Former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, had told the nation so many lies that he had run out of tricks. His middle name had become "maradona." He was much disliked. Babangida's transition program was no longer believable. He had to find a way out. He found MKO Abiola, an old friend, who sincerely asked if IBB was ready to go. IBB told a lie which Abiola bought. The rest is history... as told by someone who knows, Omawale Kuye.
This interview draws the curtain on our June special which Kuye kick-started with his interview some five weeks ago. Enjoy his views.
Regarding the appointment of Chief Shonekan as the chairman of the Interim National Government,ING, as an insider, how could an Egba man have accepted what belonged to a fellow Egba man?
I think that question should be left to Shonekan himself to answer because he is an Egba man. But if I were him, I will think it was wrong of me to be the chairman of a government where my own kith and kin would have been the President. It's not only Yoruba by definition but he is Yoruba, I am Yoruba, he is an Egba man, I am an Egba man, I would not have taken it. That will make me look so much like a traitor who betrayed my people.
I would not have accepted it. But having said that, I think Shonekan must have been looking for that job. Shonekan came in contact with the government of IBB through IBB's government privatisation. I am telling you this because I am instrumental to his coming into Babangida's government. It's our privatisation programme that brought him and that was when I was the Secretary of (Technical Committee on Commercialisation and Privatisation of Government Companies and Parastatals, TCPC, as we called it in those days.
We didn't call them bureau for public enterprises. I remember how he came into our life then in government, because he was the head of the UAC then. When Gbadebo Bisi Onodiora, a distinguished accountant left the UAC and I appointed him into a committee between government and the parastatals and all that. The committees accepted him because of my recommendation. I knew him when we were young and I know he will do a thorough and good job. Then Shonekan came to me and asked whey I did not appoint him.
He said don't I consider him fit to work for TCPC. I acknowledged his profile and said he has a tremendous responsibility as UAC head. I questioned if he would have the time to do the job because I know what it entails to do the job.
He responded by saying I should test him and see whether he will have the time or not. I recommended him to the TCPC board and when I did that, someone said he will be instrumental to the success of our programmes. He said it means that our programme is catching up. That was when my chairman subscribed to it. So that was when my chairman, late Dr. Hamza Zayyad asked me to write him a letter of appointment.
That was when I wrote him to do the commercialization of NICON insurance for us. That was the beginning of Shonekan getting involved in government. And IBB as a man who identified good brains noted him. And he later made him the chairman of transitional council and subsequently the chairman of ING. That's how he came into it.
But before then I met him at a meeting with Kola Abiola. I think that was the time that they were strategising on how to make him head ING. I didn't know it was what was going behind but I just got into the meeting with them. And I saw him persuading Kola Abiola to get his father not to pursue that mandate. And he prevailed on Kola to get the message delivered to his father.
How did you feel when you noticed that?
I was not happy with it and it prompted me to call Kola not to deliver the message to his father, but if you do let him take his own choice and don't persuade him. He said why? And I gave him my reasons. I said if he did that, anybody who ever named his child Abiola will call him a bastard. I said that because Abiola already has the mandate of Nigerians.
I questioned why such mandate would be slaughtered on a platter of gold or pot of porridge. I was not surprised then when Shonekan was named the head of ING. And from there on things changed. Abacha who has been waiting came in.
Enter Abacha?
Yes! I am telling you that if IBB stayed on then, Abacha would have planned a coup against him. Abacha took advantage of a civilian who lacked the wherewithal. He knew Shonekan lacked the ability and professionalism to resist in the event of coup. He capitalised on that and decided that time had come for him to move and get rid of the man.
He had his scheme which was to make his administration to look like a liberal government. And in doing that he persuaded and convinced Abiola that they could recapture his mandate if he cooperated because he thought he could get his mandate back through that cooperation. That was when Abacha started thinking of how to form his government.
Does it mean that Abacha schemed for ING to have a smooth ride to power. And did you know he was planning a Coup?
Although the ING was there but Abacha did not recognise it. He didn't regard the government of Shonekan. Then I was playing golf in Lagos with the man who was supposed to be Abiola's Vice President Kingibe at Ikoyi club, then we heard that Abacha had gone to Abuja and got a surrender letter from Shonekan.
I know he confronted him and he certainly resigned. Abacha sent for me immediately he returned from Abuja and wanted to make me the Secretary of his government which I rejected. I met Umaru Shinkafi, the marafa of Sokoto, I met my very good relation at Ibadan, Arisekola Alao and Chagouri and Chagouri with Abacha. As I entered Abacha embraced me and took me to his inner room. And he started talking about what he will like to do.
He said he will like to do a surgical operation of the country by re-writing the constitution, sacking all the corrupt judges and all that. I was surprised with that from a man who is spending six months. Then I said, General you said you are spending six months, it will not be enough to do all these. I then advised him that the best thing to do is to call Nwosu to conclude the announcement of the June 12 results and call Abiola to assume the leadership of this country while he, Abacha, will be the Chief of Army Staff.
He said no, that the military will not accept the commandership of Abiola. So that is the problem. He's going to be like a commander who can not command his troops when he is in trouble. So I think some elements in the military then never wanted Abiola. I told him then that I was seventy and didn't have that time any more.
Also I have been so much associated with General Babangida in most of his programmes and policies. So working for Abacha will be misinterpreted that IBB resurfaced through Omowale Kuye. I told him to take absolutely unknown persons to Nigerians and probably known to him, that that will help him achieve his objectives within the time limit he set for himself. He thanked me and I left.
What do you think Abiola felt about all these going-on?
Abiola also displayed doubt on Abacha's sincereity. He told me that he was asked to support Abacha that he will hand over to him. But when it became obvious that Abacha was not going to hand over to him, he decided to declare himself President.
What was your advice to him on this?
I remember telling him then that he should not believe that Abacha was going to leave as promised. I told him what he knows as well that nobody relinquishes power easily. Abiola also realised that the people he trusted who worked with him during the elections were no longer for him. Lateef Jakande took the Works portfolio, Kingibe his Vice was made the external affairs minister.
There were also others who took other appointments. With that it dawned on Abiola that hope was lost. And he needed to act fast. And he took the battle upon himself to do it alone. I am telling you that most of these Abiola associates abandoned him when he needed their support most. When he finished the speech he will make on his declaration day, he brought it to me. I read it and told him the implications of what he wanted to do.
I called him and said my Aburo this is treason, there is a sitting government and you are declaring yourself President. I told him he will constitute a threat to the sitting government because you can not have two Presidents at a time.
And Abacha being the one who controls the Army and the Police is the one that people will respect and recognise. So I told him that the danger is real and if I were him I would not do it. He then responded in Yoruba proverb, saying that a man does not die twice and that the mandate that the generality of Nigerians gave him is so important that he cannot abandon it.
He explained that abandoning the mandate means that I have abandoned those Nigerians who voted massively for me. After much persuasion which he refused I said my younger brother, good luck to you. And he left my house. Then four days later he declared himself President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
That marked the beginning of the last phase of his struggle. And all Nigerians knew what followed— arrested, tortured, denied medical attention until Adedibu came in to persuade him to renounce his mandate and get conditional release. Adedibu hired a lawyer from Ibadan and took him to Abuja but Abiola refused.
As a friend and brother to Abiola, why do you think he refused?
That was a man who knew what he was fighting for. He refused surrendering the mandate and renounce the President which he declared himself. I am so sorry that Nwosu is now saying how overwhelmingly Abiola won. And I have also seen some critics complaining why Nwosu waited that long to tell Nigerians what we already know. If he had said it then he would have been dead, especially during the time of Abacha. So I cannot blame him for doing what he did because a lot of forces were against an Abiola Presidency.
Are you saying that if MKO Abiola heeded your advice by not declaring himself President, he may not have met the fate that befell him? And what did that tell you about the man Abiola?
It told me that Abiola was a determined man. He was a man that was determined to surrender his life for a common cause. Even in the face of tribulations, he was prepared to go to jail. Many Nigerians are not like that, they would rather preserve their life than to stake it for a common purpose. Abiola fought a good fight. He belonged to a rare class of Nigerians.
What we have now are people who are either looking for money or running away from punishment. That is the kind of people we have now as politicians. They lack the passion for Nigeria that made Abiola the hero he is today. Till tomorrow Abiola remains an epitome of a good nationalist. That man paid the supreme price that we may live in a better society and respected among the comity of nation. He remains the most principled man I have seen.
What he did is a lesson to all that we will finally die and live this world, then why don't you die for a cause you believe in. He died for Nigeria not because of wealth because he had it all but he died for Nigeria to have democracy.
As an insider who worked with IBB, you may have known him with many good things and probably antics. Based on that, why did you not advise Abiola when IBB invited him to join the race based on the IBB you know? I am saying this because you said IBB told Abiola not to participate with the first 23 presidential aspirants that they would not succeed him?
Abiola that I know was a very careful man who can not be propelled to do what he feels is not good. He was a man of his own and he ruled his world. So he saw some conviction in that invitation. I remember Abiola telling me that he asked IBB if he could join the race when Musa Yar'Adua and others were in the race but IBB said he should not join that he should stay way.
He said Babangida told him that none of the twenty three aspirants will take over from him, that he knew what he was doing. So Abiola kept his ambition and waited for his time until his great friend of many years, IBB, invited him to join the race. And Abiola then accepted the invitation. Abiola being a careful man asked me when he came to Abuja to accept IBB”s offer whether IBB was serious. He said, Egbon are you sure this man is ready to go?
He asked if the man was sincere about handing over to a democratically elected President at the end of the transition. I said if he was not serious would he have invited you? When he was not serious did he not advise you to stay away as a friend who would not want to disappoint. I am not someone who reads minds but I told him that merging those two assumptions tells me that IBB would handover to whoever wins the election.
I told him that Babangida was now serous for him to take over from him. I told him that IBB believes that he has the capacity and ability to continue with the tremendous reforms of his administration. He believes that policies on commercialisation and privatisation will be well pursued by Abiola. Anybody may dislike IBB but I will tell you that he has a fantastic foresight. He knew the best and always got them. that is why he never had mediocres in his government.
He identified the best from the academia, industry and other spheres. And these good advisers like Eliagu, a political scientist and others who were in the Presidential advisory committee guided him on good policies. They advised him that splinter parties will not be good for Nigeria. And subsequently the two party system and Option A4 emerged.
That was how he implemented two party system, which means a little to the left, a little to the right. And Nigerians saw the outcome by the beautiful result that June 12 produced. That is the only result that any Nigerian can say was from a free and fair process.
That is the knowledge of IBB. Although he is misunderstood but I will say that he had good policies and good people who worked with him. He is full of wisdom and knowledge and he was sure that that system will throw up a President that will be acceptable to all Nigerians. I am not a politician but I know that system was created to benefit all Nigerians. I believe IBB combined all those qualities to leave a better system but it”s unfortunate that we had what followed after June 12.
What informed the position you took by advising Abiola to accept IBB's invitation to run for Presidency. If it's out of your idea of IBB, does it mean that you were convinced that Babangida was going to hand over to Abiola?
Yes, I convinced Abiola to accept the offer. I did that because I genuinely knew that IBB was ready to hand over to a man who will take Nigeria to greater heights. And that man was Abiola. I believe that he genuinely wanted somebody who will take over from him and who will sincerely ensure the continuity of programmes that he inaugurated.
For example if we had continued with the two party system that came through him, we would not have been having this nonsense that we have now. Can we say that we have political parties presently in Nigeria? We have rubbish. If we had continued with his commercialisation, we wouldn't have what we have now, economy would have been better.
If we had continued with the small banks who can give up to N500 loan to people, we would not have had beggars all over the streets. The level of poverty would have reduced. But today, there is abject poverty in the land yet we are talking about democracy. So IBB had foresight in his reforms. He believed Abiola would continue with the good policies.
And that informed him inviting him. And I also told him that the man was serous about handing over to him. So IBB might have his faults which every human being has. I have mine which is in response to human nature. Such faults are in response to the needs of human nature. A lot of things transpired about June 12 that people don”t know.
From the background you have given it's obvious that you were also close to Kudirat Abiola and were among the last people she associated with in her last days. Can you now tell the untold story of her death?
Kudirat was desperate to get Abiola released from detention. Abiola's relations were also eager to get him released. They hired different lawyers. Kudirat hired a lawyer she trusted while Abiola's relations hired another lawyer. And that brought problem in the family. And it was as to which lawyer will represent Abiola. And the quarrel escalated. As a good friend of Abiola, I was close to Kudirat. It was during that kind of hectic problem that I visited Abiola's home.
But it was not the purpose of our visit. I just went there to say hello to Kudirat. While we were sitting in her sitting room, she drew my attention to the fact that some people were monitoring her. I said no. But my wife said she saw them. I told her that God will protect her. But on the question of settling the issue of lawyer who will represent Abiola, I asked them to come to my office for settlement. They came to me with Alhaji Mudashiru who is also an Abiola.
Kuditrat came, some of M.K.O's children came. I told them that their intention is to get Abiola out of prison. I told them that there is nothing wrong in getting two lawyers. Three days later, Kudirat called me and said sir, I don”t feel safe anymore. There are faceless people who I think are after my life. She said she wanted to travel abroad where she can be protected. I will take some rest and continue with my crusade for the actualisation of my husbands's mandate.
I said okay where do you want to go, United States of America where your husband has a lot of contacts. She said no that the US government is no longer supporting Abiola as they did at the early stage of the struggle. She said she preferred to go to Canada. I said okay and called the Canadian high commissioner to tell him about it. I said please this woman needs this thing urgently and pleaded that she should not be subjected to the lengthy traveling protocols.
When I told her it's Kudirat Abiola he said there is no problem. That was when he said she should come to the office and pick up her visa on Monday. Little did we know that we were booking an appointment with death. The man Shofolahon, who was her personal assistant, was an agent of her assassins. And he was with us during those discussions and we never knew he was feeding them information abut her movements.
He then went and passed on the information that she will be leaving the country. He even viciously told them that she will be picking up her visa on Monday. So on her way to pick up her visa, they murdered the woman (paused and became emotional). So you can see how delicate life is. Someone you trusted, made your confidant and someone who follows you every where you go, now sold you to your killers.
Is that not inhumanity and a reflection of how devilish the heart of man could be? I am so sorry that she was killed. I am heart broken because I was almost saving this woman from her killers. She was a strong woman who stood by her husband. I think Nigerian women should emulate the strength of this heroine. May her soul rest in peace.
Before the assassination of Kudirat, she told you how unsafe she felt. When she died, did you have any feeling that it could be from family quarrels, because I remember the government arresting Kola Abiola then or did you think the state could be responsible?
I knew immediately that it was from the sate because at that time they were killing anybody that was supposed to be in Abiola's camp. And who else is more on the camp of Abiola than his wife who is shouting at the rooftop for her husband to be released. That woman showed bravery in that aspect. She is a pillar of that struggle. I remember her making statement on one occasion that she would rather die for the mandate. I think that was a mistake.
She would have said she would live for the mandate. You know there is power in spoken word. So, I was not surprised that she was killed. I believe that we must remember this brave woman this time that we are remembering Abiola. We must make sure that the ideals they fought and died for are part of our national life. We must also pray for both of them to rest in peace. I miss both of them.
Did you meet Abiola after he declared himself President and when he was arrested? And if so what did you tell him?
He had many visits to my house after he declared himself President. Then he was already alone in the struggle. Friends and associates had ditched him then. He came to tell me how some associates whom he trusted had teamed up with Abacha to become a stumbling block to his mandate. He said he can no longer trust them. He said he does not believe they can pursue the struggle strenuously. In fact he said that was part of the reasons which made him to declare himself President. Abiola was rejected and betrayed I must say. It was a pitiful sight and scenario. But whether they were fair or not to him, we leave that to judgment. God will pay them in his own way.
If Abiola complained to you about his associates serving under Abacha, then how true is it that he recommended some of his associates to serve under Abacha? Or didn't he tell you about that?
I can not say, because I wasn't there. The only thing I know is when he told me that all the people that went there, did that on his authority. He said he never okayed any of his associates to serve under Abacha. It's a question of everybody fighting for his own interest. I remember asking him about Jakande because I knew how Jakande worked for his victory. I also know Jakande right from the 60s as a seasoned journalist and politician.
And if he decided to do something it must be based on principles. But Abiola told me that none of them was interested in the mandate anymore. I got that idea then that Abiola may not have allowed his associates to join Abacha's government. Is it not surprising that his supposed Vice President Kingibe joined the train. If the Vice could ditch him, what was then left? I knew those men will remain with Abacha, knowing what and how power is.
Mugabe is a living example of how power intoxicates. And if we were not careful Obasanjo would have made himself another Mugabe. He was already prepared to rule for the rest of his life. We will remain a prey to other countries to poach. And they will continue to make our people poor and wallow in poverty. My question now is; when do we think the time is up to reform our system to be respected among civilized nations.
This nine years of civilian administration is enough to launch this country among comity of reasonable nations. I don't know what is in that political power that breeds problem in Nigeria. I believe that in the future when I will have time to look at the whole system, may be I will write a book as a parting gift.
Knowing that Abacha would not live after six months, yet you allowed this man to believe Abacha and even threw his weigh behind the coup as it was reported. Don't you think you had the opportunity of saving this man from some mistakes people claimed he made, but you blew it at every instance? I believe that seeking your counsel on sensitive issues showed that Abiola believed you can influence some of his ideas but so far I have not heard an instance where your advise saved him?
I always advice him and allow him to have his way. He was the one who even told me that this man would not hand over after six months. I also told him earlier that nobody gets into the office of head of state and will like to hand it over after six months. It's not a passing phase. I believe that the one that Abdusalam did was a courageous action.
Because if he refuses to leave, what other powers do Nigerians have to getr id of him? We would have accepted him but he toed the line of wisdom. I think he was naive to have accepted at the early stage that Abacha would live after six months. Abacha was hungry for power and his coup was not a mistake.
I told you that when he proposed me as secretary and gave me the list of the actions he wanted, I knew Abacha wanted absolute power. I knew reogarnisng the Judiciary, civil service, and other things were not possible in six months. Even a super man can not do it. I knew it was not possible and I told Abiola. The annoying thing is that Nigerians accepted him despite their efforts on June 12. That is why I am saying that Nigeria has to return to proper behaviour. We need to return to true democratic system.
The one we have now is not ideal. A system where you have only one known party is not a proper system. That we even have other ones that can not throw up a councilor but are more concerned about the money the party gets from INEC is frustrating. That is why I'm saying that the political reforms should try to do a merger of these parties. That will help us to return to the beautiful model that IBB designed. If we return to it, 2011 will produce another free and fair election the way option A4 produced Abiola's victory.
Can you unravel some mysteries around Abiola's death because many have said that he was programmed to die?
I did not see him since he was arrested. And even when he was incarcerated I didn't see him. I believe that Abiola was a very determined young man and as I said, highly principled. Otherwise many of us will not surrender ourselves to the kind of torture he was subjected to. The mental torture was too much for a man who was used to affluence and wisdom. As at the time of his death we had already formed G34 to fight for his release and to confront Abacha. I refused to get involved with politics because my concept of G34 was not to get involved with anybody in government.
But the people that populated the organisation were all politicians. People like Abiola would have been a fantastic politician if they were allowed to rule. You know he was wealthy and would not want to spend public funds on properties. Until the children of today's politicians, who are well educated get involved and drive away the rascals we now have on the political terrain, we will always have government of rascals.
I believe therefore that if Abiola had lived and was allowed to govern, he would probably have started a new generation of politicians who will not be the I-must-live-by-stealing type. I know that he will not sit down and watch his subordinates plunder the wealth of the nation. We need more Abiolas who are with resources and those who are fantastically educated but without too much money but who will have the principle not to make the treasury their personal asset. We need those who will think about these down-trodden, poverty-stricken Nigerians.
Don't you see how they roam the streets (pointing to the people on the streets of Lagos Island where the interview was conducted) selling belts, telephone cards and others. That is disguised unemployment in economics. We don't need all these. What we need is a leader who will harness all the human powers that we have with the purpose of eking out their living by doing it themselves. And I know that Nigeria can do it all. I believe our resources can maintain five times more than our population.
That is what IBB did. I know that many people will think I have a special relationship with him. But this is a sincere testimony. IBB harnessed the knowledgeable people of his time and gave Nigeria his best. These are people like Professor Aboyede, Micheal Omolayole in business. These men supplied knowledge from the business side, political side, theoretical side and all kinds of spheres. And because of that IBB was able to set agencies like, MAMSER, Directorate for Food Roads And Rural Infrastructure, DFRRI, and others.
DFRRI made roads to extend to the rural areas. The community bank is also part of it. He was the one who opened new vista in banking in Nigeria. When he came in, banks were about 11. And when he was leaving there were about one hundred and fifty. Now Soludo came with consolidation which left few people qualified to have access loans at the expense of common Nigerians. Is that how to develop an economy? IBB knew better.
And that is why I and Abiola thought that it's the continuation of those programmes that made IBB to invite Abiola to contest for President. I am not looking at IBB as a person but from the point of the programmess he was selling. And Abiola would have provided more to that programme. It was his goodness that attracted the votes that he had. It was not the votes of the Yorubas that gave Abiola victory. His goodness fetched him Northern votes.
Can you say that Abiola's death would have been avoided?
As a Muslim, God knows what one will be from the day he created him and how the person will end. Upon that I would not have said that Abiola would have lived an extra day apart from the day he died. If he had been the president, Allah's wishes would have been fulfilled. Any time I get involved with discussing Abiola, I get to a point I can not talk.
To me he is a unique individual, created by God for a purpose. Now I am saying that had he been allowed to be President, Nigerian economy would have been better. His death robbed Nigerians of valuable services that he would have given. And I think that kind of expression will be on the lips of Nigerians from generation to generation.
Before June 12 all we had about election was rigging and that was why Adebidu became powerful in Ibadan because he knows how to mobilize his own military men. And they did precisely what the head of state would like. I think Nigerians should use the lesson that Abiola's life gave to us to insist on who they want and not to get frightened by violence and imposition.
We don't know when the new era will come. The people we have now are people who appear be politicians, rather they are more interested in the treasury. They only constitute class of robbers who want to rob the treasury. And they get there by maiming and killing their opponent. This is not the kind of Nigeria that some of us wanted to live in. We wanted a free democratic society.
IBB is one man who was ready to hand over to who ever that will continue with his laudable reforms. I will not say that he was not willing to go. He is one man who will allow you to keep your principles if you have any. If you want to make money he will help you to make it. He is one man who will allow you to do what you want.
What do you think Nigeria lost with the death of Abiola?
His death robbed Nigeria of a principled disciplined man who laid down his life the nation. This nation missed a man who represented the special class of politicians that has remained elusive. He would have regenerated a sincere political class. He would have probably changed the cause of Nigeria's “chop and chop politics”. Having won the confidence of Nigerians, he would not have afforded to forget any part of Nigeria that voted for him.
Nigeria has lost a widely accepted president which Abiola would have been. And this wide acceptability must have bridged a lot of gaps especially the cries of marginalisation, bigotry, favoritism. We lost the chance of having a bridge builder as President and we are suffering the repercussion now and that is why I say that we lost a honest man that would have put Nigeria on the path of fairness to all Nigerians wherever they come from.
