According to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, if the administration at the time had taken security seriously, General Murtala Muhammed might not have been slain.
He clarified that a worrisome degree of security complacency within the administration at the time was revealed by the death of the late military dictator.
This was revealed in an interview on News Central TV by Obasanjo, who succeeded Murtala following the abortive coup on February 13, 1976.
He attributed the inadequate security measures surrounding Murtala to what he called “naivety.”
Obasanjo claimed that Murtala was a fearless and self-assured leader who felt he was acting in Nigeria’s best interests.
However, according to Obasanjo, that belief turned into an expensive error.
He noted that Murtala drove himself as military Head of State and traveled around Lagos with little regard for personal safety.
Obasanjo claimed that although he had cautioned Murtala about the risk of such exposure, the late leader did not give the issue the serious attention it required.
“If it weren’t for our ignorance, Murtala would not have been killed the way he was,” Obasanjo remarked.
He continued by saying that the leadership at the time mistakenly believed that since they were acting in the nation’s best interests, no one would oppose them.
We thought he was acting morally. What then did we have to be afraid of? Obasanjo stated.
The former president clarified that the degree of conspiracy that eventually surfaced was not anticipated by the government. He claimed that the coup plotters took advantage of the loose attitude toward security.
During a botched coup attempt by soldiers who opposed Murtala’s government, he was killed in Lagos. A government that had promised extensive reforms and a shift to civilian control came to an abrupt end with his death.
