Murtala kicked against plans to make him Head of State, did not participate in cøup against Gowon

Murtala kicked against plans to make him Head of State, did not participate in cøup against Gowon

Murtala kicked against plans to make him Head of State, did not participate in cøup against Gowon

Joseph Nanven Garba (a colonel in the mid-1970s) who announced the removal of General Yakubu Gowon as Nigeria’s Head of State in a radio broadcast on July 29, 1975, says Murtala Muhammed was never desperate to be Head of State. He also stated what Muhammed did when the cøup against Gowon was to be carried out.

This is stated in his “Diplomatic Soldiering” pp. xvii – xix, excerpted by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz. Read the excerpt below:

“Brigadier Murtala Ramat Muhammed had not wanted to be Head of State. But he had been our choice since the day in April when a few of us, distraught over the state of the country, began to conceive the idea of the cøup. Lieutenant Colonel Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and I went to his house one evening to talk to him about it, and found him reciting Koranic verses to the accompaniment of tapes pre-recorded for the purpose. He was in the middle of one of them and barely acknowledged our presence. We waited in silence for some forty minutes, until the tape had finished. I had not been to his house for a long time, indeed, not since 1969. And even though I had been responsible for reconciling him with General Gowon in 1972, which led subsequently to his appointment in as Commissioner of Communications in the 1974 cabinet reshuffle, he and I only maintained a correct relationship, despite our having been very close in the days leading to the July 1966 cøup. He and Shehu yar’Adua, however, had a closer relationship, and I therefore left the talking to Shehu.

When Yar’Adua finished speaking, I interjected a few words in amplification. He looked at us steadily for some moments, and then said, “I have no intention of taking up arms for Nigeria again. Gowon is too far gone, and I would as soon let him stew in his own juice. If you boys want to stage a coup, which I agree is long overdue, I will not stop you. However, I reject your offer to be Head of State. Indeed, I refuse to have anything to do with it. But since I believe your motives are correct, the only undertaking I will give you is, should you fail, and anyone wants to execute you, I would do my utmost to save your necks.” With that he went back to reading his Koran. After some moments, we left, Shehu Yar’Adua saying to me not to worrry; he would try to make him come around. He must have done a good job because eventually Murtala gave his tacit approval, wanting, however, to be distant from the events. Though he was told all of the details and time, etc, he arranged to be out of the country, and was thus in London when the coup actually took place. The only aircraft we allowed to land on that morning was the one carrying him back to Lagos via Kano where he deplaned.

We members of the “Junta” had agreed among ourselves about structural changes in how decisions would be made in the new government. The Supreme Military Council would become supreme in deed as well as name, and a new Head of State would be the most senior member among the selected officers, but in contrast to its predecessor under Gowon, excluding the state governors. Murtala had known none of these details, and now had to understand and accept them; hence, a closed-door meeting with him.
It fell to me to put this to me, and the other members of the “triumvirate”, to secure their agreement. When I finished my talk, Murtala burst out, “To hēll with all of you! I have said I don’t want to be anybody’s Head of State. But if you’re inviting me to be one, I’m not going to allow you to tie my hands behind my back. I must have executive authority and run the country as I see best.”