In the enduring wisdom of our people, being endowed with a good capacity for thinking is a prerequisite for the ability to be thankful. It stands to reason then that, if her citizens put their minds to the matter, they have many reasons to be thankful on behalf of Nigeria, the nation. That is, in spite of everything else that we know and experience.
In the short history of her existence, and compared with nations her age, this country has seen the best and the worst. Citizens have worked together for noble causes over the years, especially in the nationalist struggle for independence. But they have also allowed divisive forces to have the best of their thought and action. Yet at the end of every twist and turn in the national race of life, Nigeria remains resilient and strong.
Many horrific and devil-induced acts of inhumanity by humans against fellow humans have been allowed to afflict the nation. While the civil war continues to be a reference point of our national capacity for self-immolation, and while its consequences are still living realities with us to date, there were other brutish national acts that predated and yet more that succeeded that thirty-six months of national insanity. And while not everyone lifted their fingers as co-culprits in every such case, many if not all were vicariously implicated.
Consider the various military coups in which lives were lost since 1966. In every one of them, the coup leaders justified their actions by reference to the nation, that is, to us. They claimed to act on our behalf to correct certain unacceptable conditions. But in none of them were the people consulted before the military struck. On some occasions, the people welcomed the announcement with street jubilation, which suggested that the coup plotters were after the hearts of the people. And at least with regard to such instances, the people must assume responsibility for the senseless killings associated with the coups.
It is ironic, though, that one of the most momentous of the coups that the country experienced was the one with the least, if any, human casualties. It was the coup of 29 July 1975 which ousted General Yakubu Gowon and brought in General Murtala Ramat Muhammed as the Head of State. Perhaps, due to its careful planning which ensured that the foremost victim was out of the country at the time of implementation, it was a palace coup with minimum violence.
Yet the leadership of that coup and the administration that it launched initiated some of the defining achievements of the military in the government of Nigeria to date. With lightning speed and strong determination, they rolled out one initiative after another, one of the most celebrated of which was the announcement of a plan and procedure for return to civil rule in 1979. It was also to their credit that they kept the promise. The appointment of a 50- member Constitution Drafting Committee was another. And there was the initiative on a new Federal Capital which had Justice Akinola Aguda appointed as the arrow head of the search team.
In the twinkling of an eye, the new administration had devised a courageous plan to tackle most of the knotty issues facing the nation. It had corruption on its radar. The military and public service was purged, though there were allegations of arbitrariness.Without saying a whole lot, they got a whole lot done in a few months. Nigerians had a renewed sense of hope in their government and not many minded its being a military administration. On top of it, that administration courageously engaged the world with a robust foreign policy that made Africa its centre and the remnants of brazen imperialism and shameless apartheid its target.
Leadership is about action. It is about decisiveness, not wobbling. Sure, deliberativeness is important before decision. But one cannot sacrifice decision-making at the altar of carefulness. General Murtala Muhammed knew this much and ensured that he did not frustrate the patience of his fellow citizens with long and boring moments of indecision. It was as if he knew he had a short time to demonstrate his leadership capabilities.
On Friday, February 13th 1976, barely seven months into the new administration, tragedy struck and the nation was thrown into mourning for the hope of national ascendancy that appeared dashed. In a sad twist of fate again, the man who carefully planned and executed a violence-free coup was gunned down violently in the public space in which he demonstrated his humility and love for the people that he led. He chose to ride in his car without the glamor of office and without a security detail that would have protected him from harm.
Africans don’t have the monopoly of superstitious beliefs. In Western European and American superstition, Friday the 13th symbolises ill luck. So it was that on Friday the 13th of February 1976, Nigeria had its share of bad luck. It was a day that, as Chief Obafemi Awolowo put it, the dog killed the tiger and a community in which that happened was unsafe to live in. At that moment in time, Nigeria proved unsafe to live in.
Characteristically, Chief Awolowo also did not let the opportunity pass without making his observations and sagacious comments. Dimka gunned down General Muhammed in broad daylight. The Head of State maintained his low profile. He had no convoy and no siren. He only had his Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Akintunde Akinsehinwa, and his driver and orderly. He reposed his confidence in God and in his fellow-citizens! He must have felt that if his people loved him as he loved them, he had nothing to fear. There were stories about his brushing aside warnings from concerned friends worried about his style.
But what happened on the fateful day? According to media reports, the policemanon traffic duty, having no knowledge of who was in traffic, stopped the traffic in which the Head of State’s car was moving to allow an army truck pass! That was the opportunity for Dimka to get beside General Muhammed’s car. He killed General Muhammed and his ADC. What did the policeman do? He took to his feet on seeing what happened and recognising that it was the Head of State that had just been murdered.
What did the rest of Nigerian onlookers do? The people, including vehicle owners and drivers in traffic, scattered. They let down the man who loved them and adopted a low-profile life style because he wanted to feel their pain. They let him die. As Chief Awolowo saw it, “at that tragic moment in time, we failed to display a spirit of vigilance and daring and a sense of patriotism and self-sacrifice which are among the indispensable ingredients of national integrity.”
This is the aspect of our national life that we still have not come to terms with: a spirit of vigilance, a sense of patriotism and sacrifice. Everyone appears to be for him or herself. Egoistic tendencies run deep and wide. What ever happened to the bragging rights that, as Africans, we used to have about being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers? Now even those that voluntarily take appointments as police officers and other security personnel are often reluctant to attend to security challenges and crime scenes because they fear for their safety.
Murtala Ramat Muhammed died when he was needed most to drive home the logic of patriotism and self-sacrifice in the service of the nation. However, if to be immortal is to live in the memories of loved ones, including fellow-citizens, there is no doubt that he has earned immortality. Of course, he wasn’t a saint. But he surely transcended the frivolities and vanities of his peers. And just by giving purposeful leadership when his country needed reassurance, and paying the supreme sacrifice in the process, he lives on in their hearts.
NATION
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