Who Killed Gen Shuwa?

While Major General Muhammad Shuwa (rtd), the civil war hero, was preparing for Jummat prayer on Friday, in Maiduguri, four youngsters posing as his “visitors” gunned him down along with a guest. Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Sagir Musa alleged that it was the handiwork of Boko Haram insurgents. But Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, a spokesman for the terrorist group, said, “We have no hands in the killing of Gen. Shuwa. We didn’t have problem with the man; we could not have killed the late general for no reason.”

Coming a day after Abdulaziz had said the group was ready to start talks with the federal government, and named General Muhammadu Buhari to head its negotiation team, we are concerned that placing the blame for all killings in the north-eastern part of the country could be a strategic error by our security operatives. The question is: who killed General Shuwa? Is it possible that some oblique forces are capitalising on the situation in the north to settle political, economic and even private scores?

Shuwa, a respected soldier and a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, has been one of the moderate voices in the beleaguered state. In an interview with the French news agency at his home in May, Shuwa had said that he could be targeted by Boko Haram elements that had carried out scores of attacks in the city, which is considered their home base. In late June, Shuwa also attended a meeting summoned by the national security adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, to try to find a peaceful resolution to the Boko Haram nightmare.

The 79-year-old veteran was, by all accounts, a first-class officer, a first-rate gentleman and a very humane and compassionate man. Although a most senior and respected general, Shuwa had loyally elected to serve under Murtala Muhammed and Obasanjo as a member of the Federal Executive Council between 1975 and 1979. A Shuwa Arab from Borno State, General Shuwa is one of Nigeria’s most decorated military officers. In northern Nigeria, his name is mentioned with awe, and several myths have grown about him. During the regime of Tafawa Balewa, he was the military secretary of the Nigerian Army. After the January 15, 1966, coup, he succeeded Lt Col Odumegwu Ojukwu as commander of the 5th battalion in Kano. In cooperation with Emir Ado Bayero, General Shuwa was credited with protecting Igbo soldiers under his command in Kano during the July 29, 1966, coup. At the beginning of the civil war in July 1967, General Shuwa became the first commander of the first division of the Nigerian Army. Unlike other officers, General Shuwa believed that leader of the first coup Major Nzeogwu was a “patriotic but misguided officer”. Shuwa retired from the army after Shehu Shagari became president in 1979.

Nigeria has lost a great statesman who will be sorely missed. The security forces have a task to unearth the people and circumstances responsible for his death.