Leaving the legacies of Murtala Mohammed through MMF

When Murtala Ramat Mohammed was invited to become the Head of State after the takeover of government from Yakubu Gowon in July 29^th 1975, Murtala was saddled with the challenge of providing stability at a time when the nation was groping in the dark on channeling a way forward for Nigeria’s development

Hence in a bid to refocus the country targeted at spurring economic development, Murtala took far reaching national decision and provided strategic visionary leadership to the Nigerian nation. His administration was characterized as a watershed in Nigeria’s history as his astute handling of state affairs was seen by many as a standard in leadership.

Singling out inflation as the greatest danger to the economy at the time, Murtala was determined to reduce the money supply that had been swollen by government expenditures on public works. He also announced that his government would encourage the rapid expansion of the private sector into areas dominated by public corporations.

These and many more critical decisions saw an improvement in the welfare of Nigerians as well as the status of the Africa within the international social order. Worthy of note were his policies which won him popular support and endeared him to the nation. While committed to return the leadership of Nigeria to a democratically elected government, he did not live to see this dream fulfilled as on February 13, 1976, he was murdered in an unsuccessful coup plot.

While public analysts see him as hero in Nigeria given his unmatched leadership precedent and is still considered as one of the finest leaders that has emerged from Africa, living the legacy for what he stood for engineered the formation of Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) to remember his numerous legacies.

These include engendering self-reliance and fulfillment through policy and advocacy issues that impact on ethics, equity, good governance and economic empowerment, encouraging new venture development including in the area of agriculture and providing medium term disaster relief.

In a statement to newsmen, Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MMF said that the policy advocacy of the Foundation focuses on encouraging the Federal Government, States and Legislatures to introduce policies, strategies and programmes that promote wealth creation, economic empowerment, equity, ethics, accountability and exemplary leadership as well as to raise the level of national discourse in the same areas.

Muhammed-Oyebode, who is the daughter of the former head of state, disclosed that the Annual and Biennial Memorial Conferences of Murtala Mohammed is an international platform where both local and foreign stakeholders and beneficiaries of policy and societal change on developmental issues are brought together to strategize and create more effective campaigns.

According to the CEO, “The unique value in the Foundation’s policy advocacy program is in the quality of renowned personalities such as past and present Heads of States and distinguished international statesmen and women as contributors and the increased public participation in deliberations on socio-political issues relevant to Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”

“In its quest to promote sustainable change, the Foundation is also promoting legislation in vital sectors of the polity. In 2007, the Foundation presented to the National Assembly a draft bill on disaster management supported by a comprehensive disaster management framework that focuses on risk reduction rather than post disaster intervention and also promoting legislation and awareness on victim-centred approach to criminal justice and crime prosecution in Nigeria,” Muhammed-Oyebode revealed.

For Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman, Murtala Muhammed Foundation, “it gives me great pleasure to continue to work with the Murtala Muhammed Foundation in remembrance of one of our nation’s greatest patriots. As a mark of our resolve to actualize our mission strategy, we decided to enhance the fabric of social consciousness towards some of the socioeconomic issues that impact on the Nation and Africa. The Foundation, through its policy and advocacy programs, is ensuring collective collaboration in defining sustainable solutions to development. This has therefore formed the basis of the programs and activities of the Foundation.”

Going further, Risqua Muhammed, member, board of trustees, MMF, revealed that in reaching local communities, a great deal of emphasis is placed on support for grassroot organizations as well as providing microfinance support to empower the less privileged and engender self-reliance particularly in women.

Risqua pointed out that the foundation’s educational and development initiatives is a fast expanding program area, which covers competitions, scholarships, fellowships and institutional partnerships both local and international.

In the words of Rsqua “Its focus on the holistic development of the African will be catered for by skill development and ethics and leadership trainings to be provided by the Murtala Muhammed Centre for Ethics, Leadership and Social Responsibility. Furthermore, to improve the quality of education and information technology access, the Foundation continues to provide computers to urban and rural communities and institutions in Nigeria. Our commitment to policy advocacy issues forms the basis for setting up the Murtala Muhammed Centre for Ethics, Leadership and Social Responsibility.”

Taking a cursory look at MMF, the impact of our annual lecture and Biennial conference series which started in 1991 has been tremendous. Transcending different administrations, these series have become a magnetic pull on opinion and thought leaders, captains of industries, members of the diplomatic corps, and chief executives of multinationals who are in the forefront of development engagement.

No doubt, underscoring the burning desire of key players in the Nigerian society to keep abreast and up-to-date on the solution to Nigeria and Africa’s diverse problems has remained a driving force towards positive change.

There is no gain saying that the contributing of MMF towards reducing poverty and elimination of conflict, while promoting self-reliance and self-fulfillment is not only a welcome development but that which governance at all levels should be promoted. Hence, building good governance, stemming the growth rates of terrorism and crime must be a collective effort not to be left in the hands of a few Nigerians. This is because if these issues which pervade out society are addressed, sustainable growth and development will be enhanced and the legacies for which Late Murtala Mohammed stood for will continue to remain ever green.