In 1967, Nigeria was at war. With Biafra. The Bafran army, goaded
by their cause and motivational leadership was marching towards Lagos, the seat
of power, conquering cities and states on their way. At about 100 miles from
Lagos, Lieutenant Murtala Mohammed was dispatched by Yakubu Gowon, the Nigerian
president, to halt the parade. He did it with surprising success. At the Murtala
Muhammed 40th Memorial Lecture held last week at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel,
Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari brings the event back into memory.
President Buhari recalled that by the time 28 year old Murtala
Mohammed was given Command during the Civil War, the Nigerians side was on the
defensive under severe assault from the marauding Biafran army.
According to Buhari, the rebels had overrun the then Mid-West, and reached as far as Ore, just 100 miles from Lagos. But “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.” He noted.
According to Buhari, the rebels had overrun the then Mid-West, and reached as far as Ore, just 100 miles from Lagos. But “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.” He noted.
It was the Murtala division that
routed the Biafran Army and expelled them from the Midwest Region. Murtala did
not stop there; he moved up to cross the River Niger
to join the Nigerian 1st Division which was on its way into Biafran held
region from the north.
His campaign was not without accusations
of war crimes, however, as he is reported to have supervised the killing
of unarmed civilians in Asaba, in today’s Delta State.
Mohammed was killed on February
13th in a bloody coup in Lagos.
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