Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, spoke with Group Captain Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo (retd), military governor of Kwara State and a key player during Buhari/Idiagbon military administration between 1984 and 85. He was removed as governor and arrested alongside General Mamman Vatsa and others for alleged coup plot to overthrow the government of General Ibrahim Babangida. He spent some years in the prison and after investigations; he was exonerated from the allegation, but was sent on compulsory retirement.
“Most importantly, the new government must tackle the issue of security, especially the Boko Haram menace in the North-East. A tactical approach is required to rid the country of these elements and as a retired military officer, the President-elect, knows what to do. Look, these people started like a group of vagabonds coming together but in the process of their coming together and carrying out some activities, they discovered that there is power in holding the gun. They saw authority and influence in being armed. Unfortunately for the system, nobody was doing anything about it all that while. That was how it got out of hand.
The man sit out there surrounded by youths with heavy ammunition. He makes pronouncements and nobody does anything about it. And he started feeling great and important. And who are you to say he wasn’t? Nobody gave it a thought until he took over a number of local government areas in Bornu State and kidnapped hundreds of girls. People thought it was a joke until it became a real issue. That is the situation. The military is trained in conventional warfare. In other words, I mean a situation where you have a war ongoing with another country.
That is a situation where you can calculate the strength and weaknesses of your enemy in order to plan how to attack or move. But it is not so in this type of war. This is not even guerrilla warfare. This is a suicide bombing situation. So, it is very difficult for the military to adjust to. The new government should take all required steps and I hope in the next few months, things will improve. Aside Boko Haram, all aspect of security must be looked into and addressed immediately because without security, no other thing can work.”
“Secondly, Buhari must go back in time to 1985 and remember those who were unjustly treated when he was toppled as Head of State in 1985. The wounds inflicted on these people by those who never wanted the Buhari-Idiagbon administration are yet to heal. Many of them are suffering immensely from the effects of the ill-treatment they got back then. Many are yet to readjust to life 30 years after the unfortunate incident. We were accused of planning to topple Babangida and re-instate Buhari.
But of a truth, there was no coup. There was nothing like that. I was not involved in any coup plot. It was between two and three months that General Babangida took over government and then, there was this rumour that another group of officers was planning to overthrow that government and re-install the ousted government of Buhari and Idiagbon. So, there was total confusion in the land and many people were of the view that if the story was true, those arrested would have been dealt with seriously and be made to face death penalty. The officers arrested had not been investigated neither were they tried and found guilty. But the rumour was widespread.
Many officers in the military were killed and others summarily dismissed because they were perceived loyal to Buhari. In my case, I was arrested led by the team to the officers’ mess in Victoria Island, Lagos and kept in complete isolation in one of the rooms. I remained there until 6pm that day. Another set of officers and men came into the room at 6.15pm and drove me in a car to somewhere at Ikoyi. It was later I learnt that I was in the detention camp of the military intelligence.
There are other issues that require immediate attention. There is the issue of corruption. This is a big problem and I am sure that Buhari, given his zero tolerance level for corruption, will do all within his power to rid the country of corruption at all levels. Another pressing matter is people not getting their salaries. The issue must be immediately looked into to avoid labour related distractions for the new government.
Finally, we must look into the problem of disunity because if we are united, half of the problems would be solved. The people need to be given the assurance that they have a stake in this country.