Bola Tinubu
Details of how the presumed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election was betrayed has been revealed.
Excerpts from an interview published in The News magazine of October 26, 1998,
Sen. Bola Tinubu, then fresh from exile on the intrigues of the Abacha
regime, the games politicians and the military played and his hopes for
the future. He spoke with Sunday Dare and Henry Ugbolue.
How do you feel to be back home?
It is very, very nice to be back, very good feeling of family,
camaraderie to be back in one’s homeland. It is indescribable: the
reception, the joy of being back home. First, I want to say a big ‘thank
you’ to all journalists. Without you, without your steadfastness, your
commitment to truth and justice, your tenacity, the struggle would have
been nothing. We are back to strengthen that section of the press which
stood for justice courageously. I salute the religious leaders,
particularly the CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) with honourable
men such as Rev Sunday Mbang, Reverend Abiodun Adetiloye and the rest of
them. To have seen this nation go through struggle without loss of
lives in their hundreds of thousands; without turning this Nigeria into
Rwanda or Burundi, was due to their prayers, and their courageous
support for justice and truth. We will continue to praise them and hold
them in the highest esteem. The history of this country will not be
complete without their names being written in gold.
Let us take you to the journey to exile. At what point, did it dawn on you that you had to travel out of this country?
At the point that it was clear to me that my life was in danger?
Yes, after the annulment and we declared Abacha’s regime illegal,
Senator Abraham Adesanya, Senator Kofo Akerele-Bucknor, Senator Ameh
Ebute, Senate president; Rev. Father Nwolu and Senator Nweje were
arrested initially. I went underground and was being sought by the
police and the authorities. Yet, I continued to grant interviews to the
international media and the local press. Suddenly, on the 9th of
October, my house in Victoria Island, Lagos, was petrol-bombed and a
call came in that ‘you grant another interview, you try to abuse this
government again, you will be miserable.’ I was still taking those as
mere threats until a friend called to tell me that I should go deeper
underground or leave the country, that what will happen to me might be a
send-forth to eternity. The language he used, I mean the way it was
used, coupled with the fact that I was still on drips for jaundice and
typhoid, hit me hard.
Later, another friend phoned me that they were heading for my house
and I saw the signs. They didn’t meet me at home. I headed for the
hospital where I received treatment. I left that hospital in disguise
because they were already at the door. They didn’t know I was the one.
My passports had been impounded. But I was assisted by some
embassies to procure travel documents with which I travelled. I went
through Agege and the rest by commercial motorbike disguised as a mallam
(laughs). I even went to bid Kudirat Abiola and the rest good-bye. But I
could not go to my mum, I could not say good-bye to everybody else
because at that stage, it wasn’t safe to do so. So, I left through the
routes that became popularly known as ‘NADECO routes’, out of the
country. Sometimes, I had to hitch rides on bikes.
I landed in Benin Republic and made a call to Gen Akinrinade
(Alani). As I was talking with him, they were right in front of his
house. He said they’d just arrived.
He was still in Nigeria?
He was still in Nigeria. And the informants had already told me
that Akinrinade was next. As I was talking to him, he told me that he
was just preparing his luggage. So, I gave him the information that he
should not come through the gate and he should not attempt to go to
Murtala Muhammed Airport. He later said he even had to jump over his
fence. He would be telling you his own story. He said he would be
connecting Dan Suleiman. Then I told them where I was in Benin Republic.
They sneaked out and joined me later. After some days, Akinrinade and
Dan Suleiman left.
We will like to take you back to the June 12 struggle. When the
struggle commenced, we want to have a clear understanding of what you
faced then and what the military dictatorship did…
The intrigues are quite a phenomenon. It goes back to when Yar’Adua
was manipulated believing that the divide and rule game played by Gen.
Ibrahim Babangida was to make Abiola president and Kingibe his running
mate, contrary to the promise made to Yar’Adua that Atiku would be
hisrunning mate. Abiola was confused. He later went round and nominated
Bafyau after the threat from IBB that if he announced Atiku Abubakar as
his running mate, he should forget about the presidency. Abiola was
worried. He got to Kaduna, Atiku was waiting for the announcement.
Abiola could not make it. He called an emergency meeting and had to
leave for Abuja.
Yar’Adua, of course, was angry with Abiola for dropping his man,
Atiku. Babangida played on that anger, got Yar’Adua to endorse the
interim national government and got Anenih to sign off the mandate.
That was how Yar’Adua got to support the ING and reconciled with
Babangida by using Gen. Obasanjo. It’s the truth, Obasanjo did not
support June 12. It was a lie, a propaganda, to say he supported June
12. He supported the Interim National Government (ING). He said it. They
played on that intrigue that Yar’Adua would get that lost chance if the
ING was there; that he would be able to recover all that he had lost,
using his men nominated into the ING.
There were rumours making the rounds that there was a deal between Abiola and Abacha.
An understanding.
Okay, understanding, a sort of agreement. You were one of
the men that accompanied Abiola to Abacha’s place. What really happened?
Until you have an understanding of what happened before then, you
cannot have a clear understanding of what really happened on the day of
the visit.
What happened is…you follow the intrigue… The case that went to the
court, to Justice Dolapo Akinsanya was engineered and proposed by me,
as an elected representative of the people. I was going to challenge the
ING, its legitimacy, through Prof Kasumu. Prof. Kasumu was never
Abiola’s lawyer. Prof. Kasumu drafted the case on that day. We reviewed
it. We were about to go to court and I mentioned to Abiola, what I was
about to do. Abiola invited Prof. Kasumu to meet with him. Kasumu met
with him. He said we’ll, maybe Abiola himself as the candidate, the
custodian of the mandate, should really go for it. We changed it
overnight, turned the case round. Eventually Abiola took the case to
court.
Prof. Kasumu won the case. Justice Dolapo Akinsanya declared the
ING illegal. So, each time we condemn the judiciary, we have to make
exceptions. No one was anticipating the judgment. We had made
alternative plan: that if the judgment was in Abiola’s favour, he should
take over that night, but if the government won, we would find other
means. Unfortunately, may his soul rest in perfect peace, Basorun
Abiola, was so trusting. The matter leaked to (Gen. Sani) Abacha, who
was then minister of defence.
When, the judgment came and the court declared the ING illegal, and
we were preparing to swear in Abiola…he was not ready to be sworn
because… He said it should be done in the traditional, normal way, that
he was not the only custodian. Suddenly, a message came from (Gen.
Oladipo) Diya that he needed to see me. I then went to meet him at his
house. They already had the information that Abiola was to be sworn in
(laughter). Diya said ‘you’ve got the judiciary supporting you, you
should now get the military backing. We are ready to back you, let’s
go.’ Diya took me to Gen. Abacha’s house. There Abacha told me, ‘ look,
distinguished senator, you are the closest person to Abiola. I voted for
Abiola, I like us to handle the situation like gentlemen. We heard of a
plan that he was going to swear himself in. In fact, the constitutional
crisis that is on the ground now is a big one. This is the ministry of
defence, we will instal Abiola and put the military behind him. Now that
we have this judgement, Abiola should, however, not swear himself in.’
There and then, they called Abiola’s son, Kola. They told him on
phone that, ‘we have spoken with Bola Tinubu, and he is coming to
discuss with you.’
Were you aware that they were making the call?
I wasn’t. They went into another room… Abacha’s inner room. I went back and discussed at 2 am with Abiola.
I told him I was not sure that these people were sincere. I cannot
forget the proverb that he used to explain his position. He said ‘if you
have to fight somebody, you’ve got to get close to him. Even if they
are not sincere, he is the de facto head of state now, let me listen to
him. I’m ready to take him on.’ It was the time they gave us the date,
and he said Abiola would not last. When Abiola met with Abacha, they
told us that Col. Abubakar Umar was planning to topple Abiola. They
listed about 17 officers, including Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro and the rest
of them, who they said, were involved in the coup plot. They told
Abiola, ‘You won’t be able to stop them, you won’t last four days.’ They
said they needed to get rid of these dangerous boys in the military.
Abiola became a little jittery.
Abacha told Abiola that if by the third day, they could not swear
him in, in six weeks, six months when they have gotten rid of all the
mines—that’s the way Abacha described it—the mines against June 12, and
that Abiola should not walk through the mines at all. That if they
couldn’t do it in three weeks, to six weeks, the maximum they would take
was six months and they will hand over to him. Abiola was so trusting.
On the second or third day, Abiola said he wanted to consult the SDP,
the people. He did. We held a meeting in his house. We went back to Diya
after the discussion and raised a lot of questions. Diya got angry
because we were questioning their sincerity. He said he was a man of
honour and won’t deceive Abiola. He asked Abiola what he was to gain
deceiving him. He said he had received severe punishment and
discrimination from Babangida because of June 12. He reminded us of his
posting to Kaduna that is more or less a demotion. He said it was
Abacha’s co-operation that got him to the War College and that he
believed Abacha could do what he said he would and he (Diya) will do it
with him. And then he got Abiola and my side trusting him as a matter of
fact. And, as a result of that, Abiola decided to grant him the chance
and opportunity to actualise June 12, believing that he will do it.
Then, another turn came for Abiola to appear for discussion with
Abacha. They met that night with Abiola saying he was not sure of what
will happen with his mandate, that he could not trust Abacha.
He told Abacha so?
Yes, he told Abacha that he wanted more convincing evidence. It was
then Abacha convinced him of the danger to his life if he should go
ahead to swear Abiola him. Then an emir who was a mutual friend to
Abacha and Abiola was brought in to persuade Abiola to believe and to
support Abacha. He swore under Islamic and traditional oath, more or
less, that he would not sit down there and work against June 12—that he
had spoken to Alhaji (Lateef) Jakande who would be Abiola’s eye in
government. Diya had earlier called Jakande from his house that Abiola
was on the way. Abiola spoke to him. Jakande said he would stay awake
until we got there. We got to him at 2.30 am. When Abiola narrated the
story, the discussion with Diya and Abacha, he said, well, we should go
along with it and that he was going to take the appointment in Abacha’s
cabinet and he could be trusted to work for June 12. He swore he would
resign if they reneged. There and then we made a call to Papa Ajasin
(may his soul rest in peace). The old man said, ‘no, don’t near them.
They are dangerous.’ Abiola vainly tried to persuade Papa Ajasin about
the sincerity of Abacha and Diya, but the old man was very angry. When
we got back to the car, I asked Abiola what he planned to do about what
Papa Ajasin said. He told me he would have to talk to Kudirat, to talk
to Papa.
Six months passed, no June 12. Abacha became hostile. I went to
Abuja to meet Diya in company of a prominent common friend of ours.
‘Gen. Diya, sir, what about the mandate?’ He said, ‘We are in crisis, we
are still not stable, we have so much to do.’ Then I said, ‘You
probably have deceived us, six months have lapsed, and your promise
could not be kept.’ Therefore, I went to discuss with Abiola. The
indications were that these people were liars and they would not
actualise June 12. Then Diya’s influence started waning. Abiola said the
honeymoon was over, he had to fight for his mandate. And it was then he
started putting together the People’s Alliance for Justice and Unity
(PAJU). I think
TheNEWS published those activities. I went to see Abiola in the UK.
Casting your mind back to all that happened, could you have
adopted better strategies for the struggle, looking at the fallout
eventually?
Probably that was the best option we had. Different strategies
could have been employed. Abiola had too many advisers — all sorts of
things were being suggested. One thing we must give him credit for,
Abiola remained steadfast, remained resolute that he would not want
Nigeria to go through bloodshed. He said ‘look, the poor masses, the
down-trodden, would suffer if we allow this to degenerate to serious
crisis.’ That is why he had negotiations with Gen. Abacha. When there
were protests and students were killed, Abiola started fasting, started
sending messages that it should stop, that he would not want to ascend
office on people’s blood. So, no matter what option he opted for, that
peace and dialogue approach was the best.
You mentioned that Diya was getting sidelined. Was he aware of what was happening?
I went to see Diya in Abuja in company of a common friend of ours —
and I confronted him about these. He was not receptive. Navy Commodore
Olabode George was there. We realised that Diya was either overwhelmed
or was sober. I told him, ‘this is my last visit to you, Mr. Vice
President, if you are not in this government to actualise June 12, you
have betrayed us, you have betrayed the masses of Nigeria and you will
not come back the same.’ He asked me whether that was a declaration of
war between the two of us and I told him to assume whatever. I was bold
and courageous enough to say that to him, that I will stop believing
him. He started giving excuses that it was Abacha that was playing
politics and that he was handicapped because of that. He said he wanted
to be careful, that he was still going to play the role he was expected
to play on June 12. He said he noticed that Abacha himself was not
sincere and I said, ‘quit the government. If you quit at this stage, the
government will collapse. Quit.’ He said, ‘well, you are not my
adviser. I will quit when it is necessary.’ I said ‘it is better done
now.’ He said ‘you don’t tell me, senator, what to do?
You noticed there was a transition in Abacha, from the gentleman officer…
Yes, he went crazy. There is one big lesson. We have to understand
the antecedent of the military, particularly the Nigerian Army. The
military Generals were trained to deceive, they take every opposition as
enemy, and they deceive you. You have to be cynical in every political
dispensation or arrangement; you have to distrust the military. In their
professional calling and normal duty, respect them. But, in any
political arrangement, don’t ever rely on any military ‘friend.’
What about the Abubakar transition programme?
Nigeria has gone through a lot. At this stage, it appears the
military’s back is against the wall. You still have to ask these
questions as to their sincerity and commitment. But, the country must
move forward. You can see poverty written on the faces of the masses.
Nigeria is retrogressing, not progressing in every aspect of social and
economic development. I still doubt what Gen. Abubakar is still doing
there. I still ask the question, why can’t he just hand over immediately
to a government of national unity and reconciliation? But maybe he has
other things in mind. I’m not privy to his plans. Maybe he needed to
take care of the army, and maybe he needed to bring back honour and
integrity to the military. He has the opportunity now. We have to give
him the chance to demonstrate that he would not turn into another
full-blown dictator and put us all in jail again. He has that
opportunity. He has the option.
There are fears Abubakar may pursue another hidden agenda?
First and foremost, the abrogation of Decree 2 is important. The
abrogation will help Abubakar, not the exiles, not because people are
afraid of being detained. If the government abuses the rights of its
citizens, it definitely loses its legitimate claim to civil obedience.
You can’t abuse your citizenry and expect them to obey a dictatorial
law. They could revolt. It is their right. They have a natural right to
be whatever they want to be – to speak and worship freely, among others.
They are God-given rights if you take them away, you’ve lost your own
legitimate claim as a government, to obedience to your laws and
regulations. If you profess to have free press, human rights and on the
other hand, you promulgate a decree that takes away the rights on the
other hand, are you really sincere? We are trying to help him sustain
his credibility by asking him to abrogate Decree 2. It is going to help
him with the international community. Nigeria is a signatory to the
Geneva Convention and the Harare Declaration. Decree 2 is a complete
violation of those agreements.
There have been these calls for restructuring…
The restructuring is to help the entire nation. Social engineering
and economic empowerment and political development of a nation depend on
the flexibility of people to devote their time to local and economic
development within their environment. As a matter of fact, nobody should
be scared of restructuring. It is just an imaginary fear of
disintegration. Good governance, transparency, honesty, respect for
human rights and equity facilitate unity.
****
Culled from The Nation
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