Defending Abacha: A Loss of Memory

By

Hakeem Babalola

mysmallvoice@yahoo.com

 

 

So General Sani Abacha, the one who ruled Nigerians with violent anger and intense dislike, did not loot the treasury after all. So General Sani Abacha, the one who held Nigerians in contempt, did serve Nigeria well. So General Sani Abacha, whom Transparency International labelled as the fourth corrupt leader in the world, was not corrupt after all. This simply means that Nigerians have been telling lies about the late General whom they often described as a thief; even a murderer and a rogue.

 

Three former military Heads of State – Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar – described the allegations of looting against the late General Sani Abacha as baseless. According to newspaper reports, Babangida, whose reign helped legalise bribery and corruption, said that Abacha was courageous, loyal and honest leader. “I was close to him so I knew who Abacha was. His regime has brought positive changes to the country which everyone should emulate”.

 

In his own eulogy, Abubakar who lumped together all the political parties without clear ideology, praised the late General for initiating the vision 2010, saying “the recent economic mission of the present administration termed as vision 2020 was replica of General Abacha’s vision 2010 initiative”. Probing past administration, in Abubakar’s view, will not yield anything positive to the nation and should be discouraged. Buhari, who served under Abacha as Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), also described allegations of looting against Abacha as lacking basis. “Ten years without the late Abacha, the said allegations remain silent because there are no facts,” said Buhari. In 1983, the General backdated an existing law to execute two drug pushers.

 

First, it is because of prankish minds like these three Generals that inspired my article, “Making Corruption Nigeria’s Traditional Value” in which the main theme centred on the fact that corruption is no longer a big deal in Nigeria. The three former Heads of State still believe Abacha did not loot the treasury despite the fact that millions of dollars were found in his accounts scattered all over the world. How much then should be recovered to convince these Generals that Abacha was a big thief? Oh, there’s honour among thieves (apology to General Chief Evangelist Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo).

 

Last month, the Swiss government said it has returned all monies stolen by Abacha to Nigeria. “Giving a breakdown of the monies returned, the Charge d'Affairs of the Embassy of Switzerland, Mr. Fabio Baiardi, at a recent press conference in Abuja, said that a first instalment of $290 million was transferred on September 1, 2005; a second instalment of $168 million on December 19, 2005 and $40 million was transferred at the end of January 2006” (Guardian Newspaper 2008-06-09).

 

 If Abacha was not a thief as insinuated by the former Generals, then Abacha’s family should sue all those who have been fuelling the rumour that Abacha was a big time thief. Maryam Abacha who has continued to defend her husband should not relent on her efforts until she finds justice for her lovely hubby. Madam should especially single out that Owu man who in 2002 lied against the family by saying that it was a "hard decision for him to enter a compromise deal with the Abacha family to refund over $1 billion or 80 per cent of their liquid asset in exchange for freedom from litigation". Hum, did Abacha family enter a compromise deal with Obasanjo or not?

 

Thus if Abacha did not loot the national treasury, then Obasanjo, Babangida, David Mark and the rest are also innocent. And this, I suspect, may be the theme of the Generals’ rambling. Watch out. Perhaps the three Generals had chosen the tenth anniversary lecture in memory of the late Head of State to remind the nation that probe will never curb corruption in the land where it is generally accepted. Perhaps they were trying to remind us that corruption or not, the nation is doomed. Perhaps they were trying to tell the nation the fact already known: that corrupt elements will always be at the helm of affairs in Nigeria.

 

I am sure that if dark-goggle Abacha had lived, he would be walking the Nigeria Street with the pride of a locust like the rest of them.  No one would be able to establish a case of corruption against him as observed by Buhari. Now I understand Madam Abacha’s need to defend her husband that he was not corrupt. She might be saying, if my husband was corrupt, why is it that most of his ministers have not been prosecuted. She might argue further that, since most of those who served under her dear husband are still ruling this country today, then it is unfair to single him out for corruption.

 

Nigerians should continue to read between their rulers’ lips.  By eulogising Abacha, the three “wise” Generals are indirectly writing their own eulogy. Smart Generals indeed! They are re-writing our history, and boldly telling us that we are naïve, stupid and forgetful. They are saying that in a country like Nigeria, everyone should aspire to be like Sani Abacha who ruled Nigeria “well”. They are saying that Nigerians are morons for not recognising Abacha’s indelible contributions to the development of Nigeria. They are saying that it was their citizens’ right to hijack the government and ruled with absolute authority. They are saying that………

 

I am afraid that Buhari, Babangida and Abubakar are deliberately drumming the drum of ethnic jingoism by publicly declaring that Sani Abacha served Nigeria well. I could see a mischievous gleam in their mouth as all they did was give us a load of gobbledygook. They are technically slapping the people in the face by implying that Abacha did not loot the public treasury. They are systematically making Abacha the symbol of our collective intelligence. They are saying clearly that it’s unfair to call Abacha a thief in an era when thieves roam the corridor of power with impunity – in Nigeria. But they have only succeeded in digging their own grave.

What do these incorrigible Generals want to achieve by calling us fools? They might be using Abacha to exonerate themselves from similar accusation. They might be using him to further hogwash Obasanjo’s eight-year war on corruption. It might be their own ways of calling Obasanjo a hypocrite. There are just many interpretations to their combative and unsmooth speech. But, why are they defending Abacha ten years after his death? Why did they wait so long? Obasanjo must be ashamed of himself for setting the possible pace in which these Generals exploited to portray Abacha as a good leader. Although Obasanjo is one of them, it shouldn’t be a yardstick to champion Abacha’s cause, or defend him with brazen arrogance like they had done.  

 

Am I taken aback that Buhari, Babangida and Abubakar chose to defend their comrade in crime in such a sickeningly sugary tone? No, because they are definitely the same "feathers of the same bird" that must flock together. The audacity of these three northern Generals to dance naked at the market has confirmed that Nigeria is being ruled by a Mafia Gang who would continue to destabilise our minds for the next twenty years. Before his death, Alhaji Wada Nas, Abacha adviser and apologist, predicted that the military would continue to rule us for two more decades. Now it might be longer than he had predicted.

 

These insensitive Generals are definitely living in the past if they think they could successfully use esprit de corps to wangle and weaken our minds further. Even if these Generals were drunk at the time they made the speech, they should have since become sober, tendered their sincere apology to Nigerians. If it was meant to be a joke, then it was a joke carried too far. I am certain of one thing though. If Nigeria had a Jerry Rawlings, the three Generals and their ilk would not be here abusing the system to insult us further. Allah kuku dey!