Perceived political enemies of former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, appear to die in mysterious circumstances. One of them is the Sultan of Sokoto, Ibrahim Muhammadu Maccido, who died with his senator son in another of the usual air disasters that have conveniently consumed powerful Nigerians.

On the death of Sultan Siddiq Abubakar III in 1986, Sokoto princes broke into a bitter contest for the throne. While Mohammadu Maccido, the eldest son of the late Sultan, was the popular choice of the kingmakers, Abubakar Dasuki had the backing of a very interested Babangida regime. 

The kingmakers went with tradition and chose Maccido, but their choice still needed to be approved by the military governor. Of course, this was not the kind of appointment that the military governor could make on his own. This is the position of the Sultan of Sokoto, perhaps the most important religious and cultural appointment in Nigeria. Since the days of Othman Dan Fodio, the Sultan of Sokoto had been the most important spiritual head of muslims in all of Nigeria and the surrounding countries. He wields much influence over an estimated 50 -70 million adherents. So, a governor is far too little to determine who would be a sultan.

Against the wishes of the Sokoto people, the Babangida regime awarded the throne to Ibrahim Dasuki, a known sleeky business associate of the general.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammadu Maccido (file photo 18 March 2005)Sokoto, the official seat of Islam in Nigeria was thrown into chaos. A praise singer had announced Maccido as the choice of the kingmakers, but the Babangida regime had named Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki as the Sultan.  Violent protests greeted the announcement as people vandalised government properties including Radio Rima, the government-owned radio station which had earlier announced Maccido as the Sultan-elect but later reversed itself.

Through the use of force, the Babangida regime successfully installed Dasuki as the Sultan, thereby creating for the first time in the caliphate's history, a government-appointed monarch. The Sokoto people were unhappy, but Babangida had his way.

From that point onwards, the Sokoto caliphate transformed from a religious institution to a political one. Babangida used Dasuki not only to demystify the caliphate but to tell the nation who had the ultimate power. Babangida's wishes became the command of the sultan. As IBB used the caliphate as an extension of his regime, he also had the cousin of  the deposed Sultan Dasuki as his finacial consultant. Aliyu Dasuki, who would later die in controversial circumstances, was Babangida's chief investor.

 In the course of time, Babangida and Ibrahim Dasuki almost got their fingers burnt in a major international financial scandal involving the BCCI.

The disgraced Middle Eastern bank was bursted for unprecedented international financial crimes in 1991, and many governments shut down the bank's operations in their domains. Not in Nigeria, under General Ibrahim Babangida. The corrupt military administration run by him worked out a deal where the bank, chaired by the later deposed Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki, changed its name to Africa International Bank.

BCCI was faster than any Nigerian bank in getting foreign exchange out of the Central Bank becuase it had very good relations with Central Bank of Nigeria. BCCI audit records show a $1 million loan from BCCI to Dasuki which BCCI provided him to pay for his shares of BCCI-Nigeria. Dasuki repaid this favor -- although not this loan -- to BCCI in many ways. Dasuki had fantastic contacts with the government. He was a politician and religious leader of great eminence. He helped the bank and was paid from Caymans, London, as well as from Nigeria.

When Dasuki became the Sultan, he began to operate with proxies, but maintained closed contacts with Babangida, through is cousin, Aliyu.  Together with Sanni Abacha, the four did all kinds of illegal businesses.

All this while, Maccido, was licking his wound, wondering what he had done to offend Babangida. He was stationed in South Africa, ostensibly to completely disharm him.

Dasuki acquired immense power through Babangida, and he dwarfed all his opponents and contemporaries. However, his fortunes changed when the late brutal dictator Sani Abacha snatched power. Abacha was not the kind of man to share power or fame with anyone. He hammered at every significant threat to his vision to rule Nigeria till 2010, at least. One of those threats was Dasuki. He deposed Dasuki less than three years into his regime.

According to a researcher, Femi Folorunsho, "The official explanation given for Dasuki’s deposition is that he failed to show respect for constitutional (sic) authority and was found to have engaged in subversive activities against the government. More specifically, he is said to have been involved in shady financial transactions that were partly responsible for the collapse of two banks. For this, he is to be arraigned before the Failed Banks Tribunal, another of Nigeria’s many extrajudicial agencies imbued with judicial powers by the junta. The local media coverage of the Dasuki saga, especially by the government-owned Daily Times suggests that the general response to it has been a spontaneous God Kasham, implying a well-deserved end to a perfidious beginning."

Expectedly, Maccido assumed the throne that Babangida had denied him, but only by a stroke of luck. How could Maccido and Babangida then be expected then to be friends? If not for fate, Maccido would never have tasted power. Maccido's accension was Babangida's shame.

While Dasuki lived in absolute seclusion in Kaduna since 1996, Maccido became a very respected and really traditional ruler; not a shady businessman. He concentrated on gaining the respect of his people and the muslim community. To a large extent he was successful.

His success ran in the face of the failure of both Dasuki and Babangida to realize their ambitions. It is not contentious to claim that whoever aspires to gain power in the north must win the support of the Sultan of Sokoto, an office that had become very significant since the days of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

It is not hard to see why Maccido, whose son, Senator Badamasi Maccido,  had become an important politician, would not grant his support to Babangida's presidential ambition. Is it not possible that a  Babangida presidency would have found a way to return Dasuki to power?

Babangida in power would be a significant threat to Maccido's kingdom. This is why it is not too far-fetched to conclude that Maccido could have been working against the political ambition of Babangida. It remains to be seen how much water had been passing under the bridge between the Sutanete of Sokoto and the House of Babangida.


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