General Murtala Ramat Mohammed was whipping up a popularity that had fizzled out since Nigerian politicians in the First Republic discarded the trust of the Nigerian people, but that counted for nothing when 42 years ago today, on the 13th of February 1976,
he was shot down by coup plotters, in the midst of Ikoyi traffic, while on his way to work.

Born on 9 November 1938 in Kano, one of his parents’ 11 children, Murtala joined the army at the age of 19.

Within 10 years, on the strength of his work ethic and numerous degrees and training programs, he was made Colonel, barely 30 at the time.

During this time, Murtala played a role in unseating Aguiyi Ironsi from power, after the latter took the seat in January 1966.

On 29th July 1975, General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown while attending the 12th summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda.

Within the short span of 201 days, General Murtala was able to restore a love for the nation, a clear sense of patriotism that had been lost when Nigeria’s first civilian leaders first began
to show that having the key to the vault means that money will begin to vanish and then show up in unexpected places, in expensive cars and fat bank accounts.

After the rigours of the civil war, General Murtala set about to re-organising and demilitarising a large wing of the Nigerian army, reducing the total number of active soldiers by 100,000.

On February 13, 1976, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed was on his way to work in Dodan Barracks.

While sitting in his Black Mercedes Saloon Car along with his Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa, he was ambushed by a group of soldiers.

Murtala, along with his entourage, was killed in a hail of bullets, a task that was made all the easier because the only visible sign of protection was a pistol carried by his orderly.

His assassination was part of a coup attempt led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka, who was the head of the Nigerian Army Physical Training Corps. On killing the Head of State, the coup plotters swung into action, taking, first, the media.

Murtala had made a meal of nationalising private media, including the two largest newspapers and strengthening the reach of state-owned media, particularly the radio network.

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