A WITNESS Tribute to Dr. Ajoke Mohammed
Some women marry a man. Mama Ajoke married a destiny — and then carried it alone for 50 years.
When Murtala Mohammed was named Head of State, Nigeria celebrated. She cried. For three days, she mourned instead of celebrating.
_”Why did you accept to be Head of State?”_ she asked angrily.
_”My dear, I had no choice,”_ he replied.
_”I am afraid they will kill you,”_ she added.
_”Even if I did not accept, they could still kill me,”_ he said.
She knew. Like the wife of Julius Caesar, she had a dream. A month before 13 February 1976, she had another dream — a very bad dream. Unlike Caesar’s wife, she did not tell him. She dried her tears, because the family told her not to say it loud.
She was 34. He was 37. They had been together only 13 years. Six children. And then — silence.
But Mama Ajoke did not break. She did not remarry. She did not become bitter. She became a builder.
She became a renowned environmental conservationist and horticulturist. She planted the Murtala Muhammed Memorial Botanical Garden in Lagos — life, where death had tried to win. She built the Murtala Muhammed Foundation — service, where sorrow had tried to settle.
This is WITNESS. This is the 5Cs in one woman’s life:
CONSCIENCE: She told the truth even when the family said, “Don’t say it loud.”
COMPETENCE: She turned grief into gardens, into institutions, into legacy.
CHARACTER: Widowed at 34, she stayed faithful to her vow, to her children, to her nation.
COURAGE: She raised six children alone and never allowed tragedy to define them.
COMPASSION: She mothered not just her own — she mothered a nation. Mother of Dr. Aisha Oyebode, mother of Risqua Mohammed, mother to us all.
At 85, Mama Ajoke still stands. Not as a widow of history, but as the Conscience of the Nation. She reminds us that leadership is not about how long you rule, but how deeply you serve. Murtala served for seven months. She has served for a lifetime.
Mama, we honour you. We thank you. We see you.
May God continue to strengthen you, and may your garden never wither.
Richard Olanrewaju ODUSANYA
_Convener and Author — WITNESS 2026/2036_
_NATIONAL REBIRTH_
_CONSCIENCE • COMPETENCE • CHARACTER • COURAGE • COMPASSION_
