•Murtala Mohammed
This past week, Nigerians across ethnic, regional, and religious divides having been commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the tragic assassination of their favourite Nigerian leader, General Ramat Murtala Mohammed. It has been an unprecedented outpouring of admiration mixed with profound regret.
Of course, there have been a few dissenters. This is as it should be. A nation of homogeneous group-think is a dangerous nation. But what is not in question, whatever his antecedents, is that for the few months that he ruled the nation, the abrasive and impatient Kano-born General came close to approximating the ideal of a national hero and exceptional Nigerian leader.
Aeschylus, the great Greek philosopher, noted that the land that has no hero is a very unhappy land. To this the historic quip was added that it is the land that needs a hero that is unhappy indeed. Judging by the national outpouring of grief and regret about the plight of Nigeria in the hands of most of Mohammed’s successors, it is clear that Nigeria has suffered a double jeopardy. It is a land without heroes and a land critically in need of heroes. Nigeria remains structurally rigged against throwing up its best and brightest.
To be sure, Mohammed, affectionately known as Muri to millions of fawning and adulating Nigerian masses, was no saint. But here was an epic individual who made heroic efforts to overcome his personal and idiosyncratic limitations and to make amends for his past infractions. Just as he was implacable and ferocious in settling scores on the field of battle, he was also judicious and humble in appeasing those he thought he had wronged. When cornered with hard facts, his petulant sulking often gave way to a boyish grin of regret and restitution.
Snooper monitored his coup day national broadcast. Despite the thunder and tantrums, Mohammed was gracious enough to acknowledge the contributions of his military senior and superior, General Yakubu Gowon, who was retired with full benefits “in appreciation of his past services to the nation”. So solicitous was Mohammed of Gowon’s wellbeing that he was known to have sent General Danjuma to the humble general in Warwick to advise him to dispense with the informality of conducting himself like a regular undergraduate. He was a full general of the Nigerian army.
This morning, and by popular demand once again, we bring you a fictional encounter with the late Nigerian hero. It is a fitting way of bringing to a close the moving memories of one of the greatest Nigerians of all time.
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