Murtala Muhammed
Murtala Ramat Muhammed was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War and thereafter ruled Nigeria from 29 July 1975 until his assassination on 13 February 1976. This period in Nigerian history, from the Northern counter-coup victory to Murtala's death, is commonly associated with the institutionalization of the military in Nigerian politics.
Born in Kano to a native Hausa parents, Mohammed Riskuwa and Uwani Ramatu from Kano state. Murtala served in the Nigerian Army as a cadet in the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He later served in Congo; eventually rose through the ranks to become brigadier general in 1971, aged 33, becoming one of the youngest generals in Nigeria. Three years later, Murtala became the Federal Commissioner for Communications in Lagos. As a conservative and federalist, Murtala regretted the overthrow of the First Republic and the promulgation of Aguiyi Ironsi's unification decree of 1966. He was devastated by the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello, and for a time seriously considered the secession of Northern Nigeria. His career redoubled after Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and the young majors orchestrated the first military coup in Nigeria of 1966 empowering him to lead the mutiny of the night of 29 July 1966 in Abeokuta. Murtala was briefly considered as Supreme Commander before the appointment of Yakubu Gowon.
During the war, he commanded Nigeria's Second Infantry Division which committed the Asaba massacre and was responsible for the death of civilians and many of the rebels. Three years later the Federal military government declared victory which bolstered Murtala's image over Nigeria and in particular the north as a military leader through the post-war era of "reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation". In post-civil-war Nigeria, Murtala ruled with more power than any Nigerian leader before or since and developed a charismatic authority and cult of personality. During the Cold War he maintained Nigerian neutrality through participation in the non-aligned movement but supported the Soviet Union — during the latter's effort in the Angolan Civil War. This support is better understood within the context of the liberation of African countries from colonialism than as support for the Soviet Union.
At the same time, his regime transitioned from being authoritarian into consensus decision-making with Murtala the leader of a military triumvirate, alongside Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Theophilus Danjuma. The dictatorship softened and Murtala unveiled plans for the demilitarization of politics. In 1976, barely seven months into his nascent rule Murtala without having time to see his plans implemented was assassinated in a failed coup d'état, being succeeded by Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State, who, in turn, led the Nigerian transition to democracy with the Second Nigerian Republic.
The legacy of Murtala in Nigerian history remains controversial as the nature of his rule changed over time. His reign was marked by both brutal repression, and economic prosperity, which greatly improved the quality of life in Nigeria. His dictatorial style proved highly adaptable, which enabled wide-ranging social and economic reform, while consistent pursuits during his reign centered on highly centralised government, authoritarianism, federalism, national Federalism, and pan-Africanism.
Early life
Murtala's father, Muhammed, was from Kano statewhich has a history of knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, as both his paternal grandfather Suleman and paternal great-grandfather were judges.
Muhammed, worked as a veterinary officer in the Kano Native Authority and was related to Aminu Kano, Inuwa Wada, and Aminu Wali. He died in 1953, his mother, Uwani Rahamatu, was from the Kanuri and Fulani Jobawa clan, the Jobawa clan members include the Makama of Kano and Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, his maternal grandfather Yakubu Soja a World War I veteran was from Dawakin Tofa while his maternal grandmother Hajiya Hauwau was from Gezawa, Murtala was educated at Cikin Gida Elementary School which was inside the emir's palace.
He then transferred to Gidan Makama primary school in Kano which was just outside the palace. He then proceeded to Kano Middle School in 1949, before attending the famous Government College in Zaria, where he obtained his school certificate in 1957. At Barewa College, Muhammed was a member of the Cadet Corps and was captain of shooting in his final year. In 1957, he obtained a school leaving certificate and applied to join the Nigerian army later in the year.
Early career
Murtala Muhammed joined the Nigerian Army in 1958. He spent short training stints in Nigeria and Ghana and then was trained as an officer cadet at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in England. After his training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1961 and assigned to the Nigerian Army Signals that same year, later spending a short stint with the No. 3 Brigade Signals Troop in Congo. In 1962, Muhammed was appointed aide-de-camp to M. A. Majekodunmi, the federally-appointed administrator of the Western Region.In 1963, he became the officer-in-charge of the First Brigade Signal Troop in Kaduna, Nigeria. That year he traveled to the Royal Corps of Signals at Catterick Garrison, England for a course on advanced telecommunications techniques. On his return to Nigeria in 1964, he was promoted to major and appointed officer-commanding, 1st Signal Squadron in Apapa, Lagos. In November 1965, he was made acting Chief of Signals of the Army, while his paternal uncle, Inuwa Wada had recently been appointed Defense Minister.
Unknown to Muhammed, majors planning the January 1966 coup recruited troops from the signal unit. The coup plotters later went on to assassinate leading politicians and soldiers from the Northern and Western region. After the coup plot failed, new military postings made by the new leader generated some discomfort in the North. In April 1966, Muhammed was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was the inspector of signals posted to Army Headquarters, Lagos in a move that was partly to pacify Northerners weary about the new military regime. Muhammed was also appointed member of a Post and Telecommunications management committee. Muhammed opposed the regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, which took power after a coup d'etat on 15 January 1966.
Aguiyi-Ironsi, as GOC of the Nigerian Army, brought normalcy back to the nation by imprisoning the coup makers and intimidating the federal cabinet into handing over the helms of government to him. However, many northerners saw this and the reluctance of Ironsi to prosecute the coup leaders, and the fact that the army was purportedly giving exceptional privileges to the coupist as an indication of Ironsi's support for the killings. Consequently, northern politicians and civil servants mounted pressure upon northern officers such as Muhammed to avenge the coup. The promulgation of Decree No. 34 restructuring Nigeria from a federal constitutional structure to a unitary structure also raised suspicions among many Northern officers and Muhammed and a few others began to contemplate separation of the Northern region from the country.
1966 counter-coup
On the night of 29 July 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating a counter-coup, which may very well have been in the planning stages. A group among the officers supported secession and thus gave the code name of the coup 'A raba' meaning secession in Hausa. However, after the success of the counter-coup, a group of civilians including the Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola, Sule Katagum, head of the Federal Public service and Musa Daggash, Permanent Secretary, defense convinced the plotters including Muhammed about the advantages of a union.The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, despite the intransigence of Muhammed who wanted the role of Supreme Commander for himself. However, as Gowon was militarily his senior, and finding a lack of support from the British and American advisors, he caved in. Gowon rewarded him by confirming his ranking and his appointment. The acceptance of Gowon as the Head of State was not supported by all the key military leaders, in particular, Odumegwu Ojukwu, military governor of the Eastern Region.
Civil war
At the start of the Nigerian Civil War, Muhammed was the commander of the newly established Second Infantry Division. The 2 Division was responsible for the beating back of the Biafran Army from the Mid-West region, as well as crossing the River Niger and linking up with the 1 Division, which was advancing from Nsukka and Enugu. However, this was only achieved after several failed river crossings in which thousands of troops died as a result of drowning or enemy fire. During his time as commander, Muhammed was implicated in several violations of appropriate conduct; Lieutenant , an officer who served under Muhammed alleged that he ordered the summary execution of Biafran prisoners of war.In June 1968, he relinquished his commanding position and was posted to Lagos and appointed Inspector of Signals. In April 1968, he was promoted to colonel.On October 5–7, 1967, the Second Division under the command of Murtala perpetrated the Asaba massacre, targeting the city of Asaba which was mostly composed of Igbo people.
The actions of the division during this period, mostly in Asaba became a subject of speculation. In a book published in 2017, S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli document the 1967 mass murder of civilians by troops of the 2 Division under General Muhammed's command. They also discuss the events leading up to the massacre, and its impact on Asaba and on the progress of the war, as well as other civilian massacres carried out by soldiers of the 2nd Division at Onitsha and Isheagu.