Murtala Mohammed on White supremacy and resolving African problems

As part of efforts to recognize the efforts of our past leaders and literary icons in Africa, I have been scouting for commencement address and speeches done by past, or even dead African leaders, writers and historians.

I stumbled upon this speech on Leadership newspaper delivered On the 11th of January, 1976 by the late General Muritala Muhammed.

According to Leadership newspaper the speech was written as a response to United States president, Gerald Ford'sletter sent to many African leaders at that time.

Murtala was furious when he saw the letter ordering and listing what African leaders should do and should not do.

Not only did the federal military government take the bold and unprecedented step of releasing President Ford’s letter to the press, it also issued a strong response to it later that evening calling it a “gross insult” and in sum, telling the Americans to go to hell.

This event triggered Murtala’s decision to attend the AU conference (Known as OAU at that time) to deliver his message to the world.

The speech reads:

“Mr Chairman, Rather than join hands with the forces fighting for self-determination and against racism and apartheid, the United States policy makers clearly decided that it was in the best interests of their country to maintain white supremacy and minority regimes in Africa.

Africa has come of age. It’s no longer under the orbit of any extra continental power.

Muritala turns to the litany of problems facing us today in Africa and urges African Leaders to stop taking orders from white supremacist:

It should no longer take orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or to mar. For too long have we been kicked around; for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interests and act accordingly.

For too long has it been presumed that the African needs outside ‘experts’ to tell him who are his friends and who are his enemies.

Muritala concludes:

The time has come when we should make it clear that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which, more often than not, have no relevance for us, nor for the problem at hand."

Murtala Ramat Mohammed was killed 34 days after making this speech, Olusegun Obasanjo became Supreme Military Head of State after his death.

Read the speech in his entirety on Leadership website

Complement this with my thoughts on White privilege in Nigeriaand Wole Soyinka's

P.S if you really love this series and you know great websites where I can curate incredibly beneficial writings, shoot me an email zainab.quadri@ringier.ng or send me a message on Instagram @Zaynabtyty. Thank you.

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