When asked if he was aware that people think he became rich because of his link with Murtala, Wali said, “Well, I don’t know. Murtala was very careful in what he did. He never looked for money; it was not his business.
The late former head of state, General Murtala Mohammed, died penniless, according to information disclosed by former minister of foreign affairs Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali.
This news was revealed by Wali, 83, in a Sunday interview with Daily Trust.
Having held numerous roles, including Permanent Representative of Nigeria in the UN, Wali was the former Nigerian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from 2014 to 2015.
“I was the closest person to Murtala out of all the relatives we have,” Wali remarked, discussing his strong bond with the late Murtala. Compared to my own siblings, we were closer.
When asked if he was aware that people think he became rich because of his link with Murtala, Wali said, “Well, I don’t know. Murtala was very careful in what he did. He never looked for money; it was not his business.
“When he was head of state, I told him that people were pushing and asking for favours. He asked for what and I said they were talking about oil blocs. People were talking to me about it.
“Yes. He asked if I knew where they came from and I said no. He said I should go and see Gaddafi.
“Yes. He said he would send me to Gaddafi if that was what I wanted and if I was able to succeed in getting any oil, that was my business because nobody would say he was taking Nigeria’s wealth. That’s what transpired between me and Murtala.”
“Unfortunately, no. He died before that,” Wali added.
When asked if it was true that Murtala returned some money to the government and cleaned himself up, Wali said, “A lot of times, just before he became the head of state, he would come to the house and say there was no money to pay for children’s school fees, and it was either we paid or they would kick them out of school.
“And he was not ashamed, neither would he hesitate to tell me or any of our friends what he did not have or what he could not afford to do.
“And sometimes he would sit down and say that as human, he would like to do what his colleagues were doing, but he could not because he didn’t want anybody to tell him to return anything. He treasured his pride. I am telling you that Murtala didn’t have anything,” Wali said.