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| Buhari,Danjuma at the event |
Lt.
Gen Theophilus Danjuma on Saturday said he was the third person on the list of
those marked for assassination during the failed 13 February, 1976 coup d’état
that claimed the life of the then Head-of-State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed, and
many others.
He
said this at the Murtala Muhammed 40th Memorial Lecture held at the Transcorp
Hilton Hotel, Abuja where President Muhammadu Buhari and Danjuma, a former
Minister of Defence, were among several dignitaries who applauded the virtues
and leadership qualities of the late Gen. Muhammed.
President
Buhari described the late military ruler as a man with extra-ordinary passion
who was in a hurry to make Nigeria better.
He
noted that although his late boss had a not-too-easy relationship with some of
his colleagues in the Army, his loyalty and dedication to his fatherland was
never in doubt.
The
President said, “His life, short though it proved to be, was marked by an
extraordinary passion, energy and determination to do better, and to make
Nigeria better. These are values that young and old alike should all remember –
and celebrate.”
While
extolling the leadership qualities of the late Head-of State, Buhari noted that
by the time Murtala was given Command during the Civil War, the Federal side
was on the defensive.
According
to him, the rebels had overrun the then Mid-West, and reached as far as Ore,
just 100 miles from Lagos.
He
said, “By dint of sheer bravery, improvisation and resourcefulness, he mustered
a rag-tag group of soldiers, integrated them into an entirely new division,
knocked them into fighting shape, recovered Mid-West and ventured across the
Niger. Alas, there were terrible casualties on both sides.
“But
Murtala’s motto was to get the job done as quickly as possible; sacrifice and
loss were part of the risks of war.
“Relations
between Murtala and some other senior officers were not always easy. But no one
could doubt his inspirational qualities or call into question his love and
dedication in the service of Nigeria.”
Buhari
further explained that Murtala Muhammed’s death robbed the nation of a leader
who was determined to deal with the menace of corruption and indiscipline with
an uncommon zeal.
Recalling
the events of February 13, 1976, Buhari said he was at his duty post as
Military Governor of the defunct North Eastern State when he received a call
from General TY Danjuma.
According
to him, the following conversation ensued:
“Gen.
Danjuma called me and said: ‘Mohammed, where are you?
“I
said, in the office sir.
“He
said, ‘do you know what is happening?’
“I
said ‘where?’ He said in Lagos. He said the Head of State had left his house
and was driving his car to the office then around the secretariat, there was
shooting.
“I
said they must have murdered him. And he said, ‘do something.”’
The
President went on to explain how he rallied troops in Maiduguri and Yola to
avoid a breakdown of law and order adding that since it was a Friday, he had to
go to the Mosque, a decision he said, helped to douse the tension that had
built up over happenings in Lagos.
Buhari
said within the six months of Gen. Muhammed’s rule, he was able to articulate a
clear vision of the legacies he was bequeathing to Nigeria.
He
noted that the late general was instrumental to the creation of additional
states and laying the foundation for moving the Federal Capital from Lagos to
Abuja.
President
Buhari enjoined all present to see the occasion as one of celebration and not
of mourning because the late icon lived a life worthy of emulation.
Earlier,
General TY Danjuma who served under the late Head-of-State said, he was alive
only by the grace of God because Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka and his gang of
conspirators had condemned him to death.
He
said, “February 13, 1976 was a Friday. In English mythology -I don’t know how
it started, but the combination of Friday and the number 13, represent bad
luck.
“When
I remember that day; it leaves me with varied emotions because I too had been
condemned to die by Dimka and his associates.
“In
fact, on the list that he brought to General Iliya Bissalla, our then
Commissioner of Defence, to seek his approval, I was number three on the death
list.
“Bissalla
promoted me to number two. That I am still alive today is by the grace of God.”
He
enjoined the Murtala Mohammed Foundation to ensure a proper documentation of
its activities for posterity. He promised to finance a documentary of the
foundation’s activities on television.
Danjuma
stressed the importance of accurate record of events to avoid distortions by
those who know nothing about what happened.
In
his key note address, General David Richards, former Chief of the Defence
Staff, United Kingdom, said Nigeria deserved more accolades for its human and
material sacrifice in resolving the conflict in Sierra-Leone than it had
gotten.
Richards
who spoke on “Regional Security and State Building: Portents and Prospects”,
noted that the tendency to recommend the same template for tackling crisis in
each state had proved a sad lesson re-lent across continents over the years.
He
also noted that contemporary insurgency required a new strategy to tackle
because the force of arms alone could not resolve issues therein.
The
retired Army General noted that the growth of social media, rivalries among
states and on-line real time news adds to the complications experienced in
trying to manage conflict.
Richards
said, “The loss of the control of the agenda is the greatest threat to the
World Order” adding that, states must now do more to gain and retain public
confidence through the provision of quality leadership.
An
adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on West African Affairs,
Mohammed Ibn Chambers, recalled that he was a university student studying in
Ghana when Gen. Murtala Muhammed was assassinated.
He
stated that students all over Africa protested because they knew the
contributions Nigeria under the late General’s leadership was making towards
liberating the rest of Africa.
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