48-467: Lieutenant Colonel Bukar Suwa Dimka (1940 – 15 May 1976) was a Nigerian military officer who played a leading role in the 13 February 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed . Dimka had also participated in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 which toppled the government of General Aguiyi Ironsi . Bukar Suwar Dimka was commissioned as a Second-Lieutenant from
96-461: A Post and Telecommunications management committee. Muhammed opposed the regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi , which took power after a coup d'etat on 15 January 1966. Aguiyi-Ironsi, as GOC of the Nigerian Army, brought normalcy back to the nation by imprisoning the coup makers and intimidating the federal cabinet into handing over the helms of government to him. However, many northerners saw this and
144-562: A dense jungle to escape Dimka and his soldiers. General Muhammed was assassinated along with his aide-de-camp Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa when his Mercedes-Benz was ambushed by a group of assassins consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Dimka, Major Rabo, Captain Parwang and Lieutenant Seri in Ikoyi , Lagos . In a planned broadcast to the nation, Lieutenant Colonel Dimka had cited corruption, indecision, arrest and detention without trial, weakness on
192-457: A federal territory location of about 8,000 square kilometres in the central part of the country. Towards the end of 1975, the administration implemented a mass purge in the Nigerian civil service. The civil service was viewed as undisciplined and lacking a sense of purpose. A retrenchment exercise was implemented as part of a strategy to refocus the service. However, because of the drastic nature of
240-472: A forthright manner. He is a strong character and determined. However, he finds it difficult to moderate his opinions and finds it difficult to enter into debate with others whose views he may not share''. After the war, he was promoted to brigadier-general in October 1971. Between 1971 and 1974, Muhammed was involved in routine activities within the signals unit of the army. However, he also disagreed with some of
288-416: A plot to kill Major Ogbemudia. However, Ogbemudia was tipped off by Major Abba Kyari and Colonel Hassan Katsina who provided an escape Land Rover armed with a submachine gun. Dimka marshaled a group of northern soldiers who pursued Ogbemudia (sometimes shooting) all the way from Kaduna to Owo , Ondo State where Ogbemudia abandoned his Land Rover (which had run out of fuel) and scaled a 6-foot fence into
336-459: A unitary structure also raised suspicions among many Northern officers and Muhammed and a few others began to contemplate separation of the Northern region from the country. On the night of 29 July 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating a counter-coup, which may very well have been in the planning stages. A group among the officers supported secession and thus gave
384-475: Is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies , most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel . Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel . The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence. Sometimes, the term 'half-colonel' is used in casual conversation in
432-696: Is commonly associated with the institutionalization of the military in Nigerian politics. Born in Kano into a ruling-class religious family, Murtala served in the Nigerian Army as a cadet in the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst . He later served in Congo ; eventually rose through the ranks to become brigadier general in 1971, aged 33, becoming one of the youngest generals in Nigeria. Three years later, Murtala became
480-511: The 1 Division , which was advancing from Nsukka and Enugu . However, this was only achieved after several failed river crossings in which thousands of troops died as a result of drowning or enemy fire. During his time as commander, Muhammed was implicated in several violations of appropriate conduct; Lieutenant Ishola Williams , an officer who served under Muhammed alleged that he ordered the summary execution of Biafran prisoners of war. In June 1968, he relinquished his commanding position and
528-787: The Australian Army Officer Cadet School, Portsea , into the Nigerian Army on 13 December 1963. He and Lt. Boniface Ikejiofor were the first two Nigerian Army officers to train in Australia and complete the 12 months course at the school with cadets from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia , the Philippines and the Pacific Islands. Dimka, then a lieutenant with the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna,
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#1732890963169576-626: The Cold War he maintained Nigerian neutrality through participation in the non-aligned movement but supported the Soviet Union — during the latter's effort in the Angolan Civil War . At the same time, his regime transitioned from being authoritarian into consensus decision-making with Murtala the leader of a military triumvirate, alongside Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Theophilus Danjuma . The dictatorship softened and Murtala unveiled plans for
624-449: The Federal military government declared victory which bolstered Murtala's image over Nigeria and in particular the north as a military leader through the post-war era of "reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation ". In post-civil-war Nigeria, Murtala ruled with more power than any Nigerian leader before or since and developed a charismatic authority and cult of personality . During
672-516: The Nigerian army later in the year. Murtala Muhammed joined the Nigerian Army in 1958. He spent short training stints in Nigeria and Ghana and then was trained as an officer cadet at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in England. After his training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1961 and assigned to the Nigerian Army Signals that same year, later spending a short stint with
720-498: The Northern and Western region. After the coup plot failed, new military postings made by the new leader generated some discomfort in the North. In April 1966, Muhammed was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was the inspector of signals posted to Army Headquarters, Lagos in a move that was partly to pacify Northerners weary about the new military regime. Muhammed was also appointed member of
768-525: The 3rd Battalion during the July mutiny. Another act of notoriety from the July mutiny was Dimka's pursuit and probable intent to murder his Brigade Major ( Samuel Ogbemudia ). Before the mutiny, Major Ogbemudia had detained Lieutenant Dimka for violating an order forbidding unauthorized troop movement. Under interrogation by Ogbemudia, Dimka complained of ethnic victimization and was subsequently released by Ogbemudia. Vexed by Ogbemudia's treatment of him, Dimka hatched
816-606: The British Army. Additionally, in the U.S. Army 'light colonel' has been used informally in the past. In the British military, it is customary to refer to either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel by their first names when mentioning them, e.g "Colonel Tim will be at the parade". In the United States Air Force, the term 'light bird' or 'light bird colonel' (as opposed to a 'full bird colonel') is an acceptable casual reference to
864-576: The Federal Commissioner for Communications in Lagos. As a conservative and federalist , Murtala regretted the overthrow of the First Republic and the promulgation of Aguiyi Ironsi 's unification decree of 1966. He was devastated by the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello , and for a time seriously considered the secession of Northern Nigeria. His career redoubled after Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and
912-482: The Federal Secretariat at Ikoyi in Lagos and a group of soldiers, members of an abortive coup led by Lt. Col. Bukar Suwa Dimka , emerged from an adjacent petrol station, ambushed the vehicle and assassinated Muhammed. Murtala Muhammed was killed, aged 37, along with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Akintunde Akinsehinwa , in his black Mercedes Benz saloon car on 13 February 1976. The only visible sign of protection
960-744: The Head of State was not supported by all the key military leaders, in particular, Odumegwu Ojukwu , military governor of the Eastern Region. At the start of the Nigerian Civil War , Muhammed was the commander of the newly established 2nd Infantry Division. The 2 Division was responsible for the beating back of the Biafran Army from the Mid-West region, as well as crossing the River Niger and linking up with
1008-474: The Nigerian Armed Forces, despite the intransigence of Muhammed who wanted the role of Supreme Commander for himself. However, as Gowon was militarily his senior, and finding a lack of support from the British and American advisors, he caved in. Gowon rewarded him by confirming his ranking (he had been an acting Lt. Colonel until then) and his appointment (Inspector of Signals). The acceptance of Gowon as
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#17328909631691056-723: The No. 3 Brigade Signals Troop in Congo. In 1962, Muhammed was appointed aide-de-camp to M. A. Majekodunmi, the federally-appointed administrator of the Western Region. In 1963, he became the officer-in-charge of the First Brigade Signal Troop in Kaduna, Nigeria. That year he traveled to the Royal Corps of Signals at Catterick Garrison , England for a course on advanced telecommunications techniques. On his return to Nigeria in 1964, he
1104-566: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda. Muhammed took power as the new military Head of State. Brigadiers Obasanjo and Danjuma (both later Lt. Generals) were appointed as Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military HQ and Chief of Army Staff , respectively. In the coup d'état that brought him to power he introduced the phrases "Fellow Nigerians" and "with immediate effect" to
1152-641: The code name of the coup 'A raba' meaning secession in Hausa . However, after the success of the counter-coup, a group of civilians including the Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola , Sule Katagum, head of the Federal Public service and Musa Daggash, Permanent Secretary , defense convinced the plotters including Muhammed about the advantages of a union. The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of
1200-467: The demilitarization of politics. In 1976, barely seven months into his nascent rule Murtala without having time to see his plans implemented was assassinated in a failed coup d'ètat , being succeeded by Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State, who, in turn, led the Nigerian transition to democracy with the Second Nigerian Republic . The legacy of Murtala in Nigerian history remains controversial as
1248-480: The dismissal of thousands of civil servants. Over 10,000 civil servants, government employees were dismissed without benefits; reasons stated were age, health, incompetence, or malpractice. The removal of such a large number of public officials affected the public service, the judiciary, the police and armed forces, the diplomatic service, public corporations, and university officials. Quite a few officials were tried on corruption charges, and an ex-military state governor
1296-534: The massacre, and its impact on Asaba and on the progress of the war, as well as other civilian massacres carried out by soldiers of the 2nd Division at Onitsha and Isheagu. Between 1970 and 1971, he attended the Joint Service Staff College in England , his supervisor's report attributed him to having ''a quick agile mind, considerable ability and common sense. He holds strong views which he puts forward in
1344-420: The military government lacked the projected funds to meet Nigeria's development plan for 1975. The decline in petroleum production in 1975 was due to a global fall in demand, high costs of spare parts and high labour costs. On 13 February 1976, General Muhammed set off for work along his usual route on George Street. Shortly after 8 a.m., his Mercedes-Benz car travelled slowly in the infamous Lagos traffic near
1392-415: The nation's development of cost effective communication infrastructures during the oil boom. After the war and after he took power as head of state, Muhammed started the reorganization and demobilization of 100,000 troops from the armed forces. The number of troops in the armed forces decreased from 250,000 to 150,000. On 29 July 1975, General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown while attending the 12th summit of
1440-537: The national lexicon. In a short time, Murtala Muhammed's policies won him broad popular support, and his decisiveness elevated him to the status of a folk hero. However his highly popular, often televised "with immediate effect" style of governing, also gained some criticism amongst the countries top civil servants - some of which were Nigeria’s top intellectuals. His ad-hoc Presidential proclamations left his civil service often unprepared, lacking details or even funding to implement his ideas, and his administration led to
1488-478: The nature of his rule changed over time. His reign was marked by both brutal repression, and economic prosperity, which greatly improved the quality of life in Nigeria. His dictatorial style proved highly adaptable, which enabled wide-ranging social and economic reform , while consistent pursuits during his reign centered on highly centralised government , authoritarianism , federalism , national Federalism , and pan-Africanism . Murtala's father, Muhammed Riskuwa,
Bukar Suwa Dimka - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-677: The part of the Head of State and maladministration in general as the reasons for overthrowing the government. The coup was crushed several hours later by forces loyal to the government and Dimka fled to the premises of Radio Nigeria at Ikoyi where he had made a broadcast to the nation. He was eventually arrested in the company of a prostitute in Eastern Nigeria . Following a court martial , Lieutenant Colonel Dimka and another 38 military officers and civilians were executed by firing squad. The former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (who had been overthrown by General Muhammed in July 1975),
1584-610: The policies being pursued by Gowon. On 7 August 1974, the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon appointed him as the new Federal Commissioner for Communications, which he combined with his military duties as Inspector of Signals at the Army Signals Headquarters in Apapa, Lagos. On 7 August 1974, General Yakubu Gowon appointed Muhammed as the Federal commissioner (position now called Minister) for communications to oversee and facilitate
1632-454: The purge, allegations that malice and revenge was used by heads of department in recommending people for retrenchment surfaced, and little was done to scrutinize the details and reasons staff were disengaged. As head of state Murtala Muhammed inherited an immense amount of oil and petroleum resources and enormous but untapped natural gas reserves. But in 1975, Muhammed saw reduced revenue due to low levels of petroleum production; this meant that
1680-423: The rank but is never used directly towards the rank holder. A lieutenant colonel is typically in charge of a battalion or regiment in the army. The following articles deal with the rank of lieutenant colonel: Murtala Muhammed Head of State of Nigeria Government Battle Career Others Murtala Ramat Muhammed GCFR ( ( listen ) ; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976)
1728-428: The reluctance of Ironsi to prosecute the coup leaders, and the fact that the army was purportedly giving exceptional privileges to the coupist as an indication of Ironsi's support for the killings. Consequently, northern politicians and civil servants mounted pressure upon northern officers such as Muhammed to avenge the coup. The promulgation of Decree No. 34 restructuring Nigeria from a federal constitutional structure to
1776-453: The total number of states in Nigeria to nineteen in 1976. As head of state, Muhammed put in place plans to build a new Federal Capital Territory due to Lagos being overcrowded. He set up a panel headed by Justice Akinola Aguda , which chose the Abuja area as the new capital ahead of other proposed locations. On 3 February 1976, Muhammed announced that the federal capital would in the future move to
1824-465: The young majors orchestrated the first military coup in Nigeria of 1966 coup empowering him to lead the mutiny of the night of 29 July 1966 in Abeokuta . Murtala was briefly considered as Supreme Commander before the appointment of Yakubu Gowon . During the war, he commandeered Nigeria's second infantry division which was responsible for the death of civilians and much of the rebels. Three years later
1872-419: Was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War and thereafter ruled Nigeria from 29 July 1975 until his assassination on 13 February 1976. This period in Nigerian history, from the Northern counter-coup victory to Murtala's death,
1920-568: Was a pistol carried by his orderly, making his assassination an easy task. The assassination was part of an attempted coup led by Dimka, who was later tried and executed on 15 May 1976 for treason . Today, Muhammed's portrait adorns the 20 Naira note and Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos is named in his honour. Murtala Muhammed was married to Ajoke . They had six children together. They are Aisha , Zakari (deceased), Fatima, Abba (also known as Risqua), Zeliha and Jummai. Abba Muhammed
1968-532: Was executed for gross office misconduct. Muhammed took federal control of the country's two largest newspapers – Daily Times and New Nigerian; all media in Nigeria was now under federal control. He also took federal control of the remaining state-run universities. On February 3, 1976, the Military Government of Murtala Muhammed created new states and renamed others, the states he created include: Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Imo, Niger, Ogun, and Ondo. This brought
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2016-619: Was from the Fulani Genawa clan which has a history of knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence , as both his paternal grandfather Suleman and paternal great-grandfather were judges. Mohammed Riskuwa served as Chief Judge in Kano Emirate and held the title of chief Alkali of Kano. His father worked in the Kano Native Authority and was related to Aminu Kano , Inuwa Wada , and Aminu Wali . He died in 1953, his mother, Uwani Rahamatu,
2064-748: Was from the Kanuri and Fulani Jobawa clan, the Jobawa clan members include the Makama of Kano and Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila , his maternal grandfather Yakubu Soja a World War I veteran was from Dawakin Tofa while his maternal grandmother Hajiya Hauwau (Aya) was from Gezawa , he was educated at Cikin Gida Elementary School which was inside the emir's palace. He then transferred to Gidan Makama primary school in Kano which
2112-590: Was implicated in the abortive coup (by Dimka's testimony). The British Government refused to extradite Gowon. Years later Gowon was granted an official pardon by civilian president Shehu Shagari and his rank (General) and other benefits were fully restored in 1987 by General Ibrahim Babangida. General Murtala Muhammed was succeeded by Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo . Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( UK : / l ɛ f ˈ t ɛ n ən t ˈ k ɜːr n əl / lef- TEN -ənt KUR -nəl , US : / l uː ˈ t ɛ n -/ loo- TEN - )
2160-517: Was just outside the palace. He then proceeded to Kano Middle School (now Rumfa College, Kano ) in 1949, before attending the famous Government College (now Barewa College ) in Zaria , where he obtained his school certificate in 1957. At Barewa College, Muhammed was a member of the Cadet Corps and was captain of shooting in his final year. In 1957, he obtained a school leaving certificate and applied to join
2208-675: Was one of many officers of northern Nigerian origin who staged what became known as the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 because of grievances they felt towards the administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi's government which had quelled the 15 January 1966 coup. These officers included Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed (the coup leader whom Dimka conspired against and murdered ten years later), 2nd Lieutenant Sani Abacha , Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari , Lieutenant Ibrahim Bako , Lieutenant Ibrahim Babangida , and Major Theophilus Danjuma among others. Dimka along with Lieutenant Dambo are alleged to have shot and killed Lieutenant Colonel Michael Okoro, Commander of
2256-460: Was posted to Lagos and appointed Inspector of Signals. In April 1968, he was promoted to colonel. The actions of the division during this period, mostly in Asaba became a subject of speculation. In a book published in 2017, S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli document the 1967 mass murder of civilians by troops of the 2 Division under General Muhammed's command. They also discuss the events leading up to
2304-576: Was promoted to major and appointed officer-commanding, 1st Signal Squadron in Apapa , Lagos. In November 1965, he was made acting Chief of Signals of the Army, while his paternal uncle, Inuwa Wada had recently been appointed Defense Minister. Unknown to Muhammed, majors planning the January 1966 coup recruited troops from the signal unit. The coup plotters later went on to assassinate leading politicians and soldiers from
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