and people misbehaved at their own risk. Since Gowon had reneged on his promise to return the country to democracy, which was one of the reasons for his overthrow, the new government promptly announced 1st October, 1979 as the terminal date of military rule. As a proof of his commitment to the country and its citizens, General Murtala heeded the demand for more states by creating seven more. In a national broadcast, he stated emphatically that the exercise was done in the national interest and no rabble-rousers should demonstrate for or against the creation of the new states.
He introduced some terms into our governance language. Thus, his government would “arrest the drift” and give the country “a new lease of life”. “Deadwoods” were retired; appointments were made or terminated with “immediate effect”. General Murtala also introduced the term “Fellow Nigerians”. For a while, everyone took Nigeria serious and people were ready to be accountable for what they did or didn’t do.
Again, General Murtala reasoned that Lagos was too congested and therefore unsuitable to continue to serve as the federal capital. A committee he named to choose a new location for the federal capital recommended what is today known as Abuja city; though Murtala never envisaged the capital to be a place where soldiers or SSS or whoever would harass or kill others extra-judicially. General Murtala’s simplicity, humility and patriotism knew no bounds and though some people spent years in power and are even asking for more, they have nothing but shameful records.
Murtala’s administration was a perfect example of how the economic, political and social well being of a country could impact its international status. General Murtala, speaking on 11th January, 1976 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during an extraordinary session of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), held the entire continent spell bound with his hard hitting anti-imperialist tirade directed at Western countries seeking to reinforce colonialism and racism in Africa. General Murtala brought delegates to tears in a speech dubbed “Africa has come of Age”, which was essentially a clarion call to action against apartheid and colonial rule. The historic speech called for unity of purpose and Murtala’s regime led the way for a concrete financial and material assistance to freedom fighters all across Africa. This was Nigeria’s finest moment. Of course, the West was alarmed.
Murtala’s OAU speech was undiplomatic. It was shunned of rhetoric and it was rousing. It was a serious business. General Murtala communicated his own personal pain about apartheid thus: “Mr Chairman, when I contemplate the evils of apartheid, my heart bleeds and I am sure the heart of every true African bleeds”. Somewhere in this inspiring address, the General warned (the West): “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…..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”.
I find everything about Murtala – his sincerity of purpose, his sagacity, his attitude to assignments, his speeches, his military career, his civil war credentials, his legendary courage and his bravery – electrifying. Every time I read General Murtala Muhammed’s biography or his OAU speech, I come to tears. Those who pretended to be Murtala’s friends have since abandoned his ideals. Nigeria has no single national hero. We bear witness that, certainly, man is in a state of loss. We love Nigeria’s fourth Head of State, but Allah loves him more. May Allah in his infinite mercy admit the soul of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed into Aljannah Firdausi, amin.