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Chief MKO Abiola: The Complicity Of Silence
by
Clarius Ugwuoha
Clarius.Ugwuoha@shell.com

Basking in the euphoria of our nascent democracy, there is the tendency to forget the dreary days of military dictatorship and the heroes of our present emancipation. It is, however, inexcusable that Nigerians have so easily consigned Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola to the trashcan. It is more awful that successive Governments, since his demise in questionable circumstances, have refused to absolve themselves of moral complicity, by according Chief Abiola his rightful place in the historical development of Nigeria. Not a single national monument has been raised in honour of the man who only a few years ago bestrode this terrain like a colossus, the man whose blood watered the path to bourgeoning democracy in Nigeria. It is quite predictable that without Abiola’s struggle the military would still hold the forte. It is a sad and tearful reality that the African pillar of sports, the forerunner of our present democratic experience, the man who clothed the naked, airlifted pilgrims and sportsmen alike, the philanthropist extraordinaire whose eventful life touched off on every nook and cranny of Nigeria, remains forgotten and deserted in death.

 The June 12 1993 presidential election was signalized. It remains a historical watershed in our polity. For the very first time, Nigerians voted massively in a threat-free atmosphere, not only choosing a Southerner, but also endorsing a Muslim-Muslim ticket. This in itself was proof of the reach and penetration of the Abiola personality. Prior to the elections, Nigeria was in the grasps of iron-cast dictatorship. Through mind-blowing prevarication, and foot-dragging we finally arrived at an election that must remain a national standpoint. But the very proponents tactically stymied the actualization of the June 12 mandate. They deserted Abiola and embraced a placatory, counterfeit mandate. The beneficiary of that largesse with only the military oligarch as his constituency ran riot. The rest is history.

 Upon Abiola’s demise, an insensate country was for once scandalized. The national hysterics, however, quickly whittled down to isolated protests, then to complete quiescence. The spontaneous outrage was real, the ensuing blackout inexplicable. Abiola went under, into the catacombs of our forgotten heroes, as swiftly as our collective volatility, only reappearing yearly as an appendage of the June 12 memorial.  Chief MKO Abiola is a hero forgotten, sadly, by even those levered up the heady heights of power by his historic struggle. Was Abiola an accident of history, a parenthesis, a sad reminder of our circuitous path through time? Was Abiola a meteor whose tempestuous flash through our stygian polity was just a brief interpose? History will not forgive our complicity of silence in refusing to accord Chief Abiola his rightful place in the history of our great country.

Chief Abiola died betrayed and forsaken by his very cheerleaders, who quickly re-embraced his detractors and consigned him to the archives. Have Nigerian players, in the elation of their current enhanced conditions, for once stopped to ponder over the gory fate of that great man to whom they cried for succour in the dreary days of yore? Where are the virulent national critics who stampeded Chief Abiola against nefarious military juntas? It is disgraceful that these critics are not leading protests for recognition and immortalization of the late industrialist and politician. It is shameful that these critics who knew from Abacha’s antecedents the ordeal that awaited Abiola in his gulag, yet goaded him on, are today unperturbed at the scruffy treatment of their erstwhile hero. Not even the lead, from a USA court, of probable complicity of the government then in his death could spark that storm of outrage of before. Our collective reflex as a nation is so unexcitable as to be on the edge of catalepsy. In a more responsible polity, Abiola would have assumed the toga of a national metaphor. His birthday would have been in celebration as a national holiday and his tomb would have been recast as a national monument. Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela of South Africa, whose ordeal in Robben Island drew the attention of the entire world to the apartheid cataclysm in South Africa, remains immortalized while alive. Steve Bantu Biko of the same country, who, as a young black consciousness student activist, was wasted in prison by the agents of racial segregation, lives through the years. Dr. Martin Luther King junior, felled in his prime for fiery civil rights activism, remains canonized in the USA with motley of awards most of them posthumous, honorary degrees and, according to some sources, with over seven hundred cities naming streets after him!

Our loss of collective values is the crux of the matter. Streets are named after looters of the economy. Monuments are raised in honour of those who caused us so much pain and losses, who, by their omissions and commissions, led to marked reconfiguration of our collective psyche, spurning militants and criminals alike – for, yes, these are creations of our very system. How else do you justify the defeated proposal by the Ekiti State Government to immortalize the late Gen. Sani Abacha, not even on the more obvious ground that he looted the economy and caused us so much pain, but that he (sic) created Ekiti State! This incomprehensible proposition was coming at a time the lesions of his autocratic reign were still fresh, some of them subject of court proceedings in nearby Lagos. Who do we forgive this gaffe? Where are the monuments raised in honour of Chief Obafemi Oyeniyi Awolowo, whose free education in then old Western Nigeria gave Ekiti State her first crop of intellectuals? Where are the lofty headstones for Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, who presided over Ekiti as part of old Ondo state and who, at the military tribunals of 1983, was about the only civilian found not to have corruptly enriched himself? That is not a virtue actually, not a sign of emulative good breeding. It belonged to the same trashcan as Abiola’s martyrdom and the death of his wife, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola for our political liberation from the military oligarch. Smarting from his irreparable losses and taking thought for the demerits of intransigence, it is this incongruous logic of ours that made Kolawole Abiola, the eldest son of the late sage, to wisely shun untoward controversies. He did not want to be buoyed up and deserted mid-air, to be applauded to self-destruct in broad day and laughed to scorn in the confines of darkness.

 Abiola’s sudden loss of caste, if not, total eclipse from our scheme of things begs urgent rectification.  The late sage should be accorded the full privileges, even in death, of an ex-head of government. This is not asking too much against the backdrop of his uncommon sacrifices at the altar of our nascent democracy.

Chief Clarius Ugwuoha writes from the Ezeali Palace in Egbema

MKO Abiola: Things Past and Present
by
Reuben Abati

On Thursday, June 12, less than a week from today, it will be exactly ten years since Nigerians took part in a Presidential election, which confronted them with certain complex facts about their co-existence as a people and a nation. In that election, Chief MKO Abiola, businessman, philanthropist and international man of influence contesting on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was widely acknowledged as winner. He was by general consensus the people's President. But the military government led by a power-drunk General Ibrahim Babangida chose to annul the results of the election. Babangida has tried over the years to explain away this decision as a case of his hands being tied behind his back by other interested forces.

But the truth is that Babangida was the demon of that crisis. He was the crooked twig in the fireplace. He had allowed a character called Bashir Tofa as Abiola's opponent. If Tofa had won, Babangida would have succeeded with his script. Only God knows where Tofa is these days. Babangida did not want to let go. He craved power. Between him and MKO Abiola, there was also something personal that stood in the way of the public process. For five years, the Nigerian people under various umbrellas provided by human rights groups, the media and pro-democracy coalitions, and with the active support of international bodies, resisted the military and insisted that the will and choice of the people should be respected. MKO Abiola became the arrow-head, the symbol and eventually the martyr of this collective resolution played for the most time in form of a journey to the barricades and confrontations with the military autocrats.

It is now ten years since then. In July, it will also be five years since Chief MKO Abiola died in state custody in the presence of international observers (!). We have since then had two presidential elections; the Fourth Republic is despite fits and starts, in its second leg. What I find so instructive about human nature, and the movement of time and events, is how conveniently Nigerians have moved on with their lives.

The former six AD Governors in the early hours of the Fourth Republic continually paid due tribute to the memory of Chief MKO Abiola. In Lagos, Governor Tinubu honoured both Abiola and Kudirat, his wife. An Abiola daughter was also elected to the House of Representatives by an appreciative Lagos constituency. Now, only one of the six AD Governors survived the recent PDP onslaught in the South-West. We now have in power persons who do not owe Abiola anything and were never part of the June 12 process. What this means is that the Abiola space in public consciousness is bound to be further eroded.

For four years, the PDP government at the centre has refused to acknowledge Abiola as the principal sacrificial lamb of our recent history. President Olusegun Obasanjo who is part-victim and chief beneficiary of the June 12 process had once proclaimed that Abiola was not the messiah that Nigerians were looking for. Ironically, he is faced with his own paradox: as President, not many Nigerians consider him the messiah that the people deserve. Nearly everyone who once stood resolutely on June 12 has moved on; they have used June 12 as a platform for personal gains. Even those who were opposed to democracy are now principal actors in the democratic dispensation. Many would remember Uche Chukwumerije. He was Abacha's spokesman and a thorn in the flesh of the National Democratic Coalition. Today, Chukwumerije (derisively referred to by his critics as Chukwumerenge) is now an elected Senator of the Federal Republic. At what point did Chukwumerije discover democracy? Ask me again, and I wouldn't be able to answer, except to say that - that is life. Jonathan Zwingina, Anthony Anenih, Baba Gana Kingibe were all Abiola's men. They now serve other gods and men. General Babangida whose evil genius and folly caused the June 12 debacle is even being proposed as a possible Presidential candidate and eventual President in 2007. And there are many Nigerians already peddling the idiocy that Babangida is the best post-Obasanjo choice.

It is perhaps a fact of life that a dead man is necessarily a loser in a contest for living spaces. But in other societies where human beings also represent symbols and values, history is constructed around the heroism of individuals as a means of educating and raising the consciousness of the people. The seeming "death" of the Abiola symbol says more not about facts of life, but about the nature of our society, locked as it in the present- without memory and with little care about the lessons of history. The Abiola drama is even more disturbing at the home front. His 50-odd wives have since become ordinary people. One of them had a set of twins for another lover not too long ago. The family wealth, which Abiola once boasted cannot be affected by "agba a na" (financial ill-luck), has since fell on troubled times. His house in Ikeja, which used to be a theatre of events, is now comparatively desolate.

The Abiola legacy in the public arena stands on shaky grounds perhaps because what the people are relating to is not a body of ideas, but a symbol and an idea. The late Chief MKO Abiola did not live long enough to codify and operationalise his ideas about development and good governance. He did not write books in which he articulated his beliefs about the Nigerians state and its central concerns. Books were written about him but these were mainly pieces of hagiography. Perhaps if Abiola had ruled Nigeria, even for a day. His story would have been different. What remains in the circumstance is his heroism in the course of the struggle. He was a determined man driven by faith in the possibilities of justice and retribution. He invested his faith also, in the Nigerian people; in their capacity to relate to ideals and stand by the truth. In the struggle over June 12, he underestimated the treachery in the hearts of men and the opportunism of the Nigerian professional political class.

He was blessed with an exceedingly charismatic personality. He was a dramatic exemplar for all underprivileged persons seeking to achieve real meaning in their lives. It was an accident of fate that he became the rallying point for the country's democratic struggles. He was friend of the military over the years, but he was also one of the first person to see and appreciate the need for Nigeria to be built on a different foundation in which the people, and not the rulers, wielding excessive powers, are the focus of state engineering and development inputs. He was a compulsive bridge-builder with a generous spirit. No other human being in Nigerian history has acquired as many chieftaincy titles from all parts of the country. He was a natural polygamist, but polygamy was part of his philanthropy: he married many of the women in order to bring them closer to the promises of wealth.

MKO Abiola's value lies even more critically, in the benefits that his country has gained form his sacrifice. It is a debt and burden that is hardly appreciated and which is in danger of being forgotten. The June 12 process is to be located squarely where it belongs in the trajectory of our country's historical evolution. The point is worth restating that the annulment of the June 12 Presidential election was the nemesis of the Nigerian military. For years, the military had imposed itself on the people as an alternative system of governance. The soldiers were reckless and brutal, and in due course, they positioned themselves against the Nigerian people causing so much pain and frustration. The public treasury was not spared: they looted as they wished and built for themselves, palatial mansions at home and abroad and fat bank accounts wherever they could. There were soldiers who were not privileged to be part of this rape of democracy, but they were all tarred in public consideration with the same ugly brush.

Between 1966 and 1999, the military produced the likes of Generals Buhari, Babangida and Abacha - three terrible products of a crazy system. With the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, the Nigerian resolved that they had had enough. They turned against military rule. By May 29, 1999 when civilian rule was restored, one of the highlights was the people's resolution that never again would military rule be allowed in this land. This achievement is part of the Abiola legacy. The military is today, thoroughly discredited. Soldiers are no longer in a position to impose themselves on the people. Nigerians have succeeded in insisting that soldiers should learnt o behave as professionals and as citizens.

The gain is that even with all the problems of the recent elections, nobody has ventured to suggest that soldiers constitute an alternative. This is a major gain for tenIgerian people, and it ought to be remembered that it took the death of Chief MKO Abiola and others - Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine, Alfred Rewane, Kudirat Abiola, Rear Admiral Omotehinwa, Elegbede, Omatshola, and those whom Dare Babarinsa says "are not names but numbers... the little drops of water that make up our sea of humanity". There are others still who are still living to whom Joe Igbokwe pays ample tribute in his useful book entitled Heroes of Democracy (1999). These other heroes are also gradually being forgotten, no thanks to our collective present-mindedness.

The opposition to military rule was anchored on a yearning for good governance. The people had thought and felt that if MKO Abiola became President, he would have been in a position to transform their lives. It is to be noted that whereas the people now have democracy, there is still in the land an expressed hunger for good governance. This is encapsulated in the popular insistence of "democracy dividends". The people want democratic rule to be measurable in terms of the impact of emergent processes on their lives. This has not happened. The new leaders have not been too significantly different form the soldiers in terms of their gestures towards the people, but the demand for good governance is alive and well and can be read into the people's request for stability and continuity in the expectation that the longer democracy is allowed to consolidate, the easier it would be for the politicians to learn appropriate lessons and adapt to new realities.

On June 12, 2003, we would all go about our different businesses; the day may well even pass without notice or incident. Governor Tinubu's government is in transition; it might not be in a position to celebrate June 12 as it did in the past. But on June 12, it might help to remember that June 12 is not just about treachery but also about the power of the people, that is the strength of their collective resolve. With MKO Abiola as symbol, the Nigerian people between 1993 and 1999 expressed their deepest wishes for a reconstruction of the Nigerian state. They asked questions about the complications of the Nigerian federation and identified issues, which needed to be resolved to guarantee national unity and stability.

Ten years later, the same issues remain unresolved because the government in power is afraid that doing so may negate its survival and political fortunes. The fact that former military officers dominate the various offices has not been helpful either. The people continue to ask the same questions all the same. They want for example, a national Conference, where the nationalities can re-negotiate the basis of our union. The paradox that we face is that the power of the people is a dynamic construct, bound by the exigencies of time and situation. In 1993, in the face of aborted electoral process, the Nigerian people were willing and ready and determined to make sacrifices in order to defend their stated choices. In 2003, confronted with a flawed electoral process, the same people are willing to succumb to blackmail and make compromises.

The residue, I suppose, ought to be the prodding of public memory. We cannot achieve the objective of our collective resolve unless the communal unconscious is active and progressive. To build a just society, icons have to be kept alive; values have to be remembered, and an appropriate current of thought should be encouraged. MKO Abiola is central to this at a national level of needful deification; additional dramatic personae will include all the other martyrs of the unraveling of the Nigerian state and nation.

June 12: A Revisit
by
Dayo Benson, (Vanguard, 10 June 2001)

Chief MKO Abiola... Symbol of June 12

In another two days, the lingering memory of that epic will flood the consciousness of faithfuls particularly those who fought the moral battle for political emancipation of the downtrodden. In the next fourty-eight hours, the fourteen million Nigerians will recollect the events of that day they trooped to polling booths to cast their votes for change. A change from military rule to democratic governance, from conservative to progressive ideology and from the old order to a new order. But it was a change that never was.

On June 12, Nigerians will remember the day that would have been a watershed in the political annals of the country. That historic date eight years that the teeming population of the country resolved in unison to enthrone democracy after a decade of military misrule.

Beyond this, the date will also invoke a mixed memories of the political travails and tribulations the country had been subjected to.

Almost a decade after, the date is gradually receding into a distance in the nation's political lane but its essence is constant. Aside from voting for change, June 12 bears a deeper symbolism. One of its political significance is situated in the fact that for the first time the voting pattern shifted the political paradigm.

Until that day, Nigerians had been used to voting along ethnic divide. The politics of the first and second republics witnessed the traditional voting pattern. But June 12 marked a radical departure from pandering to primedial ethnic sentiment. It was a day the voting populace forgot their individual identities for a common cause. The long sustained myth that only Northerners can rule Nigeria was shattered when the conservative North rejected one of their own in preference for a Southern. It was indeed the first time a Southern would win presidential election in the country, albeit he was never allowed to actualise the mandate.

Two previous attempts by Southerners in the first and second republics came to nought. The late Chief Obafemi Awolowo's bid to become the post-independence prime minister was not realised in the first republic when the nation practised parliamentary system. it was the same story during the presidential system in the second republic. Twice he tried, twice he did not succeed. But June 12 changed all that.

Another dimension of the date is that for the first time, Nigerians came out of their religious cocoons to elect leaders of their choice. That the banner that brought about the victory was muslim/muslim illustrated a new feeling among Nigerians. But that feeling was later fouled via a whimsical military fiat after a nocturnal court judgement that purported stopped the election from holding. The rest in new history. It was that singular unpopular act that sparked off the sour side of June 12. For those who believed and still believe in its sanctity, the struggle to actualise the mandate soon became the struggle for truth and justice. The restive civil populace took over where the political elite stopped. Bouyed by the sheer ruggedness of pro-democracy groups, Nigerian youths took to the streets to protest the unpopular annulment. In the process many lives were wasted by the armed soldiers set against harmless and defenceless populace. In the few years that followed 1993, many more prominent lives were lost on account of the June 12 struggle. Pa. Alfred Rewane, Rear Admiral Omotehinwa, Alhaja Suliat Adedeji, Dr. Sola Omosola, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Eventually, the custodian of the mandate itself, Chief MKO Abiola died in the gulag of his incarcerator over his insistence on actualising his mandate. It is indeed in the memory of those who laid down their lives for the struggle that the date will endure.

Over the past few years, there have been efforts to deflate the importance of the date. From the international appeal it enjoyed initially, the essence of June 12 was reduced to a zonal affair. In fact, at a point, it was only a handful of NADECO chieftains that kept the memory alive. It was the development that earned it a South-West affair. This is probably understandable. It was the contrivance of those who had attempted to obliterate the spirit from the consciousness of most Nigerians.

Indeed, June 12 has been reduced to a South-West affairs. Its memory had been kept alive with rallies and lectures by pro-democracy activist prior to the enthronement of democracy.

However, in the last two years, the spirit has been rekindled since the return of democracy. Governments of the six South-West states have been naming monuments, highways and streets after the late custodian of the voided mandate and his slain wife regarded as the heroine of democracy. The duo, and several other who were killed in the struggle are martys of democracy. They have written their names in the pantheon of Nigeria political history.

Revisionists have often claimed that the June 12 1993 presidential poll was inconclusive hence Abiola had no claim to any mandate. This may well be a technical argument as the outcome of the election was predictable even without official announcement of the result. But more importantly, there are several questions begging answers: is this the kind of democracy that hundreds of Nigerians laid down their lives for? Have they died in vain? Would things have been different if the mandate of June 12 was actualised?

According to Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, if those who actively participated in the struggle for democracy were in the saddle, things wouldn't have been this bad because they would have appreciated what they struggled for. For Governor Bola Tinubu, his regret is that the dividends of democracy he and others fought tenaciously for have not been felt by the people. This he blames on the skewed structure of Nigeria nation that does not allow for the practise of true federalism. But will things change for the better?

Will Nigerians enjoy the fruits of democracy that the blood of their heroes and heroines watered? The months ahead will tell.

How they killed Abiola,by Zadok
His security officer in custody (Friday, 20th July, 2001)
by
Kayode Matthew & Lemmy Ughegbe, Vanguard

ABUJA — THE last moments of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola were relived publicly for the first time yesterday by the man who should know: Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Theodore Bethnel Zadok, who for the two years preceding the chief’s death was in charge of his security and welfare in government custody.

He was testifying at the Oputa panel sitting in Abuja where former DMI boss, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo also alleged massive looting of public funds by top officials of the Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Zadok in his evidence-in-chief at the hearing of the petition by Abiola’s first son, Kola and physician, Dr. Ore Falomo, related how he was apparently handed away from Chief Abiola, and by the time he returned to him, he had been offered tea, only to be a few minutes thereafter.

Reading from a prepared text, the police officer said: "I was posted to head the detention base of Chief M. K. O. Abiola with about thirteen (13) body guards under me. and since the day I took over the duties of the detention camp of Chief M. K. O. Abiola I was responsible for collecting the sum of N800,000 (Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) quarterly from Major Hamza Al-Mustapha to the commissioner of police FCT command Abuja for his feeding. That is three times a day subject to what the wanted to eat. I also took care of his health by seeing the Doctor any time he complained of any illness. In view of this he never ate any food or drink any thing without me tasting it first before giving it to him to eat or drink.

"I always collected some money from the Chief Security Officer Major Hamza Al-Mustapha to buy toiletry fruit drinks, bedding and water.

"The Chief Security Officer Major hamza Al-Mustapha ordered me to give Chief MKO Abiola Koran and Bible for reading and I used to collect some money from the Chief Security Officer to buy some newspapers and magazines for the chief to read, and also give the chief some plain sheets for anything he might wish to write. My lord, Chief MKO Abiola never believed that I was a Security man who came to guide him but a son who came to take care of his father. I will like to support this statement with a written note written to me by Chief MKO Abiola.

"Before General Oladipo Diya’s coup attempt, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, on the 10th of December, 1997 ordered me to take Chief MKO Abiola to any safe place, preferably the commissioner of police guest house at Wuse. And after the said failed coup attempt Major hamza Al-Mustapha ordered me to move Chief MKO Abiola from the commissioner’s guest house to Kado Housing Estate popularly known as Jeremiah Useni Housing Estate Kado.

"On the 8th day of June 1998 the day the Head of State General Sani Abacha died the chief Security Officer Major Hamza Al-Mustapha ordered me along with Lt. Ikilama to move Chief MKO Abiola from Kado Housing Estate to Gado Nasko Barracks and from there all the 13 body guards attached to me were withdrawn except the driver and leaving the soldiers of the Guards Brigade to take over the guard.

But I was still left behind to be bringing food to Chief MKO Abiola as usual from the police officers mess Wuse Zone 7. Chief MKO Abiola was informed of the death of General Sani Abacha and the appointment of General Abdulsalami Abubakar as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief. he wrote letters to general Abdulsalami Abubakar and the service Chiefs gave them to me to Photostat them for him. He gave me some copies to give to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and passed the rest to the rest to the respective owners. After the expiration of the second quarter allocation of N800,000 (Eight Hundred Thousand naira) I approached Major A. S. Aliyu Chief Security Officer to general Abdulsalami Abubakar to collect the money for the next quarter he only told me he had heard me.

"On the day in question, the 7th Day of July 1998 at about 11.30hrs, the Chief Security Officer to general Abdulsalami Abubakar Major A. S. Aliyu called me on the radio set, asking me to see him his office. I then proceeded in his office and he instructed me to bring Chief MKO Abiola to Aguda House for an interview to be hold by 1300 hrs.

"I then went back to the base and informed Chief MKO Abiola of the interview and he asked me whether Major Hamza Al- Mustapha was aware of the said interview, I told him didn’t know because Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was busy handing and taking over but I would see if I could locate him to inform him.

"He asked me to bring his dresses which he would wear and also asked me to give him 30 minutes to enable him get dressed. At about 1230hrs the Chief Security Officer to general Abdulsalami Abubakar Major A. S. Aliyu came to the base. To the best of my knowledge, that was the first time he knew that place, wanting to know if we were ready and I replied him almost ready. As we opened the door the Chief was already waiting for us. Together we went out and headed to Aguda House, venue of the Interview.

"Before we all left the base, chief MKO Abiola was in sound and healthy condition. He did not complain to me of any illness. About 100 metres from the door stand of the Aguda House, the controller from the control room called me on the radio set and said, I quote, "30 BRAVO your LOG I answered ALFA GOLFF UNIFORM DELTA ALFA, HOTEL. And he said MAIG SERIA GOLFF from the OSCAR FOSTRO FOSTRO OF CHALIE OSCA GOLFF SERIA you should ROMEO PAPA TANGO to see the subject INDIA MIKE MIKE I answered RECEIVED."

Meaning 2i/c Prescort your present location. I answered Aguda House and he gave the message from the office of the Chief of General Staff and that you should see the Chief of general Staff Admiral Mike Akhigbhe immediately please and I answered noted please.

"As we arrived at the Aguda House door step, I led Chief MKO Abiola inside the house and I took permission from the Chief Security Officer to General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Major A. S. Aliyu in whose custody I left Chief MKO Abiola.

"He asked me to use his vehicle, leaving my vehicle at the door step where it was packed. I then took his vehicle as entrusted and left to see the Chief of General Staff Admiral Mike Akhigbe at about 1310hrs and I came back from seeing Admiral Mike Akhigbe at about 1350hrs, only to discover that my vehicle was not there at the packing spot. On arrival, I saw one of my Body Guards Sunday Pada standing by the side of the door. I asked him where they had gone. He replied me they were inside and that the Chief Security Office only sent my vehicle to Aso-Clinic and as I was about to enter the room, I met with the Chief Security Officer, Major A. S. Aliyu who told me that Chief MKO Abiola was not feeling fine and after taking a cup of tea he coughed and feel down.

"I quickly went inside and I saw Chief MKO Abiola lying on the floor facing down. I called him. for the first time he answered, and I lifted him up and turned him upside and called him again for the second time he did not answer. At that time doctor Sadiq Sani Wali from Aso Clinic arrived and about examining the chief. I told him we should rush the Chief to the clinic for proper treatment. Myself, the Chief Security Officer, Major A. S. Aliyu, Doctor Sadiq Sani Wali and the two white men standing lifted Chief MKO Abiola into my vehicle outside for onward movement to Aso-clinic.

Before getting to Aso-Clinic I saw Dr. Sadiq Sani Wali pressing his (Abiola’s) stomach up and down a kind of resuscitating him. As we arrived the clinic, Chief M.K.O. Abiola was rushed to the Emergency Room where I stood by with the doctors including the two white men and the Chief Security Officer Major Aliyu until when Dr. Sadiq Sani Wali later confirmed to us that Chief M.K.O Abiola was dead.

"We came out of the Emergency Room and the Chief Security Officer Major A. S. Aliyu phoned the villa, I heard him saying to the ADC please, connect me to the Head of State I have an important message for him. For about three minutes they continued the discussion with the Head of State while he was moving towards his vehicle outside. So I didn’t hear what he was discussing with the Head of State after the phone we both left for villa,

"The questions to ask are:

Who gave Chief M.K.O. Abiola tea in my absence?

Who tasted the tea before giving it to him?

And in whose presence was the tea tested?

"The questions are for the Chief Security Officer to General Abdulsalam Abubakar; Major Aliyu to answer. And I want to testify before this Honourable Commission that on the 6th day of July 1998 at about 2200hrs Kola Abiola the son to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola his step mother; and about three of his sisters were with their father at Aguda House until 0130hrs of 7th July, 1998. I want to say categorically here that his father Chief M.K.O. Abiola was in a sound and healthy condition.

"Based on the statement made to the Commission by Femi Falana on the 5th day of July 2001 that Chief M.K.O Abiola was driven from Kano State to Abuja where he said that the Chief fell inside the Black Maria four times before arriving Abuja is totally false, because to the best of my knowledge Chief M.K.O Abiola was never detained out of Abuja.

"On the 28th day of July 1998, I collected from the Commander Brigade of Guard Gado Nasko Barracks the late Chief M.K.O Abiola’s property and handed them over to Alhaji Babagana Kingibe on the 31st day of July, 1998 who ordered his orderly Sergeant Mustapha Gana to check, sign and collect the property from me and he Babagana Kingibe made a contact call to the family of Chief M.K.O. Abiola to come forward and collect the said property.

After his evidence-in-chief, he was then cross examined by Mr. Femi Falana.

Falana: You said you were not retired, you were not posted and yet you have been on salaries. Since when have you been receiving salary without rendering services to this station.

Zadok: Since August 1 1998 on the day the personal assistant the former Inspector General of Police Superintendent Udi informed me in the villa that two officers from force CID Lagos were in the villa and that I should submit their names at the gate for them to see my OC. I submitted their names. When they entered, they told us they were taking over from us, without any written letter. I did not know that Major Aliu was aware of it. We were moved out of the villa without any document. Since August 1 1998 I have not worked in any police formation.

Falana: Were you close to Abiola in detention.

Zadok: Yes I was close to him.

Falana: What ailment did Abiola complained to your about?

Zadok: He complained of his high blood pressure.

Falana: You said on June 8 1998 your bodyguards were withdrawn and soldiers took over the protection of Abiola.

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: Did he write letters that you knew of while in detention?

Zadok: Yes, he wrote condolence letters to Mrs. Yar’Adua when General Yar’Adua died. Also when General Abacha died, he wrote condolence letter to Mrs. Abacha to be forwarded to General Abdulsalami Abubakar for vetting as he said two heads are better than one.

Falana: Do you know the contents of the letter?

Zadok: No, the letters were always sealed.

Falana: Is Major A.S. Aliu still in the army?

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: Were you with him when Commonwealth Sec. Gen. Emeka Anyaoku held a meeting with him?

Zadok: Yes I was there. They all took photograph together.

Falana: Had this ever happened before?

Zadok: No, it never happened before during his detention.

Falana: the photograph was to let everybody know that he was hale and hearty.

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: Was it to your knowledge that a foreigner was allowed to give food or drink to a detainee in Nigeria? (Find Out You Will Not Believe Your Eyes!!<=Story Link by NMW)

Zadok: To the best of my knowledge no foreigner had ever done this.

It was my duty to taste any food or drink before giving it to Abiola.

Falana: When Abiola was given tea to drink was the first time you never tasted anything given to Abiola to take?

Zadok: Yes it was the first time.

Falana: You normally tasted food or drink before you gave it to Abiola to prevent any harm done to your subject?

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: So, you were tricked to go and see Admiral Akhigbe?

Zadok: Maybe.

Falana: When you left Abiola with Major A.S. Aliu, you were confident that you were leaving him in the care of a competent person.

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: After his death what happened to his property he left in detention?

Zadok: I have a copy of the list of his property. I handed over his property to Ambassador Baba Gana Kingigbe who immediately called Abiola’s family to inform them that Abiola’s property were with him and they should come for them.

Falana: US official Dickering later addressed a press conference to say Abiola died of national cause.

Zadok: Yes.

Falana: Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo said the day Abacha died, Bamaiyi said Abiola must also be killed is a similar way to balance equation.

Zadok: Yes, I heard it.

He was asked why he did not inquire from Major Aliu who gave tea to Abiola and he replied, "Major Aliu was the overall security office in charge of Abiola’s detention. I did not have the gut to ask him. Who gave Abiola tea and whether it was tasted before giving it to him.

"Chief Abiola need to keep photocopies of his letters in his Bible and Koran. I did not have the time to go through them. But if the commission requests for them it will assist this commission greatly.

At the end of Zadok’s testimony, Mr. Falana requested the commission to order the IG to give full protection to Zadok.

Gen Sabo also testified yesterday in respect of Chief Abiola’s death.

Led by his counsel, Mr. Umar Shinthien, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sabo’s evidence ran thus:

Shinttien: Brigadier-General Sabo, you told this commission in Lagos that apart from what you said then on Chief Abiola’s death, you have more to say.

Sabo: Yes I still have a lot more facts on Abiola’s death. I will also tender some documents here before this commission, while I will take the rest documents to Akanbi’s anti-corruption commission.

Shinttien: Tell this commission other facts you know.

Sabo: I said earlier that on June 8 1998 many things happened from the sublime to the ridiculous. The sublime has to do with the death of former head of state, General Sani Abacha while the ridiculous was on the threat to Abiola’s life. I said in Lagos that General Ishaya Bamaiyi called me after General Abacha called me after General Abacha death and asked me where was Chief Abiola, I said I didn’t know, that Major Al-Mustapha was the one keeping him. General Bamaiyi then told me don’t you think that now that General Abacha is dead, Chief Abiola should be similarly killed to balance the equation? I looked for Major Mustapha and told him what Bamaiyi has said. I later learnt that Bamaiyi had told Mustapha the same thing because Mustapha told me he had been looking for me for the same purpose.

Major Mustapha in his evidence gave certain indicators on how General Abacha died and how Chief Abiola died. He said Abacha choked, jerked and foamed before he died Abiola also choked, jerked ,foamed and died. Since Bamaiyi used the word similarly, I think Abacha’s family should be interested in this because both died the same way.

Shinttien: When General Bamaiyi told you this and Mustapha confirmed he was told the something, what did you do?

Sabo: I advised that Abiola’s location should be changed and he said he had done that.

Shinttien: Did you attend late General Abacha burial in Kano.

Sabo: No I didn’t go because of the security of Abiola that was being threatened.

Shinttien: What happened after late General Abacha’s death.

Sabo: After Abacha’s death, there was a lot of clamouring as to who would succeed him. General Jeremiah Husseni was there clamouring to succeed Abacha and there were others. Then myself, General Magashi and Bamaiyi then met and decided that instead of deliberating on who would succeed General Abacha, succession by hierarchy should be followed with General Abdulsalami Abubakar as the head of state, General Bamaiyi, Chief of Defence Staff and General Magashi as chief of army staff, this was arrived at in order to shut out any bickerings. We then called General Abdulsalami for a meeting of the PRC. It was an extra-ordinary PRC meeting because it was not scheduled.

Shinttien: Did you inform General Abdulsalmi Abubakar of the threat to Chief Abiola’s death?

Sabo: Before General Abdulsalami Abubakar was sworn-in as head of state, we all went to the villa where the body of the late head of state was lying and I told General Abdulsalami that General Bamaiyi suggested that since Abacha died, Abiola must also be killed. But General Abubakar said when they return from Kano, we would discuss further. He refused to do anything after he came back from Kano. I sent a message to him through AVM Idi-Musa that I wanted to see General Abdulsalam on the same issue but he refused to see me. I passed the information to Idi Musa that it was urgent and Idi Musa told me General Abubakar would listen to me when he returned from South Africa. He refused to see me until I was retired on July 10 1998, three days after Chief Abiola’s death.

Shinttien: Did Major Mustapha know the whereabouts of Chief Abiola at this time.

Sabo: Mustapha did not know Abiola’s whereabouts because he was arrested and detained. And since Mustapha was now out of the way, Abiola was open to any other person.

Shinttien: Is it normal for a detainee’s guard to be sent away and given tea in his absence?

Sabo: It is not normal and this is an indication of what happened later.

Gen. Sabo also alleged massive financial misdeeds by the Abdulkareem Abubakar government, saying:

"Before General Sani Abacha’s death there were bickerings from people including General Abdulsalami Abubakar that they were not being given any welfare. General Abubakar accused the service chiefs that they were the ones that had the resources but he did not have anything there was a time he asked Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim to give him N1 million urgently but Ambassador Ibrahim said he didn’t have the money. And when Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar became the head of state, he was relieved of his appointment.

"When General Abdulsalami came to power, he exhibited an accumulated and accentuated thirst for money. I stumbled on some documents and video cassettes even while in retirement.

"There was the case of $40 million contributed by multinationals for General Sani Abacha’s transmutation to civilian president. I gave the cassette of his disclosure to help him clean the system not knowing that he would use it to clean me out of the system because three days later I was arrested. I urge the commission to investigate this money contributed by multinational towards Abacha’s self-succession.

"There was also the case of Engineer Buba Galadima, Director of NMA whom General Abdulsalami Abubakar directed to release N5 billion from the NMA to the minister through Chief Hope Ozodinma. But Galadima refused saying it was beyond his power to do so. That same afternoon, a lorry load of soldiers invaded his house managed him and took him to an unknown destination. He was ordered to put in his letter of resignation so as to look as if he resigned voluntarily but he refused and asked General Abubakar to fire him. He was fired and he was given two hours to vacate his official quarters.

"The N5 billion was to be shared like this: "1.35 to be given to the minister, Chief Hope would be given N265 million and $18 million would be given to General Abubakar. I have documents to prove this (He than tendered the documents).

"There is the issue of the printing of new naira denominations, of 100, 200 and 500. I shared Mustapha’s opinions on this which he explained in his testimony that it was a booby trap for President Olusegun Obasanjo to fail. I have 13 documents to prove this which I shall tender, before this commission.

"When General Abacha was alive the idea of the printing of new naira denominations was mooted. Three companies bided for the contract - J.B. of Munich; Thomas & Co. Of London, and Bodous of Germany. They all submitted their quotations. They all agreed on $30 per one thousand pieces but General Abacha said it was too much. The agreement was not sealed before his death. When General Abdulsalami came on board, he said it should be printed at $45 per thousand. G & D was given the contract of printing and here was the company reputed for tax evasion. The company has offices in Germany, Greece, Spain, Belgium, Argentina and other places, but only has a liaison office in Nigeria. The company evaded tax to the tune of 2 million Dutch marks in Germany. This is the same company given the job to print the money I commenced investigations into the activities of this company but General Abubakar ordered me to stop it. All these were known to him.

"The NTA in its news at 7 and 9 p.m. on January 11, 2001 reported that a container load of fake naira notes was discovered in Jos and Maiduguri. This is what I am talking about.

"During Abdulsalami’s time, our soldiers in ECOMOG were not treated well at all. General Victor Malu then ECOMOG Commander once had cause to complain of adulterated fuel sent to them. When the contract for the supply of food to our soldiers was changed, it was given to one lady, I will mention her name later.

When General Abacha was alive 45 dollars was approved a day for each of our soldiers but when Gen. Abubakar came to power he increased it. But instead of giving them the money, they were given the old rate, where is the balance?

"There is the issue of parting gift to each PRC member. N1 million was agreed as parting gift for each PRC member or 500,000 dollars. I inquired from two PRC members later differently. I asked them jokingly that I learnt you were all given ½ a million dollars as parting gift. Where is my own share now? But they told me it was only 50,000 dollars. So what happened to the remaining 450,000 dollars per each PRC member times the total PRC members?

Before General Abacha died, he left a foreign reserve of 9.7 billion dollars. There are papers to show this. But Abubakar claimed that only 7.17 billion dollars was left in the reserve what happened to the balance? This reserve that Abacha accumulated in five years, Abdulsalami depleted if in nine months.

"Eagle Square here in Abuja was being renovated yearly when General Oseni was FCT Minister. Consultants were appointed for the renovation at N230 million. But General Abdulsalami rejected this and opted for upward review of N2.3 billion as against N230m.

"Also through 59 million dollars he siphoned from government coffers he bought a house in London at 5 million pounds renovated it at 1 million pounds.

"Before General Abacha died he approved 66 million Dutch marks for the maintenance of Alpha jets and other aircraft. When Abubakar took over he wrote another memo for the sum of 44,275,000 dollars for the same maintenance. I would have wished he was here to cross check if this signature on these documents were his.

"There was also another memo from the CGS dated March 17 1999 at the injury time of the administration. There was request for the purchase of boats at 45 million dollars, purchase of amphibious plane at 21,747,660 dollars; and 5,000 rain coats jacket to cost 14,500,00 dollars. The normal cost of one rain coat to pocket were from rain is 45 dollar per piece and the total cost for the 5,000 rain coats should be 2,9000 dollars. It was signed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar to be purchased on ECOMOG issue, apart from the naval personnel that used to transport the food items, it was later given to merchant ships.

"There is the issue of Engineer Ibrahim Ali, MD of NPA. General Abubakar called him one day and told him since General Abacha did not give you free hand to do your duties, bring your quotation and I will give you the wherewithal to execute it. He brought it to Abdulsalami. He met Alhaji Gidado Idris, former Secretary to the Federation there. Abdulsalami approved it for execution but when Ali left Abdulsalami ordered Gidado Idris to fire Ali when Gidado wanted to refuse, he told him that if he didn’t do it somebody else would do it and that was how he was fired.

Shinttien: What did all these mean with respect to Chief Abiola’s security.

Sabo: All these were to show that as Chief Abiola was to show that as Chief Abiola was in the custody of Abdulsalami, if Abiola was released, he would be demanding for his mandate and this will be unconducive for him to loot the country’s treasury. General Abubakar should appear before this commission to explain ,what happens to the depletion of the economy.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar set a booby trap for Obasanjo’s administration, I am not saying this to curry favour from President Obasanjo. Let us not deal only on the past of the late head of state.

Shinttien: In what other way to your knowledge has the General Abdulsalami Abubakar reduced the military to what it is now.

Sabo: Another way which General Abdulsalami siphoned money is the task force for the armed forces and the police.

On December 31 1997, N21, 270, 292,50 was disbursed to the armed forces and the police, I am not convinced the money was used judiciously, I have documents to authenticate this.

There is also the issue of N80m water project which was discarded by General Abdulsalami. He re-awarded it for 20 million dollars while 10m dollars was collected upfront. I am sure the balance was also given. I am not sure whether the water project was executed.

Abacha offered Abiola $500m to forget his mandate - MKO’s former aide
by
Musikilu Mojeed and Jide Babalola
Published: Sunday, 9 Dec 2007

US-based Akib Abiola, former aide to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, is a founding member of the African-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce. In this interview with Musikilu Mojeed and Jide Babalola, he spoke on intrigues and overtures former Heads of State, Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha made to Abiola to scuttle his mandate. He also spoke on the potential contributions that Nigerians in diaspora can make towards realisation of the nation’ economic potentials

What was your relationship with the late MKO Abiola?

I was the late MKO Abiola’s personal assistant and aide in the United States. Apart from his children and Randy Echols, I was probably the closest person to him in the U.S. I travelled with him in the states and came to Nigeria with him when he returned to Nigeria in September 1993. I also travelled with him to the different cities, especially in the North when he returned to Nigeria, trying to actualise his mandate. I wrote some of his speeches and I had his ear. The man respected my opinion on many issues. I also travelled with him to the Virgin Islands with one of his wives in December 1993 when he wrote the speech congratulating Nigerians on the new year 1994 in which he urged all political parties to work together to get rid of the military.

I first got involved with the late politician in early 1993 when I became aware, through intelligence information, that he would win the election. I immediately sent a letter to him. We hit off right from the start. He was very impressed with my letter. I later sent him a list of ideas to be included in his manifesto. Later on, I wrote some speeches for him and gave him some key words that he should include in his speeches. When the election was annulled, I was the person who arranged the first radio interview via telephone with a radio station in Washington, DC and we later brought Dr. Beko Kuti on line to discuss the annulment. It was during this interview that I gave out the telephone and fax numbers of the congressional leaders and the White House so that listeners could contact them. That was how the Congressional Hearing on Nigeria that brought the annulment to the Chambers of the U.S. Congress was conceived. Also, that was the beginning and the formation of the Nigerian democratic movement.

How close were you to him?

I was very close to him. He disclosed to me that he spent $50 million of his own money for the election and spent additional $25 million, after the election to actualise his mandate. After the annulment, it was a bidding war between him and IBB to gain and rally Nigerian politicians to their sides. Politicians would come to him and tell him that IBB just gave them fifty thousand naira and he would either match it or risk something else in order to retain their support. Apart from telling me how much he spent on the campaign, he also told me that there was a time that Abacha sent his people to him and offered him $500 million to forget about the mandate. He called me to his private room and discussed it with me and asked me about my opinion but before I could say a word, he said “I am not going to sell my mandate”. He said anything not worth dying for is not worth living for. He also said in his jovial manner, “you know that could be a set up”.

What has been your relationship with the Abiola family ever since the politician died?

I have not been very close to the family as I would have liked to do since he died. I have visited Nigeria three times since he died and each time I went to the house, I was told the children whom I was close to were not at home. I am very proud of what Hafsat Abiola is doing for Nigerian women. I will like to see her go into politics. I believe that the politician was assassinated. There were some warnings about his possible killing before he was killed. His death was not just orchestrated within Nigeria; it was well planned with international connection and involvement.

In your opinion, how best do you think government should compensate Abiola?

The government should consider compensating the late MKO Abiola’s family for wrongful death by awarding $120 million to his family. Out of the $120 million, $1 million should go to each of the 113 children and the remaining $7 million to go to his extended family at Abeokuta. The man did not only spend his fortune to bring democracy to Nigeria, he also paid the ultimate price, and he sacrificed his own life. Without Abiola’s sacrifice, we would not have the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South. If not because of MKO, Obasanjo would never have become president. Now in Nigeria, because of the sacrifice the man made, power is no longer concentrated in one part of the country. We are now forced to look nationally when filling key positions in the Executive, National Assembly and in the judiciary.

In my opinion, the late MKO Abiola was the father of our democracy.

What is your relationship with Atiku and Bamanga Tukur?

I got involved with Atiku’s camp while Dr. Umar Ardo was his personal assistant and I was later introduced to Alhaji Garba Shehu. I wrote some speeches for the Vice-President and contributed to his manifesto. I also gave them some pieces of advice during the struggle for third term and disagreement with President Obasanjo. Most of my pieces of advice and information came from my past experience and connections working in Washington DC for a U.S. government agency whose mission and goals are to promote democracy and free enterprise around the world. If you ask Garba Shehu, he will tell you that most of my predictions were correct.

As a Nigerian in the Diaspora, what do you make of the politics and policies of President Umaru Yar’Adua?

If you may recall, the President was the only candidate who did not have his own manifesto or platform presented to the Nigerian people before the election. Therefore, it was difficult for the electorate to fully understand what his policies and goals really were. However, since he assumed office, I have been very impressed with some of his policies and pronouncements. However, I am disappointed about his reversal of the Naira policy. I think that Soludo’s proposal was a great policy. Right now, everything in Nigeria is priced using the U.S. dollar as a benchmark. The proponents of SAP and the devaluation of our currency imposed that policy on Nigerians under the false assumption that it would promote export and improve import. The opposite is what we have experienced. That policy was not necessary because our major export which is oil, is already priced in dollar. The policy only helped the Western nations to be able to buy our products cheaply. They have turned our Naira to the Mexican peso. In the good old days, a farmer can afford to buy a truck or a bicycle due to the strong exchange rate. I will urge the president to reconsider Soludo’s proposal because if he does, Nigerian Naira may become the benchmark for currency valuation for all of West Africa and beyond, because we have the reserves and the oil to back it up.

I also like his election reform initiatives and his open-minded management and leadership style. His policy on Niger Delta is commendable and should be applauded. In order for the new President to shine, however, the former President Chief Obasanjo needs to stay out of the limelight. He needs to fully retire to his Otta farm or go into exile if he cannot stop meddling in politics. He needs to do what other great statesmen in history have done: allow the new generation to shine. The man should voluntarily resign from the BOT of the PDP and stop participating in active politicking.

President Yar’Adua in my opinion seems to be doing a great job and he has the best interest of the country at heart. It is unfortunate that his election was clouded with rigging and frauds. This is what happens when we have people with garrison mentality running the show. His victory was tainted by the win-at-all-costs and the do-or-die mentality of some old politicians.

I think the current investigations and petitions at the election tribunal are good for the country. At the end of the day, the result can only strengthen our democracy and the three arms of our government.

How can Nigerians in the Diaspora contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria?

Most Nigerians in Diaspora are eager to contribute to the development of the country. However, in order to encourage them to invest in Nigeria or come back home, the government needs to make the environment conductive and encouraging. The government needs to initiate a transition program for Nigerians in Diaspora. Such transition program should include open and transparent joint ventures, security and housing.

There should be an environment where Nigerians in Diaspora can link with Nigerians in Nigeria to start business ventures together without being afraid of being duped, killed or betrayed. Safety is of great concern for most Nigerians living abroad. The government should increase the salary of the police, all other state security personnel to be in line with their counterpart in advanced countries. Give these men and women incentives what would encourage them to do their job well and protect the lives of their people. Community policing and state-run police should also be encouraged.

If Nigerians in Diaspora have homes in Nigeria they will be inclined to visit more often, invest in the country and may even relocate to Nigeria. However, the environment is not conducive for them to build their dream homes in their mother land. I am in the mortgage business and real estate sale and development. Banks and financial institutions in Nigeria should partner with mortgage companies in the United States and Europe whereby Nigerians abroad can finance properties in Nigeria, making payments in their home country. For instance, it is easier to come up with 20 per cent down payment on a house and finance the remaining balance.

As part of my commitment to contribute to the development of Nigeria, I have made Nigeria a priority among all the countries earmarked for development and joint ventures between American companies and Africa and Caribbean countries by the African Caribbean Chamber of Commerce of which I am one of the executive officers. There are other organizations in place willing to bring investments to Nigeria by working with either American or European business executives. What these organisations need are recognition and encouragement from the Nigerian government.

Abiola Was Murdered - Kuta
by
Wole Mosadomi, Vanguard Daily, 21 February 2001

Minna—MORE facts on what led to the death of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election have been given by Senator Idris Ibrahim Kuta who said he (Abiola) was murdered because he vowed to probe the military if he eventually won the presidential election.

Senator Idris Kuta who is also regarded as close aide of former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida who incidentally annulled the June 12 election said, when this information got to the miliary who are mostly his (Abiola) friends, they ganged up to scuttle his ambition by not allowing him enjoy the fruits of his labour. From all available reports, the late politician won the 1993 presidential election and eventually appointed the king but God did not turban him.

Senator Idris Kuta who was speaking as guest speaker at a workshop organised by the People's Democratic Institute for PDP-elected council chairmen and councillors in Niger, Kogi and Kwara states said the military was aware of the fact that late Abiola was part of them and would have made life difficult for them if he became president. Kuta who was the chairman of the probe panel which indicted former Senate President Chuba Okadigbo of financial impropriety also condemned those who are declaring Aso Villa and other government houses as not vacant saying this is very undemocratic.

Any president, governor, party leader or government official going about to say there is no vacancy in his office is being undemocratic, Senator Kuta declared. He said: instead of campaigning for themselves or trying to sit tight in office, they should allow their achievements speak for them, as this is a straight ticket for them. Speaking in a message to the workshop, national chairman of PDP, Chief Barnabas Gemade reiterated the party's commitment to wage war against corruption, stand up against anti-democratic forces and work towards a genuine national reconciliation.

All the stories used for this compilation are culled from newspapers and credible, authoritative and responsible internet websites.

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