Murtala Muhammed, 50 years on

Like every mortal, he woke on the morning of Friday, the 13th of February, 1976, with no premonition of the quiet calamity the day held in reserve. Exactly today, 50 years ago, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, Nigeria’s fourth Commander-in-Chief, was murdered in broad daylight in Ikoyi area of Lagos. He was on his way to […]

Like every mortal, he woke on the morning of Friday, the 13th of February, 1976, with no premonition of the quiet calamity the day held in reserve.

Exactly today, 50 years ago, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, Nigeria’s fourth Commander-in-Chief, was murdered in broad daylight in Ikoyi area of Lagos.

He was on his way to his office when his convoy was ambushed at a traffic junction near the Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, by soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka. His car was riddled with bullets, killing Murtala instantly along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, and driver, Sergeant Adamu Michika.

The coup, which led to the killing of General Muhammed,, was the fourth in the country and it remains one of the saddest days in Nigeria’s history. The bullet-riddled car, which is still parked inside the National Museum Onikan Lagos reminds visitors and even those around the premises of the February 13, 1976 tragedy.

• FLASHBACK: I watched as men in ‘Agbada’ opened fire on Gen Murtala – Orderly
• The legacies of General Murtala Muhammed, 50 years on

The coup ended the 200-day rule of Murtala, which many historians and analysts have described as most defining moment in Nigeria’s history. Although his administration lasted barely seven months, Murtala reshaped Nigeria’s political direction.

His emphasis on discipline, efficiency, and accountability reinvigorated governance after years of inertia. The creation of new states, reform of the civil service, and foundation for civilian transition remain significant milestones in Nigeria’s political development.

Murtala’s vision for Abuja as the new federal capital was eventually realised in 1991, a lasting symbol of his administrative foresight. Murtala had set up the Justice Akinola Aguda Panel to examine relocating the federal capital. The commission recommended Abuja—a more central and neutral site. Though the relocation occurred decades later, it remains one of Murtala’s most enduring legacies.

His assertive foreign policy established Nigeria’s reputation as a regional power and moral authority in Africa. His famous speech tagged the ‘Africa Has Come of Age,’ was delivered at the Extraordinary Meeting of OAU on January 11, 1976, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The speech has since been seen symbolically to speak for the place of Africa being able to stand for itself after decades of colonialism and exploitation.

Murtala was born on November 8, 1938 in Kano. He attended Barewa College in Zaria, an institution that produced several of Nigeria’s future leaders, before training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom.

He began his military career in the Nigerian Army Signals and later participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Congo between 1960 and 1961. 

During the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), Murtala commanded the 2nd Division, a major fighting force in the Midwest region. 

By 1971, Murtala had been promoted to Brigadier, becoming one of the youngest senior officers in Nigeria’s military hierarchy.

By mid-1975, growing dissatisfaction within the military had reached a tipping point. General Yakubu Gowon, who had ruled since 1966, had postponed a promised transition to civilian rule and was perceived as indecisive and tolerant of corruption. 

On 29 July 1975, while Gowon was attending an Organisation of African Unity summit in Uganda, officers led by Murtala Mohammed and supported by Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo executed a bloodless coup.

The Supreme Military Council installed Murtala as Head of State and Obasanjo as his deputy. 

 

50 years after his assassination

Series of activities were rolled out nationwide to mark 50 years of the late military leader’s assassination.

Our correspondent visited the spot when his blood was spilled along the George Street in Ikoyi, Lagos. The Cenotaph erected at the junction in his honour was getting a new look as billboards and flowers are being planted as part of the events preparatory to the remembrance event.

“The Cenotaph erected by Eti Osa Local Government in honour of late General Muritala Muhammed on the spot where he was assassinated on the 13th of February, 1976 was commissioned by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gen Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida on the 13th of February, 1992,” an inscription on the cenotaph reads.

For residents and passers-by, many of them said the monument reminds them of a sad day in the nation’s history.

Mr. James Adeola was sitting within the premises of the memorial arcade when our correspondent arrived. He said he was younger and far away in Kwara State when the incident occurred in 1976.

“Right there, I heard that that’s the spot where General Murtala was killed on 13th of February 1976, being a Friday.

“And I learned that he was on his way to the mosque. And being the kind of humble man he was then, he usually doesn’t go with an entourage, you know, blocking roads when the head of state is passing. So he tried to live a humble life.

“So what I heard was that he was going and got into this junction, the kind of stopped for other vehicles to pass. And that was when he was killed. So he was killed around this spot,” he said.

Adeola described the arcade as “just a normal place,” where “everybody just walks by”, but asked the federal government to do more in order for it to serve as a tourist attraction.

“More can still be done by the federal government, in particular. They’ve done other things to immortalise this man. But at least more should be done. You know, at least people might want to come and visit here,” he said.

Speaking further, he said some of the challenges Murtala was tackling before he was killed are still confronting the country.

“What the man was trying to fight against is corruption. It’s still well embedded in the society. So I feel bad. Had it been the man was allowed to stay longer, maybe all these things would never have happened.

“Well, because some people, for their selfish interests, they cut him short. So what he was trying to avoid, what he was fighting for, we are still deep into it now,” Adeola said.

One of the furniture workers mounting billboards at the arcade, Lukman Sanni, told Daily Trust it was his job that made him step into the arena for the first time.

“This is my first time stepping into the arcade, but I used to pass through this Ikoyi road. We were recruited to mount the billboards here as part of the anniversary celebration,” he said.

He also called for the regular facelift for the arcade.

“This place deserves special treatment. They need to constantly keep it tidy and attractive to people to visit,” Sanni said.

 

Sanwo-Olu, others honour Murtala at the arcade

Last week, Friday, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and family members of Murtala, representatives of the Nigerian Army and diplomats held a memorial service at the arcade.

There was also an official wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the late General at the spot he was killed.

His daughter, Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, reflected on her father’s legacy.

“We stand here not to lay a wreath, but to lay down our gratitude. Fifty years is a long time in the life of a nation. And it also has been a long time in the life of all of us, the children who lost our father on that day. So, it’s really about gratitude,” she said.

She said that the greatest legacy her father left behind was his resolve to ensure that all his children are educated, noting that he prioritised the needs of his children despite the demands of public office.

Sanwo-Olu, in his tribute, described the late General as a rare pan-Africanist whose policies helped reshape Nigeria.

He noted that within six months of assuming office, in 1975, Mohammed created seven new states, expanding the federation from 12 to 19 states.

He said: “He was a leader that led with fear, compassion, dignity, sense of purpose, and with Nigeria first.”

A retired Major General, Ahmed Taiwo, described Mohammed as a brave man, who, even when the incident that led to his death was foretold, dismissed it with a wave of hand.

He said: “When they told the late General that some people were planning, he said ‘let them plan, let them do what they want to do. Good luck if they can run the country.”

Also speaking at the event, representatives of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Garrison Commander, 81 Division, Lagos, Brig. Gen. A.I Getso and Brig. Gen. Clement Iyere of Signal Corps, described him as an exceptional leader whose legacy continues to inspire generations 50 years after his assassination.

 

‘Nigeria should embrace Murtala’s non-ethnic, non-religious philosophy’

 Former Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, urged the country’s leaders to return to the non-ethnic and non-religious governance philosophy of the late Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed.

He said that identity politics has become a major obstacle to national development.

Akinyemi made the call in Lagos at a Strategic Policy Workshop titled

“Has Africa Come of Age? Murtala Muhammed’s Pan-African Vision 50 Years After,” organised by the Murtala Muhammed Foundation in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) to mark the 50th anniversary of Muhammed’s assassination.

He said Murtala Muhammed governed without regard for ethnic or regional balancing, stressing that competence and national objectives were more important to him than political calculations.

The former minister cited the constitution-drafting process under Muhammed, noting that the late head of state appointed individuals purely on merit.

“He didn’t try to do any balancing that he would now look for somebody from the North. If you mentioned that to him, he would cut off your head,” he said.

Akinyemi explained that Muhammed adopted a similar approach in the creation of states, appointing minorities from the South to head key committees.

He, however, admitted that replicating Muhammed’s leadership style would be difficult under Nigeria’s current democratic system.

“General Murtala Muhammed was a military head of state. He did not have an institutionalised opposition criticising him every day. He was on top of the pyramid. That’s not the system we have now,” Akinyemi said.

Speaking on the role of religion in governance, the professor of political science said Muhammed believed strongly in his faith but rejected its involvement in state affairs.

“General Muhammed believed in his religion, but he didn’t think that had a role in governance,” he stated.

The former DG of NIIA linked current security threats to the growing influence of religion in politics, citing insurgency as one of the consequences.

While sharing some of his personal experiences with the late leader, Akinyemi described Muhammed’s assassination as a monumental loss to Nigeria.

He insisted Nigeria’s trajectory would have been different had he completed his tenure.

“So, we are now confronted with these issues that I have raised. And it is how we will overcome that before we can then go back to what I will call the non-religious, non-ethnic basis of Murtala’s regime. And that’s why I said the loss to the country of his assassination is enormous that we don’t talk about it.

“Nigeria would not be where it is today if Murtala had served out the three years that he was confronted with,” he said.

In his remarks, Muhammed’s Daughter, Dr Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, said her father was remembered as a bold Pan-Africanist, 50 years after his assassination.

She said Muhammed’s famous declaration at the OAU Summit in Addis Ababa in 1976, that Africa has come of age, remains a rallying cry for African unity and independence in international affairs.

“He articulated and pursued a very assertive foreign policy that gave Nigeria a respected voice in international relations. And particularly, and this is the one I want young people to hear all the time I say it, in championing the liberation struggles that was across the whole of Southern Africa. Nigeria was at the forefront of that struggle.

“We stood tall, you know, we had access. And Nigeria was one of the countries that made it possible, you know, for that struggle to take on the momentum that it did at that particular time. He challenged apartheid, and he defended African self-determination on the global stage.”

The Director General of the NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, said Muhammed had given Africa a new pathway, identity and traction, but wondered that Africa had not deviated from it.

“And so today we are celebrating the legacy of General Murtala Muhammad who gave to Africa a new identity, a new traction, a new pathway and set aside for us this trajectory that we should not be asking the question, have we deviated from that? If we have, then we have not come of our own age.

“Are we now copycats following the rest of the world to determine who would be in a global order that is built on racial hierarchies, in a global order that is so unequal, you know, that you cannot count for nothing if you don’t hold out your own. I think that is the context within which this meeting is being convened.”

One of the panelists, Prof. Hassan Saliu, who is the President of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), argued that Africa has not come of age in the essence that Muhammed meant it.

Saliu pointed out that Muhammed’s focus was on African nations’ sovereignty, defence, unity, liberation and freedom and self-reliance which he said have been under threat.

“We have a situation whereby everything about African security is externally driven.  When you talk about Boko Haram in Nigeria or any other place, Africa today counts on Western world for a solution. Whoever is granting or giving you the assistance has the right to decide the terms under which the assistance will be given.

“Here we are in Nigeria where people are coming from another country and we don’t even know what they have come to do. Certainly this situation would not have been tolerated by General Murtala Muhammed,” Saliu said.

 

Colleagues honour Murtala

Veterans and former colleagues of the late Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed have joined other Nigerians to commemorate his assassination.

The Pronto Veterans Association (PVA), an association of retired officers of the Nigerian Army Signals Corps, where the late General Muhammed once served with distinction, joined other Nigerians across the country to remember a leader widely regarded as one of the most decisive and reform-minded figures in Nigeria’s history.

In a statement marking the anniversary, the veterans described General Muhammed as a symbol of courage, discipline and selfless national service whose brief time in office left a lasting impact on the country’s political and administrative landscape.

The group said within just six months, his administration launched sweeping reforms that reshaped the direction of the nation.

“He moved swiftly to sanitise the public service, retire corrupt and ineffective officials, restructure the Armed Forces and pursue policies aimed at restoring discipline and accountability in government.

“His government also articulated a strong, independent foreign policy that elevated Nigeria’s voice in Africa and on the global stage, while simultaneously setting a clear timetable for a return to civilian rule — a move that reassured citizens of his commitment to democratic governance.’’

They said it was this rare combination of decisiveness, patriotism and action-oriented leadership that endeared him to many Nigerians and distinguished him among his peers.

“General Murtala Muhammed embodied the true meaning of service to the nation,” the PVA said. “His courage, integrity and sense of duty remain qualities that today’s leaders should emulate.”

They recalled not only the loss of a leader but also the abrupt end to a reform agenda that had begun to inspire renewed hope among citizens.

 

A glimpse into Dodan Barracks  

Dodan Barracks, located in the heart of Ikoyi in Lagos, held a certain mystique that commanded respect and curiosity.

The sprawling military compound had been a silent witness to the country’s tumultuous history, its walls bearing secrets and stories that only a select few knew.

One notable event associated with Dodan Barracks is the 1976 assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, who was the Head of State at the time. General Mohammed was killed in a coup attempt led by Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka.

Dodan Barracks has also been the site of other significant events, including the 1983 coup that brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power, and the 1993 coup that led to the establishment of the Interim National Government.

A retired officer who does not wish to be named narrated how he first arrived at Dodan barracks as a young officer.

He disclosed that it was one sunny afternoon in February 1977 when he arrived.

According to him, as a young and ambitious officer, who had arrived at Dodan Barracks for the first time, he felt the power play in the hot afternoon air.

According to him, Dodan Barracks was more than just a military base; it was a symbol of power and authority.

“The Supreme Military Council, the ruling body of Nigeria, was headquartered within its walls. Few days after my arrival, I heard whispers of the barracks’ notorious reputation – of coups and counter-coups, of midnight arrests and clandestine meetings” he added with a faint smile.

Speaking further, he said as he settled into his new role, he began to unravel the complexities of life within the barracks. 

“I befriended fellow officers, each with their own stories and motivations. There was this senior officer who happened to be gruff but fair. He had fought in the Biafran War.

“Together, we navigated the intricate web of alliances and rivalries that defined life within the barracks. I soon discovered that Dodan Barracks was a microcosm of Nigeria itself – a place of contrasts, where luxury and poverty, power and vulnerability, coexisted in an uneasy balance,” he explained.

One fateful night, he found himself at the centre of a dramatic event that would change the course of Nigerian history.

He explained that a group of disgruntled soldiers, dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the economy, had launched a coup attempt. The officer,  along with his fellow officers, were tasked with quelling the rebellion.

He explained that as the night wore on, the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed through the barracks.

“My team and I fought bravely, but the outcome was far from certain. Just when it seemed that the rebels would succeed, a contingent of loyal troops arrived, tipping the balance in favour of the government.

“The aftermath of the coup attempt was chaotic. The barrack was placed on high alert, and a purge of suspected dissidents began. Shaken by the experience, I couldn’t help but wonder about the true loyalties of those around me.

“As the days turned into weeks, life within the barracks slowly returned to normal. I and my fellow officers continued to serve our country, ever vigilant and aware of the delicate balance of power that existed within the walls of Dodan Barracks” he said in a quiet tune.

Presently, the barracks remained a symbol of Nigeria’s complex and often tumultuous history. It is also a stack reminder of the resilience and determination of its people.

“For me, the experience had left an indelible mark, a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served our country, and the secrets that lay hidden behind the imposing walls of Dodan Barracks” he said.

Aside, serving as a residential quarters for officers and soldiers, Dodan Barracks also play host to some units and formations in the Nigerian Army.

The barracks play host to 81 Division Garrison, 45 Engineers, 81 Physical Training Wing and 81 Division Band among others.