Umaru Mohammed, jami’in soja ne kuma shugaba a tarihin Najeriya, wanda aikinsa ya yi daidai da ɗaya daga cikin muhimman lokutan sauyi bayan samun ‘yancin kai. An haife shi a garin Hadejia, yankin da a yanzu ake kira Jihar Jigawa.
Ya shiga aikin rundunar sojan Najeriya, inda ya fara a hankali a hankali ta hanyar ladabi, jajircewa da kwarewa, har ya kai matsayin Brigadier General, wanda ke nuna cewa yana daga cikin manyan jagororin soja a zamaninsa.
A watan Yuli na shekarar 1975, bayan sauyin mulki da ya kawo Janar Murtala Mohammed kan mulki, aka naɗa Umaru Mohammed a matsayin Gwamnan Jihar Arewa Maso Yamma (North Western State). Wannan naɗin ya zo ne a wani lokaci mai matuƙar muhimmanci, lokacin da Najeriya ke cikin gaggawar gyaran siyasa da tsarin mulki bayan dogon mulkin soja mai tsauri. A matsayinsa na gwamna, yana kula da faɗaɗɗen yanki mai girma, tare da tafiyar da harkokin mulki da tsaro a ƙarƙashin tsarin soja.
Babban sauyi ya faru a Fabrairu 1976, lokacin da gwamnatin tarayya ta ƙirƙiri sabbin jihohi domin kusantar da mulki ga al’umma. A wannan lokaci, Jihar Arewa Maso Yamma ta kasu zuwa Jihar Neja da Jihar Sakkwato. Umaru Mohammed aka bar shi a matsayin Gwamnan farko na Jihar Sakkwato, inda ya yi aiki har zuwa Yuli 1978. A wannan lokaci, rawar da ya taka ta kasance mai matuƙar muhimmanci, domin ya taimaka wajen kafa tubalin tsarin mulkin jihar, shirya ma’aikatun gwamnati, da tabbatar da zaman lafiya a lokacin da ƙasa ke cikin yanayin rashin tabbas.
Zamanin gwamnatinsa ya zo da manyan abubuwan tarihi a Najeriya. Kisan Janar Murtala Mohammed a Fabrairu 1976 ya girgiza ƙasar baki ɗaya, tare da kawo Janar Olusegun Obasanjo kan mulki, wanda ya ci gaba da shirin mayar da ƙasar zuwa mulkin farar hula. Kamar sauran gwamnonin soja na wancan lokaci, Umaru Mohammed ya yi aiki ne a tsarin da ya fifita ladabi, haɗin kan ƙasa, da shirya ƙasar zuwa dimokiraɗiyya. Gudunmawarsa a Jihar Sakkwato ta kasance ɓangare na wannan babban yunƙuri na sake gina tsarin tarayya da tabbatar da kwanciyar hankali a Najeriya.
Bayan barin ofis, Umaru Mohammed ya ci gaba da taka rawa a harkokin soja da diflomasiyya. Sai dai rayuwarsa ta zo ƙarshe cikin wani mummunan haɗari a 26 ga Mayu, 1980, lokacin da jirgin Nigerian Air Force Fokker F27 ya yi hatsari yayin wata tafiyar diflomasiyya zuwa São Tomé da Príncipe. Ya tafi wannan tafiya ne a madadin abokinsa na aiki, Ibrahim Babangida, wanda a wancan lokaci aka amince masa ya tafi Amurka domin ƙarin horo. Hatsarin ya yi sanadin rasuwar dukkan mutanen da ke cikin jirgin, lamarin da ya jefa rundunar soji da al’umma cikin alhini.
Ana tuna Umaru Mohammed a matsayin ɗaya daga cikin ƙarni na shugabannin soja da suka ɗauki nauyin jagorantar Najeriya a wani lokaci mai matuƙar muhimmanci. Tarihin aikinsa yana nuna ƙalubalen shugabanci a zamanin sauyi, gyara, da sake gina ƙasa. Gudunmawarsa ta kasance ginshiƙi a farkon tarihin Jihar Sakkwato, da kuma tafiyar Najeriya gaba ɗaya zuwa tsarin mulki mai ɗorewa.
