Fourteen years after the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola in controversial circumstances, after he was held by the federal government for declaring himself winner of the 1993 annulled presidential election, his memory is still fresh in the mind of his younger brother, Alhaji Mubashiru Abiola, the present head of the family. As he speaks, his words are heavy and his emotion deep, betraying an inner feeling which indicates that the wounds may have dried up on the surface, but definitely there’s still sore inside. In this interview with Paul Ukpabio in Abeokuta, Mubashiru Abiola talks about the mind of the family concerning how his brother died, the state of his properties, why the DNA verification of his children will remain controversial, and the present state of the Will.
Fourteen years since the death of your brother, how have you been remembering him?
Personally, I do prayers with Alfas every Friday for his remembrance. The family are doing the same here in Abeokuta where he had a mosque in his house and also at his Ikeja home in Lagos. Everybody knows that he was the bread winner of this house and since he has gone, the family is all right though not fully. We are trying our best, even MKO’s children are trying their best, and Kola is trying his best.
Is there any particular reason why only two of his wives are staying in the house at Ikeja?
There are no particular reasons why some wives live in Ikeja and others do not live there. That is how MKO left his thing. We are having two wives; the one that is senior now is Alhaja Adebisi Abiola. That one is living there and Dr. Doyin Abiola is living there as well. And the children like Hafsat do not live there permanently, since she comes and goes, she lives in Belgium with her family, Jamiu and Mumuni – all children of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Mumuni is now permanently in Nigeria. He is here with his wife and children.
As head of the family, what role do you play?
I have always been trying my best to unite the family and in doing that, I always work in collaboration with Kola because he is the first son of the family, while his sister Kuburat Omolola Edewor-Abiola is the senior daughter in this family. I talk to them regularly, though Kola is always travelling. I am presently trying to get him to talk to me about some things. There are things to talk about.
Who are the people staying in the Sabo area home of your late brother currently?
We rented out some part of the place, while some family members too stay there. This is because if we leave the house without people inside, it’s likely that the house may just collapse. It is not like most of the people living there are paying the real worth of the rent, no. Some of them are just staying there, in order to take care of the building.
But the place looks unkempt when we got there this morning. The building which used to host top government officials, traditional rulers and dignitaries from abroad when the late Abiola was alive is in abandoned state.
I don’t know, but I go there regularly. The truth is that, I’m having plans to refurbish the whole buildings in the compound before the end of this year.
But that will cost a lot of money. Does that mean that you are comfortable?
Not that I am very comfortable. I am not comfortable and at the same time, I am not in discomfort. I am in the middle. But I know that when I want to do it, if I don’t have the power to do it, I will call on our Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, he is my brother as well.
I believe that God will do it. People are living in the houses there right now; the mosque is being used too. Though, none of my late brother’s children is living there. Those who live there are extended family members and also those we have rented out the place to. It is not that we collect exorbitant amount from these people, it is to help them and also make them tidy up the place.
How far has the family gone with the issue of the Will?
There is nothing wrong with the Will, except that we do not have the original yet. Nobody can say that he has MKO’s original Will. We have not seen the original Will. I don’t know how government can help us with that; I was at Abuja some time ago on the matter.
If you go to my late brother’s home at Ikeja, Lagos, you’ll find out that the place is always as if the man is still around. This is because of the efforts of Alhaja Moriamo Adebisi Abiola who has been taking care of the place; even paying for security, workers etc. I give real kudos to her and I always pray for her. Truly, she really deserves to be the head of the wives.
Are you saying that she is co-coordinating the wives to your satisfaction?
In fact, you know women, but what I can say is that this woman is trying her best, because each time I go there and see the place and the way she is handling affairs of the place, I am always delighted with her, and I must keep praying for her. I am happy with her.
Has the family accepted the fact that there is no Will?
I must absolve Kola of all blame here if the Will is available, I’m sure that he will handle it properly, and he has always been doing his best. However, I am surprised that this country is not treating this family well; the government is not treating this family well. Even in Ogun State where we belong. This is because it is this man that laboured to get these people there. They know that it was MKO that laid his life down for all of them to benefit. They are supposed to do something for the family. It is this country that killed this man. And everybody knows that in this country. Who among these present governors can face the military, face people with guns? It was this man that laid his life down because he wanted this country to survive, to be a very good country, to be democratic.
But President Jonathan Goodluck recognised him recently, by re-naming the University of Lagos after him.
That is fantastic, we appreciate it. He did well.
However, people protested that MKO Abiola deserved more than that. Do you agree?
I understand that, but somebody has to start from somewhere. This man has started by doing something, he can still do more. And that is our expectation. We are even planning to go and see him officially and thank him for the gesture.
As the head of the family, what can you say about the actual size of the family?
We are having about 77 children all round the world.
How does the family keep in touch with one another, and how do you keep tab with everyone?
The children are all in separate places across the world; America, Belgium, London, Nigeria and so on. The children keep communication going between themselves. As a family, we try to communicate and reach them one by one. I call them on phone regularly. And some of them are doing very fine. Some of them come home too at times and Kola especially, always goes round to see them abroad. Presently, I am trying to organise a family re-union, whereby all the Abiola family will be coming together at a particular time, though some of them are staying in faraway places. Most of them are abroad, but they have been connecting themselves on phone and on the internet. They make appointments and they meet in London and America.
How did you resolve the issue of some wives that were accepted, while others were not?
The wives are still there, but the only thing is that most of them were not living with him when he was alive. There were four wives living with him before he died. But right now, two among the four are alive.
The other wives, do they still identify with the family?
Yes, they still do that. Anytime they have a problem, they call on me or they go to Kola, they go to his house and Kola, to the best of my knowledge, gives them assistance at such times.
Without an original Will and a sharing formula guided by a Will, are there grudges or any grouse?
As far as I am concerned, Kola has his own family too, so he can only do his best with his siblings’ school fees and other matters.
Fourteen years after, has any of his wives re-married?
In fact, we have not experienced or had such a situation! None of the wives he left behind has thought or made known intention to re-marry. Most of them already have children for him, at least one or two children. So the women are still maintaining his name till today.
How about the continuity of politics in the Abiola family? Is the family encouraging and embracing participation in the nation’s political affairs?
Yes, his first daughter went into politics, she is still in it. Right now, she has a federal government appointment in Abuja. Then Lekan in recent times has gone into politics. He told me about it, and I gave him the blessing. The only thing is that he made a political mistake. He has realised it, and he has plans to correct his mistake. Though right now, he is not in any particular party. Most of the children do not really feel inclined towards taking part in politics. They don’t seem to be interested. I am talking as of today, because I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
Why is it that it is only few of the children that are interested in politics?
See what they did to our bread winner who went into politics. If Abiola had not joined politics, he would still be around and alive. He was killed. The way they killed him is what we don’t know yet, but he was killed by the government of General Sani Abacha. I don’t even advice anyone of them to go into politics. Gen Ibrahim Babangida is not the one that killed MKO. He may have been the one that annulled the election, but it was not his fault. It was the Yoruba people that compelled him to annul the election. And that is the honest truth. The Hausa people voted for him. He was voted for in the east and in the west, but most of the Yoruba leaders did not vote for him. They were the people behind his death. There is a Yoruba proverb that says that, Ti iku ile o ba pa eniyan, iku ode o le pa eni na. So it is Yoruba people that killed him. However, we don’t owe the Yoruba people any grudge over it. Here in this family, we believe in God, and we put everything to God to judge. Though we will like to see the six states in the western part of Nigeria do something for Abiola’s family. Apart from Lagos and Ogun States, no other state has made effort to identify with the family. Abiola identified with everybody. He did not limit himself to Lagos and Ogun States alone.
Chief MKO Abiola was a man of wealth. Fourteen years after, will you say that the wealth has continued in the family?
I can’t say yes, I must confess to you. It is not so all right and it is not so convenient. That much I must tell you. But Kola is doing well and trying his best to keep some element of wealth going on. Most of the businesses he left behind are down. However, we have individuals within the family, who God is also blessing, even among his children. Then also, the wives. That woman I mentioned to you earlier, Alhaja Adebisi Abiola, may God bless her, she is a business woman and a very strong member of this family. Once she hears of anything concerning the Abiola family, she throws her full weight behind the matter. Some of the wives are lawyers too.
How about the DNA issue?
In fact, that DNA test to acknowledge the paternity of all the children was instructed by MKO Abiola. And it was done by most of the children that were around. However, not all the children took part in that exercise because not all of them were around. Some were abroad and there were even those that reside in Nigeria, who were unavoidably absent.
As an African, isn’t there other ways apart from DNA that we can use to tell or identify a man’s children?
In fact, as far as I am concerned, I don’t fully believe in DNA. I didn’t believe in the exercise because there ought to have been an elder from the family to take part in the verification exercise. Not that they will just go and then come back with the result. No, it shouldn’t be done in that way. We don’t do things like that in Africa. There has to be a reliable elder from the family who is mature to be part of the verification exercise, not for us to just depend on DNA test. I am not saying it is not good but this is Africa. If some people are saying that they are the true sons or daughters of this family, allow them, let them say it. They could be right. We were not there; we were not witnesses of such relationships. So it needs the maturity of family elders. How can you just do DNA test without family elders and then publish it in newspapers. That is bad and not acceptable. That is too bad. Who in Africa has ever done that before? I don’t know of anybody. As Africans, we wash our dirty pants in our house and not in the general public. That is why I stand against it. If anyone comes round to us and says I am the daughter of MKO, of course, we will admit him or her. The man said something like that before he died that if anyone comes after he dies and says he or she is a son or daughter, that I, his younger brother, should be called to confirm if it’s true or not. And anywhere I see the Abiola sign I will know. We have a sign in this family. If I see the sign, I will admit the person immediately.
But has there been a situation where you admitted someone into the family after seeing such a sign?
Yes. And that is why I don’t believe in DNA, this is Africa; anybody can do anything with the result of a supposed DNA test. As a matter of fact, for a man, you will be lucky if you don’t have a bastard child. But at the same time, if he was to be alive, he will know better. For instance, it will be wrong for anyone of my own direct children to come out and say the other one is a bastard. He can’t do that: one child telling another child that? How can you call another child a bastard? What about you? How are you so sure that you are not a bastard yourself?
What would you say is your present concern about the family right now?
I will like to see the government assist us by paying the debt that the federal government owes our late bread winner. They owe him a very huge amount and they could start by paying us gradually.
How much is it?
The federal government knows how much it is. It is about N33 billion. Let them pay some of the money or give contracts that can help people in this family. I have four children who have been looking for employment now and they are even depending on me now even when they have completed their education. Government has to come to our aid.
