Talk:Murtala Mohammed
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There's nothing subjective about stating that Murtala Mohammed was a military ruler of Nigeria. Blandly stating that he was simply "Head of State" grants his rule a spurious air of legitimacy by papering over what was a naked power-grab by one self-appointed national savior from another.
It is worth noting that Murtala and all of the other military rulers before and after him were actually guilty of betraying their oaths to uphold the Nigerian constitution, which has never, in any iteration, endorsed the seizure of power by soldiers, for any reason whatsoever. It is also worth noting that Murtala's 1975 coup was by no means the first time he'd been guilty of such disregard for constitional proprieties - he was also the ringleader of the July 1966 coup that brought Gowon to power. Abiola Lapite 16:03, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- Well, I was the one who added that he was a military ruler in the first place. It is conventional to go with terms like "head of state" or "president" over terms like "military ruler" or "dictator" in the intro, however, so that's why I changed it. But I have no sympathy for military coup leaders, so I don't have any strong objections if you want to leave it as military ruler. Everyking 18:55, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- Whether he seized the office, the fact remains that he was, for a time, the Chief Executive of the country. We are not glossing over how he came into the office, but it needs mentioning. His team (him, Obasanjo, Yar'adua) was also the only one to put in place and execute an orderly transfer to a civilian government, by the way.--iFaqeer 02:01, Sep 28, 2004 (UTC)
Rank
What was his rank at the time of the first coup? At other times? The man was a Brigadier at 36.--iFaqeer 01:59, Sep 28, 2004 (UTC)