Abiola's secret letters to the Generals

By: Muyiwa Adekeye


The News
October 12, 1998

Like a confined scribe awaiting the spring of release, MKO Abiola, the Nigerian politician who died in detention in July, wrote letters to Nigeria's new rulers in his final days. The letters to the generals indicate that Abiola clung on to his gifts for compassion and perception.

Joyful noises rang everywhere. Nigerians took to the streets on June 8 to celebrate the demise of Sani Abacha, the tyrant, who had held the country hostage for close to five years.

As the effusions in the streets persisted, Basorun Moshood Abiola remained in captivity, unaware for 20 days that his tormentor was dead.

Held since 1994, Abiola existed in an information-free zone. Hope soared in the country, but the custodian of that hope did not know. Yet the logic of Abacha's death had to exert itself, even if incompletely.

It was not feasible to pretend that the Abiola problem had disappeared; or that the mandate he won in 1993 had expired. Tyranny, despite the gargantuan infrastructure Abacha constructed in its support, had come unstuck. It was time to address Abiola again. The public said so; and the new junta, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar had to take heed. For Abiola too, it meant that a period of intense activity was about to unfold.

The generals got in touch with Abiola after some initial foot- dragging. He was officially informed of Abacha's death on 28 June. While he tried to digest this news, he was also told that Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua too had expired, having died in prison in December 1997.

These official contacts impelled Abiola to a season of letter- writing, copies of which The NEWS has seen.

The News hereby reproduces some of the letters.
Letter To Abubakar General Abdulsalami Abubakar Head of State and Commander-in-Chief-of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, State House, Abuja.
Your Excellency, Once again, please, accept my congratulations and loyal greetings on your great appointment as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.

I wish you unqualified success (Amen).

Above is for your approval before it is sent out to Mrs. Abacha I sent condolence letters to the late head of state and his family on 10th November, 1994 when his sister died and when Ibrahim died on January 17, 1996, after I learnt of the accident on February 4, 1996 during the visit of the African-American religious leaders to me.

As a brother, one of the six good things I owed him was to follow his bier when he died.

(Hadith TIRMIDHI 24 Hadith 1 reported by Ali) since I could not do so, I believe that a condolence letter should be written more so because of the events of the past five years.

I believe we should lay examples of forbearance and brotherly love in all circumstances for those coming behind us. May his soul rest in peace (Amen).

I look forward to meeting you soon, at your convenience.

I know this is a very busy period for you but I am confident that Allah will crown all your efforts with brilliant success. Please, give my best greetings to our First Lady and to all the children and all members of your great family.

Thank you for the briefing I received from our Chief of Army Staff, Major- General Ishaya Bamaiyi and the Chief of Air-Staff, AVM Nsikak Eduok on Monday night.

I am also grateful to you for my meetings with both the UN and the Commonwealth secretaries-general of last Tuesday night and last Wednesday morning respectively.

I have always loved you and do assure you that I will do nothing to injure the brotherly relationship we have had for a very long time since your days as our "protector" in Ikeja With the best personal regards Asalaam Alaikun Yours most loyally,

MKO Abiola.

Letter To Akhigbe
My dear Rear-Admiral Mike Akhigbe, This short note is to thank you, most warmly for your brotherly concern for my health which you showed, so clearly, yesterday, at the meeting with Chief Anyaoku.

I have always known you to be generous and humane and it warmed my heart to see that you retained those great qualities in your exalted position.

I wish you unqualified success, long and healthy lives for your wife and children and all those near and dear to you (Amen).

I believe it is possible to come to a firm agreement that will short- circuit our never conclusive political arguments and face the hard task of rebuilding our economy to provide a future for all our children.

I believe the military clearly has a role to play in ensuring a stable polity for our great nation and my over 30 years close contact with top military leaders from the time of Col. Joe Akahan as Chief of Army Staff, Vice-Admiral Wey, the navy boss and Brig. Ikwue of the Air Force need to be used to bring that about.

I have written to Major General Ishaya Bamaiyi and AVM Nsikak Eduok to suggest some initial discussion at your convenience. This is necessary, I believe, as a sounding board. If there is interest in it, it can be developed for presentation, confidentially to the C-in-C.

My priority is to restore normalcy, still the jarring elements as a pre- condition to our leap forward as a nation. The discussion with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Anyaoku was very narrow and unreal.

Any "undertaking" of the type he sought could not have a binding effect as it would be construed as given under duress to expedite my release from the iniquitous detention, which I described graphically at the meeting.

Chief Anyaoku was mainly concerned to show "success" regardless of how hollow it would prove to be in time-a typical exercise in high diplomacy.

The diplomatic approach is not always a suitable way to solve political problems! Please, let me hear further from you about the above proposal.

Please, give my best regards to Mrs. Akhigbe and the entire family.

With the best personal regards.

Yours most sincerely, MKO Abiola

Letter To Binta Yar'Adua
My dear Binta, Asalaam Alaikun I was deeply saddened last Monday night when the death of Shehu, the Tafidan Katsina, my bosom friend, confidant, brother and business-partner was announced to me. I was never aware that Shehu was in gaol. I was held incommunicado, in solitary confinement in one single room with an adjoining toilet/bathroom for the whole period. I had no access even to the corridor throughout the four years, 11 days (till today) and no exercise facility whatsoever.

The last time I saw any member of my family was for 10 minutes on Nov. 3, 1995-32 months ago.

This means that I have seen no member of my family since my Kudi was brutally assassinated on Tuesday, 4 June 1996. Since the shocking news of Shehu's death was broken to me, I have kept asking myself repeatedly, "what was Shehu doing in gaol?" Since I am still held incommunicado, I could get no answer to this painfully nagging question.

For now, I must content myself with the fact that Allah who knows all the answers will one day, one day manifest to me.

My thoughts went to you and all the children especially my young friend, Buhari and Mama Shehu, Umoru, and the whole family of late Papa Musa Yar'Adua, the Mutaahin Katsina.

May Allah strengthen and support you to bear the heavy burden, and provide leadership for the whole family, which I know you have the natural ability to do. I assure you of my best assistance, God willing.

I am still in detention but hope that Allah will ensure my freedom not too long from now. A soon as possible after my release, I shall come to Katsina to see you, Mama Shehu, Umaru, and the entire family.

I am sure that Kola had effectively represented me at the funeral.

Shehu and I had a relationship dedicated to heroic actions for the betterment of our nation as a whole and improvement of her beneficial contacts with the outside world.

The Habib Nig. Bank Ltd. which Shehu and I spearheaded continue to be one of the best-run banks with considerable well-earned, natural and international goodwill and very high reputation to coherent principles, probity, efficiency and high level of service administration and support to its customers.

Relationship with the great Habib Bank of Pakistan and the world remains most cordial, indeed brotherly.

Our Habib Nig. Bank Ltd. my fellow- executive directors, other directors, management and large local and international staff and all our teeming customers everywhere will dearly miss our Shehu, our gentle and helpful chairman from the inception of our Bank in 1982.

May his great, kind and happy soul rest in perfect peace.

(Amen) Please, convey my condolences to Mama, all the children, including my young friend, Buhari, Umaru and the entire family.

I forward this letter to our bank headquarters in Kaduna because I do not know whether you have moved to Katsina or are still in Kaduna. I will continue to pray for you and the whole family.

Asalam Alaikum Yours most sincerely, MKO Abiola

Letter To Eduok
My dear Air-Vice Marshal Nsikak Eduok, Thank you for the Monday meeting. This short note is late because it did take me some time to recover from the heavy news of General Abacha and Major-General Yar'Adua. May their souls rest in peace (Amen).

Both you and the Chief of Army Staff were clearly sympathetic to me and I thank you both for that. I think the future will see us working closely together to ensure that our great nation forges ahead economically by diverting the massive energy of all our people towards the goal of our economic development and away from sterile, inconclusive political controversies which have engulfed us since (before) independence.

Please, make it possible for us (the three of us who met on Monday night, plus the naval chief, who I met on Wednesday, to discuss this in a general way, initially. I found the atmosphere of last Monday night very attractive and productive hence this suggestion.

June 12 alone cannot solve the problem without some major inputs from your own side. Please, let us meet soon.

Regards to Madam & family. With best personal regards.

Yours most sincerely, MKO Abiola

Letter To Maryam Abacha
My dear Mrs. Maryam Abacha, Asalaam Alaikun It was last Monday night, 28th June, that I was informed about the sad event of your beloved husband, our nation's head of state and a friend and brother, General Sani Abacha.

"Innaa Lillahi wa Innaa Ilayhi rajiuun" (To Allah we belong, and to him is our return). Koran 2:156 "Kullu nafsin-zaaa-igatul-mawt. wanabluukuun-bish-sharri wal-kayri fitnah.

Wa ilaynaa turja-uun." (Every soul shall taste of death: and we try you with evil and with good for ordeal. To us must you return.) K. 21: 35 Please, accept my condolence on this most sudden event. I pray that Allah may comfort and console you, all the children and the entire Abacha family. May He give you the courage and fortitude and strengthen your faith to bear this great loss. (Amen). May his great soul rest in peace (Amen).

May Allah prolong your life and those of the children and other members of the family and bless you all with sound health.

As a learned person yourself, you know that Allah, our creator, is with us wheresoever we may be (K. 57: 4) with his all-sufficient cherishing care and protection in abundant measures. His decision, in every case, is informed by the highest wisdom and all-embracing mercies.

The earlier loss of our son, Ibrahim an outstanding young man on 17th January, 1996 must make this incident rather inexplicable from the purely human point of view.

We must, however, console ourselves with the fact that the greatest mysteries to us are informed by Allah's wisdom and mercies, which are not always clear to us. I have no doubt that Allah, who never dies, will succour you and strengthen you with strength in your souls.

Please, be firmly assured that you and your entire family will always be considered by me and my whole family as friends, brothers and sisters.

As I assured your late husband, in my last letter to him on 10th October, 1996, despite all he has done and will probably continue to do, I could never hate him. In my heart, my love for him never diminished because I know that Satan, the open enemy, was the cause of the schism.

Insha Allah, I will visit you and the children after my release, which I pray will not be too long from now.

Meanwhile, I shall continue to pray for you, your children and family Asalaam Alaikun Yours most sincerely, MKO Abiola Letter To Bamaiyi My dear Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi.

Thank you for the most pleasant meeting, which you chaired on June 29, 1998. It was most thoughtful of you to think of bringing me up to date and put an end to the 'cold war' being waged against me since December 24, 1993 when I met the late General Abacha in his Ikoyi residence.

The double sad news of General Abacha and my bosom friend, brother and business-partner, Maj. -General Yar'Adua affected me greatly because I have known the two of them for 22 and 26 years respectively.

May their great souls rest in perfect peace (Amen).

I have just drafted a condolence letter to Mrs. Maryam Abacha, with a copy to our Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and I have respectfully asked him to, please, approve the text of my letter to the former First Lady before it is dispatched to her.

Two heads are better than one.

I was greatly moved by your kindness, courtesy and manifest sympathy and warm humane attitude towards me in the serious matter of my release at that our first formal meeting.

I thank God who has put a sound military leader of your sterling qualities in charge of Africa's largest army, at this very critical period in our national history.

I hope you will give me an opportunity of getting closer to you as I have been with all your predecessors since the late Col. Joe Akahan, with the sole exception of Major-General David Ejoor.

One of the great events and pride of my life has been my life-long relationships with military, mainly army leaders from the late Col. Joe Akahan to Maj. -Generals Adeyinka Adebayo (one of your pedecessors), Hassan Usman Katsina (another predecessor), Armah, Joe Garba, George Innih, Abisoye, Aduloju, A.R.A Mamudu, Ishola-Williams, Oluleye, M. Adamu. Adefope, Jemibewon, Lt. -Generals T.Y. Danjuma, Alani Akinrinade, Ibrahim Saliu, Dipo Diya, Jonathan Dogonyaro, Aliyu Muhammed (Gusau), Brigadiers Raji Rasaki, David Mark, Toki Ahmed, Abdullahi, Abubakar, Tanko Ayuba, Leo Ajiborisa, Odaro, Francis Aisida, etc, etc, and, of course, General Murtala Muhammed, my immortal friend, brother and confidant; Segun Obasanjo, a distant relation and junior in school, whom I have known all my life, the great General Ibrahim Babangida and the late Sani Abacha and Domkat Bali.

I am convinced that the Armed Forces have a role to play in the attainment of a stable polity in the immediate future -say, the next four years, to start with.

Having talked to you last Monday, I can now understand why the Army has remained stable despite the volatile happenings triggered off by the late General Abacha's attempt to do-a-Rawlings in our great nation! I hope and pray that you will be able to stay on top of the Army for, at least the next four years to continue your splendid professional career in the service of our fatherland. That our first meeting has encouraged me more than words can express.

Can we meet again soon to develop the theme maintained in this short letter as I do not want to make it too long? Please, let it be soon.

Please, remember me to Madam and the children. May God's blessings and protection on you and all those near and dear to you increase and multiply (Amen). With the best personal regards.

Yours most sincerely.

M. K. O. Abiola.