Dimka’s undelivered broadcast

2026-02-13 - 08:19

“Fellow Nigerians, This is Lt. Colonel B.S. Dimka. I am here to explain why we, the Young Revolutionaries of the Armed Forces, have found it necessary to overthrow the six-month-old government of General Murtala Mohammed. On 29th July 1975, the government of General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown. The reasons given at the time for that change of government included: a. Corruption b. Indecision c. Arrest and detention without trial d. Weakness on the part of the Head of State e. General maladministration and a host of other malpractices Every honest Nigerian will agree with me that, since the change in government, there has not been any tangible or visible development across the country. Instead, we have witnessed arbitrary dismissals of innocent Nigerians—individuals who have made no small contribution to the building of this great nation. A professor was arrested, detained, dismissed, and later charged to court over an article whose contents, every honest Nigerian would agree, were entirely true. The most regrettable aspect of this is that many of those who initiated these retirements and dismissals are, in fact, the worst offenders themselves. I shall provide more information about their ill-gotten wealth in my next announcement. The Acting General Manager of Nigerian Airways was summoned to Dodan Barracks and detained without trial. Citizens of this country are now living under constant fear. The recent Armed Forces promotion exercise is still fresh in your minds. Whatever reasons were given for those promotions, one can only conclude that they were self-serving and based on ambition. It is clear that those in power took over solely to enrich themselves. We are convinced that some of the programmes recently announced to return the country to civilian rule are deliberately structured to favour a particular group. To cite just one example: Maitama Sule, a well-known politician, has been appointed Chief Commissioner for Public Complaints. This appointment is clearly aimed at grooming him to become the next political head—at all costs. How many of you know that Maitama Sule is currently earning a salary of N17,000 per annum? In light of all I have just mentioned, and much more that time will not permit me to discuss, we, the Young Revolutionaries, have once again taken over the reins of government. Our objective is to save Murtala from total disgrace and to prevent him from committing further blunders, which could ultimately lead to the total collapse of this country. We also aim to stop him from fleeing under the guise of retirement to enjoy the vast fortune he has allegedly amassed through bribery wealth which is now stored outside this country. I believe that charity should begin at home. Please stay tuned to your radio for further announcements. We are all together.”