The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mko Abiola

  • Funding our military

    Funding our military

    At the height of the pro-democracy protests over the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, the rumour mill was very active churning out one story after another, feasting on the mood of the populace.

    In the camp of those opposed to the cancellation of the poll, it was generally believed that the United States and other western allies were going to send troops and equipment to help topple the Abacha government and restore the winner of that election, Bashorun MKO Abiola. It never happened.

    Such was the belief among pro-democracy activists and their supporters that the Americans were going to put boots on the ground and chase away Abacha. They were utterly gutted and felt let down by the US when at the end of the day, Washington sent neither soldiers nor equipment and Abiola died in detention without actualising his mandate.

    You can imagine the skepticism when the rumour mill came alive again in the aftermath of the abduction of over 200 Nigerian school girls in Chibok, Borno State, over a month ago by Boko Haram insurgents that America was going to help Nigeria militarily to find the girls. Once beaten twice shy? But this time around the Yankees are living up to expectation.

    And you need to see how relieved many were last week when after several weeks of expectation, President Barack Obama finally approved the deployment of 80 US servicemen and equipment to join many international well wishers collaborating with the Nigerian military to find and bring back our girls.

    The relief was however dampened in some quarters when it emerged that the US Air Force personnel and equipment would be based in Chad, Nigeria’s northern neighbour and not on Nigerian soil. The arrival of the American surveillance aircraft and personnel came in the wake of a similar deployment by the United Kingdom of its state-of the-art surveillance aeroplane-The Sentinel- to Accra, Ghana to also help Nigeria in the search for the Chibok girls. Many view the stationing of these two aircraft and the accompanying personnel outside the shores of Nigeria as a sign of lack of confidence in the Nigerian military by America and Britain.

    In the fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, the US military not only operated from neigbhouring Pakistan, but has substantial men and equipment on ground in Afghanistan to fight the terrorists. What are the Americans afraid of in Nigeria?  In order to be seen as patriotic, one could argue that only the Americans can say why they chose Chad over Nigeria in that troop deployment and that our military is up there among the very best in the league of medium powers. ‘We have the capacity to host and collaborate with the US military or any other superpower military in this rescue mission’, one could blindly argue, but regrettably this doesn’t seem to be the case.

    And in a tacit endorsement of the position of the skeptics on the operational readiness and competence of the Nigerian armed forces to fight the war on terror, the Nigerian Army last week cried out over the poor funding of our military, especially the army. The slightly over N4 billion annual budgetary allocations to the army, the service say is grossly inadequate to equip the troops, not to talk of training and other needs of the modern soldier. The army high command is calling on government to look at other sources of funding and equipping our military to meet with the changing times and security challenges.

    Before the Americans open snub of our military in their troop deployment, not a few have expressed serious doubt in the ability and capability of our armed forces to effectively fight, contain and defeat the Boko Haram insurgency. And their position is strengthened so to speak by the ease at which Boko Haram strikes and spreads terror in the land with little or no response from the Nigerian military and other security forces.

    If Boko Haram could strike at a military base in the north east, a supposedly secure location, and several months after the perpetrators have not been brought to book, why should the Americans or any other serious military for that matter trust our military base to secure their men and equipment? Why would any other military want to use our military base when our ‘boys’ in the theatre of the insurgency and heart of a military base, could rebel and fire at their commander in frustration and protest?

    I am not an expert in military or security matters and I don’t have to be one to know that common sense dictates that a man who is not safe or secure in his house cannot guarantee the safety of his visitor. The Nigerian military as it stands today cannot offer that guarantee to any other armed forces on our soil. It is as simple as that: let the truth be told.

    Why are we in this mess or how did we get into this mess that we cannot even provide safety for someone who wants to help us? Simple! Years of neglect and corruption. Self-centredness and wickedness on the part of our successive leaders, have almost reduced the Nigerian Armed Forces, once the pride of Africa, to a band of Boys Brigade. And the military has a hand in the systematic destruction of this once national institution and pride. The soldiers have spent more years at the helm in this country than the civilians and each left the military worse than it met it. Why? Greed!

    It is easier to blame President Goodluck Jonathan and the present leadership of the Nigerian armed forces for the sorry state of our military today and the failure of our soldiers to effectively defend the nation’s territorial integrity, but the rot did not start with them. It goes way back.

    The only blame Jonathan would have as commander-in-chief is if he leaves the military as it is by the time he is leaves office and thus expose our nation to more danger. He should heed the call of the army for improved funding of the military and galvanise the private sector to engage in the local production of what I would call ‘below the belt’ military equipment (uniform, beret, helmet, boots, small arms et al, for now) to conserve foreign exchange for the importation of real military hardware that can stand us in good stead in the 21st century warfare. After all the primary duty of a commander-in-chief is the protection of the territorial integrity of his nation.

    This is a call to arm, President Jonathan; before you go let’s have a robust and effective fighting machine called the Nigerian Armed Forces; the ones that can defend us and we’ll be proud of. As your administration winds down, I am afraid the time is short, but you can do a lot by setting the ball rolling. You can do it if you want to and if you fail to do it, Nigerians will never forgive you.

     

  • From YEAA to GIFT

    From YEAA to GIFT — it is the distinctly Nigerian penchant to reward failure with huge benefits.

    Remember the apocryphal tale of the inimitable Esama of Benin, who reportedly admonished the people of Edo State to reward his son, Lucky, with four more years, with his curious logic that when a student flunks his exams, he is entitled to a re-sit?

    Before the Edo apocrypha was the notorious reality of YEAA — Youths Earnestly Yearn for Abacha.

    The best forgotten Goggled One, Sani Abacha, was at his murdering and stealing best. He had run all opposition either out of town or into exile. He had tossed into gaol and tossed away the key, MKO Abiola, the elected president whose mandate he brutally usurped.

    He had suborned the Nigerian economy for his sole pleasure, ironically (as later facts would emerge), using the MKO scarecrow to steal his country blind, via bogus security votes. The cash he so cynically salted away in foreign banks would later be known as the Abacha loot.

    At the height of that infamy, a certain Daniel Kanu and his band of racketeers emerged. Eagle Square, Abuja, was their satanic stage. Their no less satanic mission was to rally and rally and rally, until the Goggled One took a break from his humongous evil and answer to their plea that he would succeed himself.

    In their self-given tasks and rogue-funded gambit, they drew into the gravy the cream of Nigerian artistes, who sang away, wriggled their hips and tore their vocal chords, summoning the Goggled One to transmute. He probably would have — until what the media promptly termed “divine intervention”.

    Sixteen years after the iron dictator exited on the laps of debauchery and three elected civilian administrations after, YEAA has promptly morphed into GIFT — Goodluck Initiative For Transformation. But the abiding philosophy remains: power without responsibility.

    GIFT, in a newspaper advert, threatened to rally and rally and rally and rally (ala YEAA) until President Goodluck Jonathan hearkens its patriotic plea to run for second term.

    Now, if Abacha could cook up rogue elements to champion his transmutation simply because even a military dictator realised it was sheer legal brigandage, how do you explain such of an elected president who, under the law, has a right to second term? That he is convinced, by the sheer disaster of his tenure, that he has forfeited his right to a second term?

    Yeah right, President Jonathan, hero of GIFT, has during his first term, brought much transformation to his country — transformation into anomie, bordering on full-scale anarchy; politicised the National Security Council meeting, turning a strictly constitutional injunction, a right of governors of every partisan hue into a monopoly of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and satellite governors; wined and made merry at political hustings, even as innocent citizens were mass bombed in his capital and school girls were captured by terrorists; beggared the states to the tune of 40 per cent, even if oil prices have not dipped and oil sales have not come down!

    So, why would GIFT not rally and gift Jonathan a second term?

     

  • ‘Why I refused to sign Abiola’s detention paper’

    ‘Why I refused to sign Abiola’s detention paper’

    Lt-Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd),has held senior military postings and commands among which is as a former Chief of General Staff and former military governor of Ogun State. Gen Diya, who recently turned 70, in this interview reflects on his life, career, the late Gen. Abacha and the late MKO Abiola. He spoke with Editor Festus Eriye, Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile and Gboyega Alaka.

    IT’S not every day that one clocks 70; what would you consider the high points and maybe the low points of your last 70 years?

    I don’t know where I should start from. What I consider the highest point, would be the day I was commissioned. I believe in the word labour, high display of discipline; in fact from everybody around me. Being an officer cadet, they wanted the best out of you, so every little thing you did (wrong) was always accompanied by punishment. So the day I was commissioned was exciting: lights went off at midnight and a minute after midnight, the lights came on again and you’re decorated with a pip on the shoulder and you immediately become an officer from that point. And everybody salutes you. Even the sergeant, who had earlier marched you in, immediately salutes you.

    I’d like to know, why did you choose soldering at that initial point? You could have chosen medicine, engineering or maybe Law (well, you eventually became a lawyer).

    That’s a bit difficult for even me to explain. I simply made up my mind. And luckily, my West African School Certificate result qualified me because the advertisement was asking for those who had successfully completed their West African School Certificate examination and the Military Academy encouraged that if you had a good West African School Certificate, either in Grade 1 or Grade 2, with credits in English and Mathematics; you would be given direct entry to the Nigerian Defence Academy. All you need do was to attach copies of your certificate or result and they would invite you straight for interview, instead of taking the examination. That’s quite unlike now, when things have changed. Even if you have a PhD today, and want to go to NDA and still fall within the age of 17 and 22; you will still have to go through the NDA Entrance Examination. But at that time, you can go in by direct entry. I went through direct entry. Like you said, my father wanted me to be a lawyer or maybe a doctor, because that was the trend at that time. But I’m happy that I still managed to read Law eventually and finished at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and later went to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Bar to the satisfaction of my family.

    Looking back now sir, you rose to the peak of your career in the military; but from the benefit of hindsight, what are those things you think you should have done but which you didn’t do?

    Well, I think I did all the good things that should happen to a man. I came out successful as a second lieutenant; I was posted to the 6th Battalion, Ikeja, and I became a platoon commander – which was the normal posting. In fact, we were commissioned into crisis; that is the NDA Regular 1. We were 60 that started the course in January 1963, and everything was going fine. I did my Lieutenant to Captain promotion exams, I passed. The same thing Captain to Major exams, and Major to Lieutenant Colonel. So I was not lacking in anything. To be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel then, we had to go to Command and Staff College, Jaji. I went with my course mates and passed. So I became a full Colonel. I was posted to command the Nigerian contingent in Lebanon. It was a successful appointment. I was there for two years before coming back. Later I was promoted full Brigadier; then Major General; and later five of us were promoted Lieutenants- General. Along the line, I was appointed military governor of Ogun State. I was there for about two years. Then I was appointed General Officer Commanding a division; one of the highest appointments one dreams of (as a soldier). I was GOC 82 Division in Enugu and later GOC, 3 Armoured Division Jos; from there I moved down to Lagos, where I was appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence. Thereafter, I was appointed Commandant, National War College and later Chief of Defence Staff. To me that was the highest appointment, professionally. Two years after, I was appointed Chief of General Staff, the equivalent of a vice president in the military. That was political.

    Your statement that you were commissioned into crisis presupposes that you had experiences during the war. What would you say was the most remarkable experience you came away with?

    Well, it is true, anybody who like us was privileged to be in Regular 1 were commissioned around March-April 1966 and that was almost the peak of Nigeria’s crisis. And I was posted to 6th Battalion. The only good luck I believed I had was that the commanding officer of that battalion was then Major Benjamin Adekunle. That was a fantastic officer and I had the privilege to start under him. Initially our CO, Major Adekunle had told us that our battalion had been earmarked for the defence of Lagos; so we thought that was not too challenging. But two weeks after, he just came, blew the trumpet (meaning there was an emergency) and told us that we were no more in the defence of Lagos and that we were now to capture Bonny. This was a sea-borne operation! And to be suddenly told as a young man, who had just come out of the Defence Academy that you were going to go on a sea-borne operation was more or less a bombshell. Don’t forget we had earlier been told that we were to engage in a defence operation. So immediately he told us that, we all went back to sieving through our notes and military history books, reading up everything relating to it. And most of us just concluded that sea-borne operations were generally tough. And looking at the distance between Lagos and Bonny, we would definitely spend two days. So we concluded in our minds that this was a tough operation. But the CO had said it and we all had to comply. And everybody around me was junior officers. The only person, who was a captain at that time, was the late Shehu Yar’Adua. Nevertheless, we all started getting ready.

    Your role in the evolution of modern day political history of Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. I’ll take two major thing: The first had to do with the presidential elections in 1993, where you were one of the most senior officers in the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). From the benefit of hindsight, would you say that the action that the military took in annulling that election was a correct one?

    Yes, I was member of the ruling council, but I will still say that I was a junior member. In fact, when I was appointed, I was surprised; but I considered it a great honour and privilege. And when the annulment came; the truth is that the fact wasn’t open to many of us. I hope you haven’t forgotten that it was still a military regime and military regimes do not pretend. Everything was done through hierarchy or seniority. So what you say is very important; in fact, how you say it is also very important because at the end of the day, when you leave the Council meeting, you are still going back to your formations and every formation still has a commander. If you are commanding a brigade, you know that there is still a GOC. If you’re commanding a company, there is still a battalion commander. So the summary of what I’m saying is that the facts were not too exposed. Usually, before the Military Council meeting, we would first have the Service Chiefs meeting and it is usually the decisions reached at the Service Chiefs meeting that are brought to the Military Council meetings for adoption. These are your bosses and you have to be careful before you start going against your bosses. So the hierarchy of the military was still intact.

    From there you became Chief of General Staff (CGS)- the equivalent of vice president; how will you describe your period and experiences, because that was still one of the most turbulent periods in Nigeria’s history? Did you have the latitude to operate?

    Well as the Number 2 man, the latitude was there and wider than if you weren’t in that position. And as Number 2 man, you had specific roles. At that time, I was in charge of parastatals, hosting and appointments of military governors and they were all answerable to me and really cannot carry out any independent action without clearance from the office of the Chief of General Staff.

    Nigerians would be very interested in this. The impression Nigerians had of the then head of state, General Sani Abacha was that he was a very tough man, very difficult; for someone who was close to him and worked with him for a long time, how would you describe the late C-in-C?

    If you asked me, Oladipo Diya about General Abacha, I’d say he was a soft man, kind; a man who would take the trouble to listen to you and then whatever you arrived at becomes a decision binding. So I have no complaint about him. It is very difficult to explain so many of the things that eventually transpired. But I will say that I had no problem with the person of General Abacha. In fact, if there was anybody that had any problem with General Abacha, I was in a position to even intercede.

    So what went wrong?

    What went wrong? The truth is that even I cannot explain it. But I know one or two things eventually went wrong. It was when things started happening that I myself started seeing cracks. I mean there is no point hiding things unnecessarily. Like when the late Chief MKO Abiola was arrested, I didn’t know. I was on tour in Enugu. It was the late CC Onoh, who told me that Abiola had been arrested. I ended my tour and left Enugu the following day. It was when I got back (to Abuja) that I was now told of the arrest. But then, the story told me was not complete, because I was not told where he was arrested, where he was being kept…. So I just felt that maybe I would be told at the appropriate time. But three days later, a detention order was brought to me to sign, and I refused. I said I was not going to sign a detention order for somebody who had already been arrested without my knowledge. And again, I asked, “Where is he being kept?”

    If you are very accustomed with the rules, the Chief of General Staff was the only person who had the power to arrest and detain; and that order was changed the following day and instead of the Chief of General Staff being in charge of arrest and detention, the IG was vested with the responsibility. So it was the IG that signed the detention order. I thought that was a crack. Maybe one or two other issues again, but that was not enough for me to describe Abacha as anything different from the impression I already had of him.

    At that point, didn’t you think that a signal was being sent? You are from Ogun State and the late Chief Abiola was also from the state; and he took away the power to arrest and detain, probably on the premise that ‘Oh he is refusing to sign the detention of his brother’.

    Well, I really didn’t think something might be coming in that sense. I just felt that there was a crack. That detention order should have been signed by me; but since it has been changed by law, then it’s a law. Once there is a decree signed by the head of state; then it’s a law.

    This crack that you talk about, did you ever think that it would get to a level where you would be accused of planning a coup?

    Anybody can be accused of planning a coup. Under civilian dispensation, it’s not so easy to accuse somebody of such a crime because the processes are not easy. In fact, you cannot accuse somebody and still be the judge or be the executioner. In a military regime, it is different. The person who accuses you is the person who will constitute the court, he’s the one who will constitute the investigation and once the court finishes, they would even submit the verdict to him for approval. And once he approves, then it is carried out. So you should recognise the limitation of the military regime.

    You went to detention over a coup allegation, but did you envisage that you would regain freedom as quickly as you did? And how did you survive?

    The detentions are there. I have always believed that once anything has been sanctioned by God to happen, it will happen. I would not be the first person to be accused of planning a coup. In fact, I cannot remember any of my seniors who had not gone through what I went through. General Olusegun Obasanjo was also accused of the same offence and tried; in fact by the same set of people, Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi, Gen Patrick Aziza…. So it was nothing new. What actually was new was the fact that one survived. That was indeed a miracle.

    Apart from yourself and General Sani Abacha, one very notable figure who seemed to have some kind of mythical image was Major Hamza Al-Mustapha. Was he as powerful as he was made to be?

    With all due respect, I don’t want to talk about Major Al-Mustapha because he is extremely junior to me. I mean take a look at the gap between a Major and a General. The only thing that touched me was one tape he was circulating and I was just surprised when I saw the tape. And it made me imagine the level of the inquisitiveness of our press men. How could you be playing a tape that had no voice? Not a single word came out of that tape. So you could see that the tape was the imagination of somebody just to flag off an idea, amplify it and blow it out of proportion, as if it truly existed. It is true I had a discussion with General Abacha, when these officers were arrested. And these officers while going to the State House passed through my house, because there is no way you will go to the State House without passing through the house of the Chief of General Staff. And all we were discussing then was that the military should leave. And we were talking of leaving in October and these officers said they were going to tell Abacha. And they were all in mufti. So when I learnt that they had been arrested, I was stunned. I went to Abacha and said ‘These officers came to me and said they were coming to discuss such and such matter with you.’ And I said ‘Please release them. I am responsible.’ How that tape now came out now and turned out that I was begging Abacha. Up till now, nobody can say that they heard a single word from that tape. Now, what I was afraid of was what actually happened on the day of the trial, because I only saw General Olarewaju and General Adisa. I was stunned. And that was when I now asked, ‘Where is Bamaiyi, where is Aziza, where is Muda…’ can’t remember now. The other Mudashiru was a GOC of 2 Division, because the impression given to me was that they were all arrested. And when I now got to the court and only saw Olanrewaju and Adisa; that was when I now knew that this is truly a conspiracy and it was organised from the top. And I, Oladipo Diya was the target. That was what broke the camels’ back; and the news went all over the world. So naturally, I was stunned. I was expecting that if you think that we have said something, or that we were planning something, then you put us on trial and let us all defend ourselves. And these people that have been arrested were all guided by the Abacha people: all the soldiers in my house were Abacha’s men; all the soldiers in Olanrewaju’s house were Abacha’s men; all the soldiers in General Adisa’s home were all Abacha’s men; so who was planning the coup and with what. So the phantomness of the coup just came out glaringly for everybody to see. So we thank God.

    Did General Abacha ever tell you that he was planning to transform from a military head of state to a civilian President?

    What I can say was that we had a one-on-one discussion, where he asked for my view: ‘Do you think we should continue?’ That was his question? And like I was telling you, I joined the army as a boy and I do not know any other world; I don’t know how to lie, I don’t know how to deceive people. Even when I’m talking to my children, I’m always very frank. When a child is doing well, tell him or her that they’re doing well. And that is my life. If you ask a question, I will give him the answer. The correct answer was ‘no, don’t let us continue.’ Then he said why don’t I discuss it with the other service chiefs? Let’s have their opinion. That was the first feeling I had that he probably wanted to continue. And I called these service chiefs and met with them. And I now went back and told him that, ‘No, none of them told me that we should continue.’ But maybe what they were telling me was different from what they were telling him. I don’t know and I leave that to God. But it was later that I now discovered that one of the service chiefs was carrying a tape recorder in the back of his uniform, apparently giving me the impression that something was fishy. But again, when you go through a travail and you go through it successfully, you don’t want to bear any grudge.

    One of the most challenging periods of your government was the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and the other Ogoni activists, how sensitive was the military administration to the international pressure that was coming in? Did it have an impact on decisions you were taking?

    You see, I have to tell you this. If you go through the details of the incident that actually happened, you will remember that we had the Ogoni four. The Ogoni four were all prominent sons of Ogoni and they were killed. And the people who were alleged to have killed the four, turned out to be the Ogoni nine. And in fairness to General Abacha, he arranged a court, headed by a judge of the Court of Appeal in Abuja. As I’m talking to you, that man has even been recognised and promoted as a Supreme Court judge or a judge of the Court of Appeal. And again, when the Ogoni nine were being tried, they had access to legal support. In fact, the late Gani Fawehinmi was the lawyer of Ken Saro Wiwa. And again, the then President of the Bar Association, Mr. Daodu was the plaintiff. Anyway, the point I’m just trying to make is that all these fall within the purview of the law. It was really a bit out of fashion with military style. If Abacha had appointed a military officer to be president of the court, people would only have shouted. But the fact that he could appoint a judge to be in charge was a plus for him; and also allowing the accused access to a lawyer. At the end of the day, that court sentenced Ken Saro Wiwa to death. So it was not a military arrangement in any form. All these people that I’ve mentioned (apart from Gani Fawehinmi) are still alive. The only thing that I will just hold a bit was that the ruling council went through the proceedings and approved judgment of the court and then nobody was told about the time of the execution. That is the only thing I will hold against Abacha. He did not allow anybody, including me to know the time of the execution. But again he could counter me that the military law does not state that once an execution has been approved by the ruling council, the head of state should now come back and tell you when the execution would take place.

    What do you think of President Jonathan politicising your pardon, because people felt he only used it as a guise to legitimise the other pardons. Secondly, did it come with reinstatement of certain benefits and entitlement?

    You see when the pardon was mentioned, I was in London on a short trip. I was interviewed and I tried to explain that there is a difference between amnesty and pardon. What we were granted initially was amnesty and that only set us free from our respective places of detention. And all of us were included in that amnesty, including the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. But later his own amnesty was turned into pardon and all the benefits that he was entitled to were restored. We were granted amnesty, it was not pardon. But when President Jonathan now turned it into a pardon, I had a press conference and I tried to explain the difference between pardon and amnesty. What we were now going to be enjoying was pardon as pronounced by the President. And since then, we have started enjoying the benefits of the pardon. My entitlements were restored; my military entitlements were restored and the president himself now addresses me as General Oladipo Diya Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). So there is a mile’s difference between pardon and amnesty.

    You still look vigorous, even at 70; what do you do with your time now? As a qualified lawyer, are you practising law or are you a full time pastor?

    All are encompassed. Luckily, I had the privilege of reading law and I was called to Bar at 32. I also thank God that three of my children are lawyers; three of them again are medical doctors and two of them are chartered accountants. So I just feel so relaxed in their midst. One of my brothers is actually running my chambers, so anytime there is any term of argument, we sit in my office and talk and iron things out. Thereafter, I’d say ‘Now you will go to court (general laughter).’ I also have one or two small outfits that also keep me busy.

  • About MKO Abiola’s wife’s tall ambition

    The society is divided into two camps of those who call it inordinate ambition and others who see it as a legitimate aspiration. But whichever it is, the declaration of Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, one of the widows of the late politician and business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, has not gone unnoticed.

    A couple of days after one of Africa’s richest women, Folorunsho Alakija, disowned posters announcing her governorship ambition in Lagos State, Mrs. Onitiri-Abiola announced to the world her intention to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola as the governor of Lagos State in 2015.

    She did not only tell select journalists about her governorship ambition, she also announced the Accord Party as the political party on whose platform she intends to actualise her dream. But not a few have queried the pedigree of Accord Party in a state where the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a movement.

  • Southwest’s new paradigm

    Southwest’s new paradigm

    In the 1999 presidential election, the two leading contenders hailed from the Southwest, deliberately so because there was a general feeling of pacifying the zone for its loss caused by the annulment of the 1993 elections and the tragic death of the winner of that year’s presidential poll, MKO Abiola. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Peoples Party (APP) reached an understanding to field Olu Falae, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fielded Olusegun Obasanjo. Chief Obasanjo won, but the nature of his win and the timing of the victory hid the emerging trend in Nigerian politics. That trend, which began to mature in 2007 and reached full bloom in the 2011 elections, affected the Southwest in more incalculable ways than it exposed the North’s impotence in zonal (extrapolative) politics. Henceforth, no zone could single-handedly determine who wins. The North had long ceased to be monolithic, especially politically. For its candidate to win, he would need a huge dose of inclusive politics that reaches out far and wide. The failure of the Gen Muhammadu Buhari campaign underscored this point. By accident rather than by design, or the factor of incumbency, the victory achieved by Candidate Goodluck Jonathan showed clearly what a candidate must be like to win. While it is important to examine the shifting trends in Nigeria’s presidential politics, my main concern today is the Southwest’s apparently surprising realisation (or new paradigm) of what Nigeria’s presidential politics has become and how the zone can best retain relevance. We are, of course, familiar with the Southwest’s long-standing approach to presidential politics. Between the 1950s and 2007, the zone repeatedly tried to produce a candidate that was deeply intellectual, principled, humanistic, ideological and popular. The candidate and the entire zone itself were projected in a way that made both to be anchored on solid left-of-centre, progressive ideology. The zone then reached out with that sacrosanct ideology to either like-minded progressives in other zones or opportunists masquerading as progressives. Because that ideology, now roughly cast as immutable, showed strong hues of Yoruba culture and history, it was often difficult to attract popular and credible politicians from other zones. In a highly competitive political environment, they feared being dominated, humiliated or even obliterated. The Southwest, it now seems, has begun to realise that it must quietly mitigate its messianic orientation to politics, sugar-coat its dominant ideological orientation of progressivism to make it less offensive, and when necessary be prepared to sacrifice its ambitions for the larger good. This discovery is, in my opinion, largely fortuitous, even as the zone’s leaders as well as the previously dominant Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) appear to define the ‘larger good’ in broadly philosophical and abstract terms. I say fortuitous because when the ACN opted to support the candidacy of Aminu Tambuwal for the post of Speaker, House of Representatives, in 2011, that choice seemed less strategic than political. It is unlikely the party already conceived at that time the grand coalition that has today metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress (APC), nor imagined that the rainbow coalition, including the peaceful mass defections in the House, would be partly facilitated by the party’s inclusive politics, relationship with Hon Tambuwal, and a host of other factors. But even if the grand coalition was already conceived as far back as 2011, the scale of its success, not to say the structure of the coalition itself, must surprise those who inspired it. Part of the misunderstanding between the Southwest’s leading politicians and groups can be traced to this emergent trend. There are on one hand those who are still nostalgic about the Obafemi Awolowo days; and there are on the other hand those disillusioned by the impotence of the politics of the past. The first group, broadly speaking, is made up of the rump Afenifere and many opportunistic elements in the Labour Party (LP). They either describe themselves as the only truly progressive politicians in the zone on account of their association with the heirs of the Awolowo dynasty, or they sometimes see themselves as another progressive group outside the ACN component of the APC. This group still hugs the illusion that it could present a puristic and traditional form of Southwest progressivism around which a national coalition could be formed. The second group, now fully ensconced in the APC, believes that the puristic form of progressivism has over the past five decades proved either inadequate or at least problematic as a vehicle for winning the presidency. Like some leading political parties in the US and Britain, some of which had had to rediscover and remould themselves in order to achieve greater electoral appeal, this second Southwest group believes it must broaden its progressive ideological base by, if necessary, mitigating its form and structure to make it appeal to a wider swath of the country, especially to groups and zones not terribly averse to any left-of-centre ideology. It reasoned that if ethnic politics and divides were to be transcended, supporting Hon Tambuwal in 2011 was a good way to begin. It hoped that when it came to national politics, the Southwest electorate would understand why Hon Tambuwal was a better option to tear to pieces the iron curtain of distrust that had separated the North from the South for so long, and why supporting his Southwest opponent, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, was nothing but offensive and retrogressive ethnic politics. The Southwest’s new paradigm for national politics, and in particular, presidential politics, is based on very sound but evidently futuristic suppositions. Like anything new and radical, this paradigm will bring with it teething problems, especially because many of its leading lights simply lack the depth and perspective to appreciate the implications and benefits the major realignment being midwifed by the zone’s political iconoclasts will trigger. Already, it would seem the increasing fractiousness of the crowd in the APC is the logical antithesis to the grand coalition’s possibilities, stability and survival. But if coalition leaders at national and state levels could subordinate their ambitions to the common good, and grasp through their minds’ eyes the nirvana they seem at the threshold of midwiving, they might succeed in reinforcing the new trends Nigerian politics needs to survive as a nation, democratic, stable and free. In the new reality, the Southwest appears to be the zone making the hugest sacrifice for very little profit. In time, however, the zones in the North will realise quite clearly what they now suspect: that the only way to guarantee stability and eliminate bigotry and prejudice is to embrace politics of inclusiveness. In time they will also realise, just like the Southwest did when it favoured Hon Tambuwal over Hon Akande-Adeola, that what the country needs is not for politicians to seclude themselves in, and reinforce, their ethnic cocoons, but to embrace healthy politics even if it seems illogical and unrewarding in the short run. In time, too, the Southeast will recognise that it must open up quite courageously as the Southwest is doing, build politicians with crossover appeal, and begin to practice the politics of inclusiveness. It is unlikely that a time will come when by common agreement the presidency would be surrendered to a Southeast candidate. The zone will have to work for it by taking the new dynamics of zonal politics into cognisance or, like Dr Jonathan, hope to take the presidency by default, with all the accompanying uncertainties.

  • Tundun Abiola’s ex-husband remarries

    Tundun Abiola’s ex-husband remarries

    A few months after he divorced Tundun, one of the daughters of the late MKO Abiola, popular socialite and businessman, Atama Attah, has remarried. This time around, the fair-complexioned man went into the corridors of power to fish for his new wife, Josephine Washima, the Special Adviser on Job Creation to President Goodluck Jonathan. The wedding took place on Saturday December 21.

    Tundun’s marriage to Atama Attah had been consumated in a talk-of-the-town wedding held in London in May 2009. The marriage, which produced two lovely children, hit the rocks as a result of ‘irreconcilable differences’ and they went their separate ways after three years.

    Tundun has lately been sighted at some social functions where she danced as if dance was going out of fashion. She betrays no emotion whatsoever about her crashed marriage.

  • Tokunbo Afikuyomi renews ambition

    Tokunbo Afikuyomi renews ambition

    Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi is one man who loves to court relevance at every opportunity. As a former students’ union activist and ‘MKO Abiola for President’ crusader, Senator Toks, as he is fondly called by friends, has definitely paid his dues.

    In the past few months, the two-term, two-district senator has been living in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, leaving many to wonder if he had embraced political oblivion as a reality. The Senator who has represented Lagos Central and Lagos West and later opened a wine bar in Ikoyi, moved abroad after his term as Commissioner for Tourism in the first term of the Fashola administration. He later moved to Osun State at the beginning of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola government, hoping to enjoy some patronage from the new government. But his romance with the Osun State Government lasted shorter than he probably anticipated.

    Sensing that he might have expended his goodwill with the government, he decided to leave for the UK where he has been reminiscing on the good old times as a high ranking senator in Abuja before he attempted to succeed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the governor of Lagos State.

    But Celeb Watch has gathered that Afikuyomi may stage a come-back, as he is now eyeing his former position as the senator representing Lagos West; a position presently occupied by Senator Ganiyu Solomon (GOS), who is rumoured to be nursing governorship ambition in Lagos against 2015.

  • Al – Mustapha: Is this justice ?

    Al – Mustapha: Is this justice ?

    The Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) hereby expresses its shock  and disappointment at the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, today, July 12, 2013, which overturned the Judgment of the High Court of Lagos State, which had found Major Hamza Al Mustapha, one time Chief Security Officer to General Sani Abacha (1994-1998), and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan guilty of the June 4, 1996 murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in Lagos, during the reign of terror of General Sani Abacha, the late military Head of State of Nigeria.
    It will be recalled that Hon. Justice Mojisola Dada of the High Court of Lagos State, Igbosere Lagos, had on January 30, 2012, found both Major Hamza Al Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan guilty of the offences of conspiracy to murder and murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, contrary to 324 and 319 of the Criminal Code of Lagos State and accordingly had sentenced them to death by hanging. On that occasion, KIND issued a statement. The statement recalled the gruesome murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in 1996 and the supreme sacrifice made by many other Nigerians, including Chief M.K.O Abiola and Pa Alfred Ogbeyiwa Rewane, to restore democracy to Nigeria. The statement then acknowledged the fact that the verdict issued by Mojisola Dada would bring closure to the children of Kudirat Abiola, the  M.K.O Abiola Family and Nigerians committed to justice.
    The finding and the reasoning of  Hon. Justice Mojisola Dada in her judgment was that the evidence of Barnabas Jabila ( a.k.a Sgt. Rogers) and that of Muhammed Abdul (a.k.a Katako), the two prosecution witnesses was credible, reliable, sufficient  and believable, and that the Court could safely convict  Major Hamza Al Mustpaha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan  on that evidence, regardless of the fact that during cross examination and re-examination, the two witnesses retracted their earlier given testimony and recanted. The Court found that retraction as an after-thought.

     

    Barnabas Jabila ( a.k.a Sgt. Rogers) and Muhammed Abdul (a.k.a Katako)  had, at the early stage of the trial testified that they were directed to murder Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, by Major Hamza Al Mustapha;  that they were given information on her movements by Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan; and that they, respectively, shot and killed Alhaji Kudirat Abiola and drove the Peugeot 504 Car, which they used in trailing her car and bolting away, after killing her at the  Cargo Vision Area of the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, by the Toll Gate.
    The Court found that it was cogently, compellingly and irresistibly proved beyond reasonable doubt by the Prosecution that Major Hamza Al Mustapha was the person who procured Barnabas Jabila, the ‘Force striker’, to eliminate Alhaja Kudirat Abiola by direct instruction, handing over of the murder weapon, the UZI SMG with 9mm rounds with which she was assassinated in broad daylight on the streets of Lagos and who provided ‘the logistics’ for their movement from Abuja to Lagos by flight, their accommodation at his Lagos official residence at Dodan Barracks and linked them up with their contact person and facilitator, Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan.

     

    Today’s judgment of Hon Justice Amina A. Augie ( presiding justice of the Court of Appeal’s Panel), Hon. Justice Rita N. Pemu, and Hon. Justice Fatima O. Akinbami, reversing the judgment of Hon. Justice Mojisola Dada, has now discarded that Court’s findings and rejected the Court’s reasoning.
    KIND is informed that the grounds of the Court of Appeal’s decision included the “contradiction in the testimony of the Prosecution Witnesses”, the non-corroboration of their testimony, being co-accomplices; the non-adducing of medical evidence (including non-tendering of autopsy and ballistician report), the non-investigation of the crime by the Nigeria Police Force, which it is argued has the sole power to investigate the crime, instead of the hybrid Special Investigation Panel (SIP) and the non-calling of the Police to give evidence.
    While KIND will obtain this Judgment and commission a team of legal experts to study it in detail, with a view to determining whether a civil action is advisable at this point, KIND respectfully acknowledges but vehemently disagrees with the Judgment of the Court of Appeal.

     

    True, the Prosecution Witnesses recanted and alleged that they were tutored to frame up the accused person. The question is, why was their recantation more believable than their initial and original testimony?  Could Sgt Rogers, who was not put on trial, have killed Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on his own, without having been directed to do so; or was his confession a lie also?

    With this reversal, the Nigerian Judiciary has now exonerated ALL persons that were brought to trial for the gruesome acts of murders and attempted murders that took place during the Abacha regime (before now, the persons tried for the attempted assassinations of Alex Ibru and Pa Abraham Adesanya had been set free, Muhammed Abacha, General Ishaya Bamaiyi,  and the Police Officers, Alhaji Danbaba, and Rabo Lawal). Also, the men who were herded into Court for the assassination of Pa Alfred Rewane were released, for want of evidence.

     

    KIND notes that the Nigerian Judiciary was also unable to resolve the issue of who murdered, in December 2002, Chief Bola Ige, a sitting Attorney General of the Federation. and, indeed the husband of a then serving Justice of the Court of Appeal, Late Justice Atinuke Omobonike Ige. Is it that the Nigerian Judiciary is incapable of resolving cases of political murders and assassinations, or that the Nigerian State lacks the competence, capability or will to prosecute cases of political murders?

     

    KIND is of the view that justice has not been served by the Judgment of the Court of Appeal. KIND therefore calls on the Attorney-General of Lagos State to exercise his power over all public prosecution in Lagos State to appeal this verdict in the interest of the dead and the living.

    In making this call, KIND is not set on seeking vengeance or retribution. As an organization founded in honour of Kudirat Abiola, it, along with all well meaning Nigerians, seeks a final judicial resolution of the question, “who killed Kudirat Abiola?”

     

    Amy Oyekunle

    Executive Director

    KIND

    www.kind.org

     

  • What June 12 means to students

    What June 12 means to students

    The Nation recently visited some schools in Lagos to get student’s view on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election . Sampson Unamka presents their views

    Jessica Dougherty a JSS student of Turning Point College Isolo said:

    “To my own understanding June 12 reminds me of a philanthropist, a great patriot and a politician M.K.O Abiola who fought and died for Democracy of Nigeria.”

     

    Shola Ayanlere, SS 2 student said:   “June 12 is a day that is declared public holiday and meant for children to celebrate.”
    Akintunde omokehinde, SS2 student of Queen’s college Akoka Lagos, said:  “June 12 is being recognized in Lagos state as a public holiday in remembrance of the late mogul chief MKO Abiola.”
    Adeyemi Dare, 17 years old student of Government College Lagos, said:
    “June 12 to my understanding came into being as a result of the struggle for democracy under military. The election held on that day was described as the best and most free election in the country up to
    date which Chief MKO Abiola won. June 12 is seen as a remembrance day for Abiola and democracy in Nigeria.”
    Abubakar Olawale, 20 years old student said:

    “June 12 is a day we were supposed to be celebrating democracy but turned sour because the election was annulled. It should not be celebrated because it’s a day we ought not to remember. Many lives were lost, many houses were burnt, we had to revert to army things, and Nigeria had to wait another 6 years to experience democracy under those who know nothing about ruling.”
    Obah Raymond Azubuike,  20,  applicant said:

    “June 12 is the true democracy day, but a legend MKO ABIOLA is being celebrated instead, because he offered his money, name and subsequently paid the supreme price for the entire nation to have a democracy.”
    Okolo Juliet, 19 years old student and ND holder said:

    “June 12 was the day that MKO Abiola ran for the position of the president in
    1993 and was presumed winner but was denied the position and the
    election I think was the first democratic election Nigeria ever had, I
    read it in a book.”
    Ohenhen Iyosayi, 17 years old student of Soundmind Group of schools, Iyana Ipaja, said:

    “June12, 1993 was the only election that has ever been conducted in Nigeria were all Nigerians picked Abiola of SDP, as winner of the elections And Abiola who was the winner was denied his mandate because Babaginda refused to declare the election result. The following year, Abiola fought for his right but still didn’t get it; then Shonekan later became the Head of State in 1994. From my own understanding June 12 was the only election ever that Nigerians came together as one and
    pick a Head of state. My teacher told us about June 12.”
    Rasheed Ojelab20 years old student of TASUED, said

    “June 12 was the day presidential election held between Abiola of SDP and Tofa of NRC. MKO Abiola of Social Democratic Party defeated Basiru Tofa of National Republican Convention. Surprisingly, the elections were later annulled by military government, Ibrahim Babangida, leading to a crisis that ended with Sani Abacha heading a coup later in the year. June 12 is a memorable day.”
    Opakunbi Rachel, 400 level student of Bowen University said

    “It is the freest and fairest election ever conducted in the history of this nation because the two contestants from NRC and SDP were both Muslim and nobody complained about it but
    went out en-mass to vote for their candidate of choice which happens to be Chief MKO Abiola.  Nigeria would have moved from where it is now to a greater height if Chief MKO had won, but because of the annulment we are still crawling. June 12 is like a plague on us in this country, it is a truthful thing that has ever happened but we tried to wave it off just because of certain reasons best known to those who did it.”
    Olojede Seyi Ebenezer, student of UNILAG said:

    “June 12 to the best of my knowledge is a day set aside for the remembrance of the winner of the 1993 election. A man who is nationally recognize as a democrat and a sport man. He is known as the father of democracy in Nigeria because he fought for true democracy, this man is no other
    person than late chief MKO Abiola.”
    Olayiwola Feyisayo, student of Lagos State Senior Model College Igbokuta said

    “On June 12 1993, millions of Nigerians voted in the best election ever conducted in the history of the
    country between Chief M.K.O Abiola and Alhaji Tofa. Nigerians voted massively in favour of Moshood Abiola and also Bashir Tofa (the opponent) was said to have sent congratulatory message to Chief MKO
    Abiola. There was happiness all over Nigeria, there was hope that a new damn had come. I heard of a story of a tailor during that period that refused to be paid for the services he rendered. He was so
    overjoyed that at last hope has come to the people and also bus conductor and driver were offering free ride, you didn’t have to pay for anything. That was the spirit and mood until Nigerians received a
    rude shock from the military led by Ibrahim Babagida. He announced the annulment of the result of the election without reasons. The fact was that MKO Abiola was supposed to win the election.”

  • Is Nigeria fair to MKO Abiola?

    Is Nigeria fair to MKO Abiola?

    In over 52 years of Nigeria’s sovereign existence, the only time the nation could boost of free and fair election was on June 12, 1993 when Nigerians came out to vote for Aare MKO Abiola as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And what was the outcome of that election? The then military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, a despotic retired military general, with no conscience and for no rational reason annulled that election before he was later forced to step aside as from the high pedestal of a self styled military president on August 27, 1993.

    When the next military regime headed by the autocratic late Sani Abacha pushed aside the Interim National Government head, Ernest Sonekan, he tried to compellingly transmute into a democratic government until death knocked him off power. It was during the tenure of Abdul salami Abubakar that an international conspiracy orchestrated by the United States through the United Nations during a visit of its secretary-general wiped out Abiola from the surface of the earth. To those that murdered Abiola, that incident marked the end of the political logjam that rocked the country then. But they got it wrong for it marked the beginning of a festering sore that will continue to haunt, hound and cause insomnia to those that benefited from the selfless sacrifice of the symbol of that June 12 democratic struggle.

     Between 1999 and 2011 when the supposedly new dawn beckoned, the nation has had four democratic transitions spanning a period of over fourteen years. However, in over fourteen years of democracy and 20 years after the annulment of the June 12 presidential election, no president has ever deemed it fit to honour the immortal symbol of that struggle. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a kinsman of Abiola from Abeokuta spent eight years in power without ever deeming it fit to honour the man that sacrificed his life so that someone like Obasanjo can get to power. Even when the then national assembly

    raised a motion to name the Abuja stadium after MKO Abiola, the Balogun Owu led administration circumvented the move. Obasanjo behaved as if Abiola never existed even though he was the pioneer beneficiary of the toil of that symbol of democratic rule in the country. Late President Umaru YarÁdua also ignored the importance and significance of Abiola and the symbolism of June 12, 1993 election as watershed of democratic struggles in the nation.

    So far, President Goodluck Jonathan has not shown any keen interest or deep understanding of the significance of that annulled election date. This is further aggravated by his timidly unsuccessful naming of University of Lagos after Abiola. Any reasonable and studious student of history will recollect that Abiola’s election was not a regional or sectional thing. He won not only in Yoruba land where he hails from but also in the eastern, northern and other parts of the country. Abiola won in Kano, Imo and Oyo states among others; he also won in the military barracks, the primary constituency of the man that annulled the best and freest elections ever in the annals of this country just because the electorate saw him as a pan African man that genuinely had the interest of the common man at heart.

    Abiola used his wealth to cater for the common man and actually died in the battle to broaden the horizon of improving living conditions of the hoi polloi. During that election, religious, ethnic and tribal sentiments were jettisoned which was quite unheard of in the history of the land. Nigerians for once came together in unison to elect one good man, Bashorun MKO Abiola, as president of the federation. He was never sworn-in while agents of

    retrogression then and even successive administrations have carried on as if that important June 12 chapter never existed in the political history of our great country.

    What has MKO done to those holding the levers of power at the centre that they all in succession continue to behave as if that fine man never existed? Are previous and present occupants of the seat of power in Aso-Rock not aware that without the political selflessness of Abiola, there probably would not be today for them to enjoy? Why are the powerful men in Nigeria not hearkening to the popular voice of reason and wisdom demanding that Abiola

    should be post humously declared president of this country? What stops them from naming inauguration day across the federation as MKO Abiola Day? What is bad if they name the national assembly complex or even Aso-Rock as Abiola House?

     The truth of the matter is that nobody can obliterate the name of this great Nigerian from the political history book of the nation. Afterall, governments in the south west states at a time under the reactionary People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gave pretentious acknowledgement to the importance of Abiola. In his home state of Ogun, he had a polytechnic and a stadium named after him. In Lagos and perhaps other south west states, monuments have been named after him.

    But, the significance of Abiola as it relates to democratic struggle in the land should not under any circumstances be regionalised. Abiola fought for the liberation of all Nigerians from military yoke and oppression irrespective of tribal or ethnic affiliations. The people stood by him but his elite friends not only diminished but denied him the mandate freely given to him by 14 million Nigerians on June 12, 1993.

    Even among the progressive Nigerian elites, whether from the south west or the north, the question must be asked; how many still relate with the legacy left behind by the late democratic icon? It is sad that Nigerians and Nigeria are fast losing their sense of history. Twenty years after that inhuman annulment by Babangida, it is unfortunate that not only are most of the elites in power pretending as if nothing happened; even students in higher institutions today lack better grasp of what actually transpired at that period. It is too bad to contemplate that such is happening within two decades of such monumental occurrence.

    On the Abiola issue, it is so far officially bad as no semblance of acknowledgement and appreciation have been shown by those enjoying the fruits of his toil today. It is not late in the day an issue for President Jonathan to address for it is better late than never. Nigeria indeed has not been fair to Bashorun MKO Abiola and history will not forgive those that are behind this historical aberration. Let those people in the leadership of the national assembly, the executive arms and the judiciary know, according to Thomson James, that ingratitude is treason against humanity. That is the truth.

    NB: This piece was first published in the Nation newspaper, precisely this space, on June 6, 2011, some few days to the eighteenth anniversary of June 12, 1993 Presidential election. . Due to its topicality, I am with very slight modifications, re-publishing it today, to mark the 20th anniversary of that epochal election.