Former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), has said that he was lucky to be alive today despite the fact that he was number two on the hit list of the 1976 coupists led by Colonel Bukar Sukar Dimka.
Danjuma spoke at the Murtala Mohammed 40th Memorial Lecture at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Saturday.
Danjuma, while recalling the events surrounding the coup, said he was initially the third man on the hit list but was ‘promoted’ to number two when the list was taken for ratification.
“On his list that he (Dimka) brought to General Iliya Bisalla, who was then Minster for Defence to seek his approval, I was number three on the death list. Bissala (promoted) me to number two. That I am still alive today is by the grace of God,” Danjuma stated.
Gen Bisalla was later found culpable in that coup attempt and was executed.
Also speaking at the same event, President Buhari said the assassination of General Mohammed 40 years ago was a grievous blow to Nigeria as it stopped the country’s newly found momentum.
In her remarks, daughter of the former Head of State and Chief Executive Officer of Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Aisha Mohammed-Oyebode, recalled her father’s core principles which she said included that Africans should not feel inferior but should conduct themselves with self respect.
“The second core principle of my father was his fierce opposition to corruption which he saw as one of the plagues that hold African nations back from fulfilling their potentials. For him, corruption is more than a moral deficiency. It corrodes our institutions, diminishes us as a people and sabotages our collective aspirations,” she said.
The representative of the United Nations Secretary General in West Africa, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas and former Chief of Defence Staff to the United Kingdom Prime Minister and Cabinet, Lord David Richards, were guest lecturers at Saturday’s occasion.