[Naked Eye]

Dear Max,

Many, many, many thanks for this well detailed and revealing piece on contemporary Nigerian history. Being of the immediate post-civil war generation, and with a keen but uncommon interest in historical subjects, I’ve consistently sought for dispassionate documentaries on those turbulent years before my birth. This piece stands out as one of the most critical and candid narrative of the period that I’ve been fortunate to come across. It is certainly one of the best write-ups to appear on the NVS and I was glued to my monitor until the last sentence. While Murtala was clearly the main character in the article, the range and profile of the entire dramatis personae was quite instructive. Indeed, I have to say it was a little disconcerting that some of these (even notorious) veterans are still active contenders in today’s political arena. Our dominant political class seem to be stuck in time and holding down the country with them. Is it any wonder why we are where we are today?

As far as Murtala’s legacy is concerned, it is obvious that most ordinary Nigerians had their first impression of him in the heady honeymoon period of his regime. He was charismatic, bold, daring, fearless and even unpretentiously simple – attributes that Nigerians never associated with their leaders before (and I dare say ever since). The arrogant, impetuous and vengeful colours of his dark side as well as his ruinous antecedents were unbeknown to many. With the tragic and shocking emblem of his death and his subsequent immortalisation, most Nigerians were naturally left with only warm memories about their one true iconic “hero”. Indeed, growing up years later, we were left with the sense that Murtala was the 'best leader Nigeria ever had'. While this may be true in some sense, evident historical details (including this article) now shows Murtala as a Nigerian, not unlike many in his day - albeit different in his ways. Whether, he would have remained the people’s “hero” after the honeymoon phase of his regime is now a matter of conjecture - after all the dead make the best heroes. Be that as it may, articles like this are timely and serve all too well to clear the rose-tinted perspectives on Nigeria’s historical discourse on the man, Murtala Mohammed.

I’ll be on the lookout for this book. It is one for the keeps and the upcoming generation.