We Will Never Forgive Babangida - Vatsa Family

The family and the entire community of Gulu-Vatsa, the country home of the late Vatsa are still in pensive mood over the incident. But they are bitter because an independent investigation the family carried out to ascertain the validity of the coup plot claims against their son proved him innocent. Since then they held Babangida, the childhood friend of their son, responsible for his death and would not forgive him.

They wanted the truth to unveil itself and waited for justice as they cried secretly in pains. But even as they disagreed with the death sentence on their son, they could not speak out. Their voices were suppressed in fears that the military dictators would rope in and crush any members of the family that made bold to challenge the decision of the Supreme Military Council. Therefore in their distress, they only hoped on God to reveal the truth at His time.

This God’s time came when Babangida’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Domkat Bali, recently revealed some of the suppressed truth about the Vatsa coup.

It was these revelations that the eldest member of the Vatsa family, Alhaji Isa Haruna Vatsa, described as God’s time for the family to speak out in defense of the rights of their son, when he spoke with Weekly Trust in his family house in Gulu-Vatsa.

Alhaji Vatsa, a 60 year-old-farmer and the immediate younger brother to the late General Vatsa, narrated the ordeal of the family after the death of his brother and concluded that the Vatsa family had been in object poverty and neglect, since his demise.
According to him, the family was wallowing in poverty as was evident in the dilapidated and abandoned house which the general built in the village which is now taken over by weeds and lizards.

However, Alhaji Vatsa said there was high hope that the sun will shine in the family again as the presidency was looking into the case.

His words: “God has His time. God’s time is always the best and most appropriate. We have found God’s time now in the present democratic dispensation and that is why we took the matter to President Olusegun Obasanjo. We want the truth to be known by Nigerians and justice done.

“The entire family and members of the Gulu-Vatsa community are in support of our brother’s widow to petition the president on the matter and we are solidly behind her.”

According to Alhaji Vatsa, the family arrived at this decision having been convinced that their son did not commit the offence for which he was killed and that, “When we heard in the radio announcement that he had be executed, we know we have no power to challenge Babangida but we were very unhappy and sad. We went round and conducted our investigation and discovered that it was not true that he planned a coup. We knew it was a case of murder for which the perpetrators should have been prosecuted. But like I said, we the family, the village and the Lapai local government had no power to challenge the military government, so we consoled ourselves and hoped that the truth will not be covered up for long.”

Alhaji Vatsa said that the family was particularly at pains that their son was arrested and killed by the government of his bosom and childhood friend, General Babangida.

Pointing to a nearby dilapidated building, Alhaji Vatsa said, “This is the place where Babangida use to stay when he visit us. Babangida and my brother had been friends from their school days. He used to visit us frequently and I know they were very close friends until the incident happened. They do things together, even when they were instructors at Defence Academy. If Babangida travelled, he would buy pairs of shoes for my brother and when Vatsa travelled he would buy shoes for Babangida, such was the extent of the relationship before he was killed.”

On top of their demands for justices, according to the head of the family, is the release of the remains of his brother for proper burial in addition to the release of his properties seized by the dictators. 

“We want the proper burial of our brother. We want him to be laid to rest in his ancestral home. His body should be given to us for proper burial in accordance with Islamic rites. Also all his entitlements in the military should be paid and his seized properties released.”

“We were worried that General Vatsa service and labour to the country was in vain but with the manner the presidency is handling it, our hopes have be rekindled that Vatsa’s name will rise again,” he said.

Alhaji Vatsa said the family will not forgive IBB as a friend responsible for the killing of their son.

“I am holding Babangida responsible for the death of my brother. His death was a loss to the entire Nupe race. Up till this moment, I find it difficult to believe that Babangida will be the person to execute Mamman Vatsa, his childhood friend. Vatsa was the pillar of the family. We cannot forgive Babangida,” he vowed.

But the chief Imam of the village Alhaji Liman Zuberu has raised questions on spiritual grounds if the remains of a Muslim could be exhumed from one point and reburied in another place.

Zuberu told Weekly Trust that the issue of reburial of Mamman Vatsa was a family issue, adding that any position taken by the family would be respected by the community after proper consultations with Islamic scholars.

He said the entire people of the village missed the late general. He said in his lifetime, the late General Vatsa brought development to the village. “I know he was a very good and dedicated Muslim. I cannot say he is a bad man from what I know of him. He was a good man.”

Meanwhile, Special Assistant on Media to the President, Mrs Remi Oyo, confirmed in a telephone exchange that the presidency is indeed looking into the Vatsa matter.