A number of progressives such as (Alhaji Lateef), (Ebenezer) Babatope were eventually taken in by Abacha. How will you describe their roles?
The roles played by those people were totally dishonourable. They betrayed the masses. Kingibe specifically played a pivotal role. He served Abacha, held several ministerial posts and even now, he is very close to the government.
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 realized 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, normal duty, respect them. But in any political arrangement, don’t ever rely on any military ‘friend.’
What about the (General Abdulsalami) 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 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 beto speak, worship freely, etc. 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 October 18-26, 1998 edition of The News Magazine
Leave a Reply