Speakers recall late leader's anti-corruption drive, Pan-African legacy, and challenge of succession as continent grapples with governance questions
Fifty years after his assassination in the failed February 1976 coup, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed was honoured Thursday at an international lecture in Abuja that brought together past and present leaders to reflect on his brief but transformative tenure and its lessons for contemporary Africa.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, described the late Head of State as a military officer with "democratic blood in his veins"—a leader whose 200-day rule left an indelible mark on Nigeria's political evolution and Africa's liberation struggle .
Tinubu recalled Muhammed's iconic January 1976 speech at the Organisation of African Unity meeting in Addis Ababa, where he declared that "Africa has come of age" and should no longer take orders from global powers. That moment, the President noted, was a "defining moment in Nigeria's foreign policy" that signalled the continent's readiness to shape its destiny during the Cold War . The 1970s, he added, could aptly be called the "Murtala Mohammed age"—a golden era for Nigeria's diplomacy .
"He was not just a Nigerian; he was a man who loved his country deeply," Tinubu said. "He took on corruption headlong and fought it with all the skills and talents given to him by God" .
The Succession Question
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who succeeded Muhammed after the coup and now chairs the Murtala Muhammed Foundation's Board of Trustees, offered a searing reflection on leadership continuity.
"The greatest achievement of Murtala was that he created a successor who could go on after him," Obasanjo said. "The failure of all leaders after Murtala, including myself, is that we have not been able to create successors who could continue after us" .
He illustrated this point with a damning example from Nigeria's agricultural policy. By July 1979, when the military handed over to civilians, Nigeria was on the brink of rice self-sufficiency. The government had banned imports based on projections of domestic output. Within months of civilian rule, the ban was lifted—not on economic grounds, but to allow the new administration to allocate import licences to political supporters .
"Since the lifting of the rice import ban in 1979, we have not recovered from it. That is why we are still importing rice today," Obasanjo lamented. He recounted how one licence recipient ordered rice from America, demanded the suppliers inflate the invoice by $5 million, and walked away with a $1 million kickback—taking no risk, making no investment .
"We cannot make progress if we take two steps forward, one step sideways and three steps back, which is what we have been doing," he concluded .
The Youth Leadership Debate
Former President Goodluck Jonathan used the occasion to renew his call for generational shift in African governance, arguing that leaders between 25 and 50 are better equipped for modern leadership demands.
"The person we are celebrating today was head of state at the age of 38. Obasanjo, when he took over, was also around 38," Jonathan noted. "So why do we begin to think that we must be in our 100s before we can rule a country?" .
He argued that leadership requires stamina and resilience, recalling that while in office, he sometimes slept less than two hours daily. "If you subject an older person to that kind of stress, the person will spend 50 per cent of the time in hospital" .
If Africa has truly come of age, Jonathan questioned why leaders spend half their time outside the continent. "In countries such as America, some governors do not leave the country throughout their tenure in office" .
'Coming of Age'—What It Means
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo offered a nuanced interpretation of Muhammed's famous declaration. "If coming of age means perfection, then no continent qualifies. If it means the absence of struggle or problems, then history itself has not come of age," he said. "But if coming of age means self-awareness, confidence of purpose, and the capacity to shape one's destiny, then Africa is no longer emerging; it is in its moment" .
Osinbajo pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area as evidence of growing economic agency, noting that real goods are already moving across borders and creating jobs .
Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, struck a more sobering note, urging Africans to restore dignity and pride. "We need to ask ourselves as Africans, where have we lost it, and how can we get back that dignity and pride" .
Former Malawian President Joyce Banda described Muhammed as her hero and "a distinguished son of Africa whose entire life centred on selfless service to his people without enriching himself." She added that his Pan-Africanist ideologies led to the liberation of many African countries .
Former Ghanaian President John Kufuor reframed the lecture's central question, suggesting the real inquiry should be whether Africa today "stands in the world with a settled sense of identity, responsibility and purpose, not only as a political space but as a moral presence within humanity" .
Reforms and Legacy
Muhammed's 200-day tenure was remarkably consequential. He dismissed over 10,000 public officials accused of corruption, created seven new states, initiated the process of relocating Nigeria's capital from Lagos to Abuja, and implemented a transition programme to return the country to civilian rule .
His administration positioned Nigeria at the forefront of African liberation struggles, providing financial support—including a $17 million lifeline—to liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Zimbabwe, and playing a frontline role against apartheid in South Africa . Angola honoured Muhammed last November during its 50th Independence Anniversary, noting that Nigeria under his leadership was among the first to recognise the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola .
The event, organised by the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, drew former presidents Ernest Koroma (Sierra Leone) and John Kufuor (Ghana), alongside diplomats, academics, and industry leaders . Foundation CEO Dr. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode described the commemoration as "not just a remembrance" but "a call to action for the new generation of leaders to govern with integrity, patriotism, and courage" .
The anniversary date itself, February 13, was marked by solemn events in Abuja including a wreath-laying ceremony, commemorative prayers, an Anti-Corruption Day, and a National Moment of Silence observed across the country .
A Question for the Ages
As Nigeria marks half a century since Muhammed's assassination, the question posed by the lecture's theme—"Has Africa Come of Age?"—remains unresolved. For Tinubu, the answer lies in action: "Africa will truly come of age when we create opportunities for our youth at home and ensure the welfare of our people" .
For Osinbajo, the journey is ongoing but the direction is clear. "The age of asking whether Africa will rise is over. The age of engaging with Africa as a co-author of the global future has come" .
And for a continent still grappling with the tensions between youthful energy and gerontocratic power, between liberation struggles and neo-colonial pressures, between the promise of self-determination and the persistence of elite capture—the legacy of a 38-year-old leader who dared to tell the world that Africa would no longer take orders remains as urgent as ever.
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