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Aisha Muhammed, daughter of former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, has explained that her father’s simple lifestyle and rejection of the trappings of power made it easy for him to be assassinated.
Speaking on ARISE News’ Morning Show on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation reflected on her father’s leadership style as Nigeria marked the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
She said the late military leader lived by the values he preached, particularly accountability, responsibility and discipline, noting that his anti-corruption stance was not rhetorical but evident in his personal conduct.
“My father’s leadership style was clear. He believed in accountability. He believed in responsibility, and we’re all familiar with his anti-corruption stance. Corruption was not something you just talked about; he believed it was a cankerworm that would destroy society,” she said.
According to her, General Muhammed deliberately avoided heavy security details, motorcades and sirens, insisting on living like the ordinary Nigerian, a decision she said ultimately exposed him to danger.
She explained that on the day of his assassination, he was travelling in traffic like every other road user.
“My father didn’t go around with motorcades and sirens and a lot of security. That was what he embodied. That was why it was actually easy to assassinate him.
“He was in traffic just like everybody else. The traffic wardens stopped them, and they stopped, just like everyone else. That was when the coup plotters came out and shot him,” Aisha Muhammed said.
General Muhammed came to power in a bloodless coup in July 1975, which ousted General Yakubu Gowon, but was assassinated on February 13, 1976, during an abortive coup, barely six months into his tenure.
During his brief 200-day administration, he introduced far-reaching reforms, including the dismissal of more than 10,000 public officials over corruption allegations, the creation of seven new states, and plans for a transition to civilian rule.
His government also initiated the process that led to the relocation of Nigeria’s capital from Lagos to Abuja. (TRIBUNE)
