Buhari Extols Murtala’s Virtues

President Muhammadu
Buhari  on weekend reflected on the death of former Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, in a coup attempt 40 years ago, and said his demise in that incident made Nigeria lose momentum in its march to greatness.
Muhammed was assassinated when the late Colonel Buka  Suka Dimka  and his gang ambushed him at Ikoyi, Lagos, and shot him dead in a traffic jam.
Buhari, who had served under the late Head of State as military governor of the old Borno State, said at the Murtala Muhammed 40th Memorial Lecture in Abuja, that the deceased was a loyal Nigerian.
He challenged Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of loyalty, honesty and determination like Muhammed rather than mourn his death.
He said that Nigerians mourned the death of Murtala because he was on his way to putting the country back on the path of order and discipline, after years of drift, corruption and near despair.
According to him, Murtala’s motto was to get the job done as quickly as possible, stressing that no one could doubt his inspirational qualities or call into question his love and dedication in the service of Nigeria.
He said: “ His love for Nigeria and Nigerians, from wherever they came; his intense professionalism; his impatience with incompetence and lack of patriotism; his loyalty to friends and colleagues; his life, short though it proved to be, was marked by an extraordinary passion, energy and determination to do better, and to make Nigeria better.
“These are values that young and old alike should all remember and celebrate. On assuming the role of Head of State in 1975, Murtala set out with a single-minded determination seldom seen in Nigerian leadership. Decisions were on fast-track.”