On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the nation of Angola honored the assassinated Nigerian nationalist, General Muhammed Murtala, in recognition for his part in their country’s fight for freedom from Portuguese domination. In November 1975, in defiance of the Malthusian forces assembled in the World Bank, the Club of Rome, the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. State Department (which had already authored the1974 secret document, classified until 1991, National Security Study Memorandum 200, also known as “the Kissinger Report”) the former Portuguese colony of Angola declared independence after 400 years (1575.) Murtala had officially recognized the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), throwing the significant weight of Africa’s most populous country behind the anti-imperial cause. The country was officially liberated later that year, leading to Wednesday’s Jubilee Independence Celebration at its embassy in Abuja.
The People’s Republic of Angola was declared on November 11, 1975. Externally-financed “civil war” began almost immediately in response to Henry Kissinger’s December 1975 attempt to rally African nations against the MPLA takeover of Angola. Murtala said: “Africa is no longer under the orbit of any extra-continental power. It should no longer take orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are ours to make or mar. For too long have we been kicked around; for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interests and act accordingly.” The civil war continued for over 26 years, from 1975 until 2002. On February 13, 1976, the 37-year-old Murtala was assassinated. He had ruled in Nigeria for six months.
