By Emmanuel Oladesu
Until the factuality surrounding his mysterious demise is unraveled, the big question will continue to stare the nation in the face: who killed Bashorun Moshood Kashimaawo Olawale (M.K.O) Abiola?
Almost 24 years after, the controversy over the sudden death of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election in detention remains unresolved.
Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, recently exacerbated the conundrum. He said Abiola died after an illness. He rejected the popular assumption that the life of the business mogul was surreptitiously terminated.
Was Abiola given adequate medical attention in detention? How often did the military rulers – General Sani Abacha, who detained Abiola, and Abdulsalami, under whose watch he died – allow his doctors to see him? If someone was held captive for winning a democratic, free and fair election, did it not amount to psychological torture?
If Abdulsalami, who was party to the military leadership that incarcerated Abiola, had released him after he succeeded the late General Abacha, perhaps the story would have been different.
Until he passed on, Abiola’s physician, Dr. Ore Falomo, always insisted that the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba was killed in detention.
The puzzle: was there an autopsy? Where is its report?
The remark by former Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, that the eminent politician did not die of natural causes has fueled the suspicion that some forces decided to get rid of him because he had insisted on the revalidation of the annulled poll results.
Few weeks before Abiola’s sudden death was announced, the nation was hopeful about his release. He had been sighted, though a bit emaciated, in a group photograph taken when a former American Assistant Secretary of State, Susan Rice, visited him in detention. Also sighted in the photograph was the late Admiral Mike Akhigbe, former Chief of General Staff.
His shocking demise came a week he met with the then United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who claimed that Abiola “had promised to forswear his claim to the presidency and work toward a smooth transition to democracy,” according to The New York Times of July 8, 1998, a day after Abiola’s death.
It appears that Abiola was in high spirit and full of expectation. He was hale and hearty. He had hoped to regain his freedom.
But, few days after, a bewildered nation was jolted by the news of his death, which occurred a month after General Sani Abacha also died mysteriously.
Abiola died in the hands of his military tormentors. What they did after was to regroup and anoint one of their own for the 1999 succession battle.
In his book, titled: The Vindication of A General, Bamaiyi attributed Abiola’s death to a sort of inexplicable conspiracy within the military government that succeeded the Abacha regime. Abacha incarcerated Abiola. However, Bamaiyi emphasised that he died when Abdulsalami was in the saddle.
“I believe only General Abubakar and those he used to handle Abiola’s death can tell Nigerians how Chief M.K.O Abiola died. Abiola could not have died the way he reportedly died,” he said.
However, the former Army chief also blamed the pro-democracy movement for advising the proscribed Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate to reject the bail conditions reeled out by his captor, Abacha. The bail conditions were to tie Abiola’s hands and sentence him to self-liquidation.
According to the terms, the symbol of the struggle, who had declared himself President at Epetedo on Lagos Island, was expected to recant and give the military regime an assurance that he would abandon his mandate. Predictably, the bail was turned down by Abiola’s compatriots in the now defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), not only because the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu was a wrong envoy, but because a conditional bail at that stage of the struggle was considered illogical.
Abiola knew that his life was in danger. He wrote several notes to the pro-democracy crusaders. In one of the letters, he stated that “Abacha has dug a grave for me and all that is left is for him to cover it”. Pro-democracy leaders who were not captured, including Pa Anthony Enahoro, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Honourable Olawale Oshun, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Ralph Obiora, Dr. Amos Akingba, Lt.-Gen. Alani Akinrinade and Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, ran into exile.
Many Nigerians had expressed fears for Abiola’s safety, especially when Abacha unfolded a self-succession agenda. The signs were ominous. Even the anti-June 12 detainee, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who had influenced the 1994 National Conference to set a terminal date for the military regime, was later allegedly injected in the prison where he died. Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, who had sustained the struggle for the actualisation of her husband’s mandate, was murdered on the street of Lagos.
Indeed, some NADECO elements had a premonition that an ugly incident was about to occur. Unfortunately, they could not avert it.
In his book, titled: Clapping With One Hand: June 12 and the Crisis of A Nation State, Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip and one-time NADECO Secretary Olawale Oshun said: “It was on June 28, 1998 exactly that information reached some key elements within the democratic movement that the President-elect, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, would be murdered soon, and in any case, not later than September 1998. The information came via a document from a source we knew, respected and trusted.”
Despite the information, certain elements in the movement did not believe it. Although the Radio Kudirat had been previously used to disseminate information about the planned attempts on Senator Abraham Adesanya’s and General Yar’Adua’s lives, the handlers of the station dismissed the planned attempt on Abiola’s life as a wild rumour.”
On page 268 of the book, the sensitive document available to the pro-democracy movement reads as follows: “Abdulsalam Abubakar: He is an active member of the ‘die hard’ Northern oligarchy. Well respected in the military circle and a bridge between the military cultic group groomed and nurtured by the late General Sani Abacha and the liberals in the Army.
“He was chosen to be the Head of State, not because he was the next high ranking officer, but because the way had been pre-paved for him -remember ‘The Plot Against Diya?’ He is still not acceptable to Buhari, Gumei and Gwarzo, who together asked the ‘Dare Devil Cultic Group’ to obtain written pledge from him to ‘consolidate Northern domination of political power,’ which unfortunately, he wrote and signed before he was approved.
“He asked to be surrounded by new ‘Yoruba’ friends, which unfortunately would include some of the recently released political detainees. The new regime is working tirelessly to secure the friendship of this new group.
“The only ADDENDUM the new regime and its collaborators has is to: ensure that Chief M.K.O. Abiola does not become the President of Nigeria in whatever form and Hausa/Fulani domination of the presidency is not compromised.
“The new regime is: Totally against Chief M.K.O. Abiola’s mandate; Proposing a new transition to democracy by 2000 – 18 months programme to be announced on October 1, 1998; Although would include some released detainees in his Cabinet, it would still be intolerant of opposing political views and hence be as repressive as ever before; The regime is thinking of compensating the families of the slain Ogoni activists and granting amnesty for the 19 Ogoni youths as a way of placating the Ogoni people; NECON (National Electoral Commission of Nigeria) would be dissolved and a new electoral commission formed; New parties to be registered; Negotiated amnesty for Diya and co likely, but not soon.
“According to the reliable source, this regime would fight the press with all its power. An impeccable source said that all proposed elections are to be postponed. New election dates would be announced by the newly formed electoral commission.
“Let me state here categorically that this is not a prediction at all. It is the pre-conceived plan of the new regime, exposed by an insider. What is absolutely necessary now is to mount relentless and forceful pressure on the regime and drum it to its ears that anything less than the immediate restoration of a democratic government would not be acceptable to Nigerians and the international community and that the opposition is battle ready to take the bull by the horn this time round and would be ready to give all it takes to drive the military out.
“Another very important thing is that Abiola’s mandate should not be compromised at all. NALICON (National Liberation Council of Nigeria) and NADECO should rally round pro-democracy forces so as to reach a common goal.
“The important report sent to me today: A notorious gang in the Nigerian Army has completed their plan to assassinate Chief Moshood Abiola as a ‘final settlement of the Abacha/Abiola war in a “no victor, no vanquished way.’ Believe it or not, if the report given to me is anything to go by, Chief Abiola’s death would be a matter of days or before the end of September. This may look ridiculous, unthinkable or like an outright fabrication. But, believe it or not, it is true. Tell other pro-democracy groups, both abroad and home, to mount very intensive pressure on Abdulsalami Abubakar to release Chief M.K.O. Abiola now.
“The new regime will fail to protect Chief Abiola from assassins because it has not been able to persuade them to rethink the Nigerian national question. They might even seize power from Abdulsalami in order to achieve their destructive (plan). People are hell-bent (on) destroying the corporate existence of Nigeria than see Abiola become President.
“NOTE: Please, take immediate action on this report…”
Was the report embellished or exergerated? What was the degree of authenticity? Also, was there any ground to believe or doubt it?
The Nation
