…Says Ex-general Would’ve Survived If He Had His Gun With Him

Umar Mohammed Shuwa is one of the children of late Civil War hero and former Federal Commissioner, Major-General Mohammed Shuwa. In this interview with OLAOLU OLADIPO, he took us through the life and times of his late father as he saw it, especially the circumstances that led to his murder. Excerpt:

Your father, the late Major-General Mohammed Shuwa, was a military officer of note by virtue of being a Civil War veteran. Can you tell us more about him?

As you stated in your question, General Shuwa was a Civil War hero as acknowledged by everyone who is conversant with Nigerian history. He was born in Masharte Ward of Kala Balge Local Government in September 1939. His father’s name is Abdulrahaman and he is a member of a family of five children.

My father was the only child of his mother. Unfortunately, he lost his parents very early in life but he attended Bama Central Elementary School from 1945 to 1947. He used to tell us way back then when we were young that he used to trek from Bama to and from school back home in Kala-Balge. He stated that he had to do that because there was no accessible road linking the two communities.

He told us that his parents were farmers. You will be surprised to see the state of things in the village that he came from. He also attended Borno Middle School from 1950 to 1952 and then he joined the military in 1958. I think he joined the army at the age of 19. While in the military, he attended various courses at home and abroad. He was in Ghana, England where he studied at the Royal College of Defence Courses. Before then, he trained at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England.

What kind of man was he to his family?

General Shuwa was married to a total of eight women. He died with four of them under his roof. That means that he had to divorce four of them. In to- tal, my father had 18 children, 10 of us are boys while the remaining eight are girls. General Shuwa was very honest and straightforward and kind to a fault. He was nicknamed ‘Maman Shitta.’

The name Shitta Islamically means pepper. With that, many people thought he was very tough and harsh as a personality. Even his appearance and mien will make you think that h e was very harsh. On the contrary, my father was one of the kindest human being you can ever think of. I’m saying this because I am his son but I believe this is also the thinking of the people that lived with him too.

I am proud of whatever he did or achieved in life. I mean the way he interacted with people that he met on his journey in life. He loved his family and his people so dearly. He could do things for others to the detriment of himself. I can proudly say that.

People of his era are known to be disciplinarians, would you describe your father as such?

Yes! He was but I stayed with him at an old age. Those who lived with him when he was much younger but we used to hear from our elders how he insisted that people younger must obey and respect those who are older than us. He frowned at younger ones being rude to their elders. To his family, he used to move around to all his four wives to greet them in the morning. We lived in a big house in Maiduguri.

He would visit them and ask for their well being. He used to show so much care to his wives and children. He won’t do that if he isn’t disciplined enough. Some of our people are arrogant but not General Shuwa. He was simple in his approach to life. For instance, he was given to wearing flashing clothes that would attract unnecessary attention to him. If you don’t know him, you won’t know what kind of person that he was.

Was your father given to caning his children when they did anything wrong?

Since I was born till he died, he never raised his hands against me or any of my younger siblings. If any of us did anything wrong, he might be harsh with you to show his displeasure. He would draw you close and give you necessary advice but when he felt he had to be harsh, he would be.

What were the things your late father didn’t like that would draw his anger against any of you?

Actually, you have to be trustworthy to be able to be with him. He wanted anyone close to him to be straightforward and honest. He would make sure that you did what was right and justifiable before he would offer any form of assistance to you but once he noticed that you weren’t straightforward, he won’t take it easy with you.

What was his typical day like when he was alive?

He came back home after he retired from the military. He never had too much sleep in the night but he slept mostly in the mornings.

What did he do with his evenings?

He was used to watching cable television. He wasn’t given to sleeping in the night. He used to wake up around 11 am. Sometimes around 10 am it depends but sometimes, people might have to wake him up especially during the period when Borno State was engulfed with insurgency.

That was when people from all parts of the state brought complaints regarding one or two issues to him to resolve. When that happens, he would be woken up to attend to those that came to see him.

What about his breakfast, when did he take it and what was his favourite meal?

He took his breakfast immediately after he woke up from sleep. By that time, any of his wives who were billed to cook for the day would bring his meal that had been prepared for him. He usually took the meal with all his wives at the same time. The way things were was that each wife would be made to cook the meal every two days of the week. His favourite meal was Tuwo (rice pudding) and Akara (bean cake).

What kind of people came to see him at home?

People came to see him every day at home. Different people, some might come for some for issues that they have. Some would be with their families for one thing or the other while some other people would come around just to greet him.

Apart from people that came to him for one complaint or the other, what other category of people came to see him at home?

Most of the people are local people here in Borno who just wanted to interact with him. Sometimes, he entertained guests from other parts of the country and even from abroad. Most of his visitors are from his village and people from

We all know that he was a civil war hero, what do you know of his relationship with his other colleagues who were at that time commanders of the various units such as Olusegun Obasanjo?

If my memory serves me right, I think he was the first General Officer to command the First Division of the Nigerian Army. During the war, I think he was replaced by General Obasanjo at that time.

Your father was replaced by late General Iliya Bissala…

I don’t really know but I will have to cross check. One thing I know is that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and my father were very good friends. I know that they might have differed in one way or the other with each other but what I know is that they were very good friends who related very well with one another.

Did he tell you his relationship with other Generals who also fought alongside him during the Civil War?

Yes! He used to tell us one thing or the other about his colleagues such as General Murtala Mohammed, the likes of General Yakubu Gowon. He even told us that he was ahead of some of them in the army but we didn’t take cognizance of many of these things then.

Did you ever engage him in his activities during the Civil War and if you did, what were the things that he told you?

He told me a lot of things but I have to do some form of recollections to be able to say something more comprehensive and elaborate.

His life after retirement was relatively quiet, what was his relationship with successive governments in Borno State?

The state government appointed him the chairman of the Borno Elders Forum. He gave advises and suggestions to government whenever they wanted to secure such from him. This position made him to interface effectively with the state government on behalf of the people of the state. He was never a politician or played politics by joining any political party when he was alive.

Where were you when your father died and what was the immediate reaction?

We were playing football in front of the house when he was murdered by those who came to kill him. We saw them going into the house to kill him. Though I did see the face of his killers, I remember the face of the driver that brought them to our house. They came to the house in Keke NAPEP (rickshaw). That day, we were playing football.

Me and some friends around our house were playing ball. It was funny that they didn’t even arrange their guns very well. It was when they came that they started arranging their guns right in front of us. One of us saw one of them with the gun and shouted to alert everyone around. He told us to be careful because those who came were armed. What we did was to run helter-skelter in all directions so that we wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

How did you know that those that came eventually killed your father?

We were at the right side of the house, but they packed their Keke on another side of the frontage of the house. We saw them entering the house and my father was in front of the house not knowing that people were coming to kill him.

He was with some people who came to see him. He was used to people coming to see him but never thought that he would be killed in the midst of his people. Unfortunately, he didn’t have his service gun with him at that time. When they (the killers) saw that he was vulnerable, they opened fire and killed him. They shot him 19 times.