interview with pro democracy journalism icon, MOSHOOD FAYEMIWO. We now present the concluding part of the damning revelations concerning leading political and military personalities and landmark events during the darkest days of Nigeria under military dictatorship. The interview was anchored by our managing editor, OLADIMEJI ABITOGUN. Excerpts:

Why would you consider it fair to pin all the mis-governance on Hausa/Fulani area. You know other individuals from other tribes and parts of Nigeria are guilty as well…

People who are students of history, especially those who have studied the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy, if you have read a book by J.F.A. Ade – Ajayi, Africa in the Nineteenth Century, it is about the history, explained the history of Hausa State, talks of the arrival of one Baya Jida from the Middle East who married the Queen of Daura. I think from the present Katsina State.

And between them they had seven Hausa sons who are called the Banza Bakwai. And then there were seven other illegitimate sons of same man. The seven illegitimate sons later formed the fourteen Hausa States. Daura, Katsina, Zau Zau (Zaria), Kano, Rano and Biram, Gwandu

The Fulanis arrived in the Northern area and conquered the Hausas. Hausas and Fulani had historically been separate people. I studied African History at the graduate level and learned from respectable and unbiased professors; the best in the field. It is important that people understand this story, and eventually, the Fulani legitimized their power over the Hausas and imposed their religion and ways of life on the Hausas. Historically, Hausas were not Moslems; their religion was what they called Maigazuya or Maigazurra kind of religion. This comprised magic, witchcraft and all the rest, mixed with Islam. The Fulanis came and emasculated the Hausas, changed their religion and even their ways of life. Today, these Fulanis who speak Fulfude are in Northern Nigeria. They became Hausa-Fulani and are determined to turn Nigeria into an Islamic enclave. This is the war that Chief Obafemi Awolowo fought to resist; we are still fighting it today in Nigeria. People do not know what is happening and that is why I said those who are ruling Nigeria, who are destroying that nation, you can count them, a handful of them. What they do is that they believe that political, religious and economic powers in Nigeria belong to them. They see others as second-class citizens, they are full of hubris. The way they operate is to plant Emirs in even non-Moslem and non-Hausa-Fulani towns and villages. Can you believe that Lafia in Nassarawa State with just a handful of Hausa-Fulani should be governed by an Emir? I served in Ilorin, Kwara State during my NYSC and could count the number of Hausa-Fulani resident in that city yet they are ruled by an Emir.

While we, in the South are running after money, not yet able to put our acts together, these people have perfected how they are going to rule Nigeria forever. Yorubas, Ibos,Ibibios, Efik, Benin, Kalabaris, Itshekiri and the rest in the South should wake up otherwise our children and grandchildren will curse us in our graves after we have gone. They will ask just as my children are asking me now in America; Daddy, what did you do? Are you just watching?. There is discrimination in Nigeria to the level that since the 1960’s no person outside the Hausa – Fulani oligarchy has ruled Nigeria. The two periods under southern leadership was more or less accidental.

The death, the assassination of Muritala Mohammed paved the way for Obasanjo to rule in the 1976 and after a democratically acclaimed election was held in 1993, the only person who could represent the genuine aspirations of Nigerians, M.K.O. Abiola was stopped by the oligarchy. They brought their man, Olusegun Obasanjo, to rule again. Between 1976-1979, Obasanjo was not even ruling; the power really was in the hands of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the elder brother of the one there now; Umaru. The late General Olufemi Olutoye once narrated a story in his autobiography where he said, immediately Obasanjo was sworn into office in 1976 following Muritala Muhammed’s death, he came to Doddan Barracks and explained the situation of other ethnic tribes to him in federal appointments and the need to redress anomaly. He left after his discussions with Obasanjo and few hours later, Obasanjo set for him. The late Gen. Musa Yar’Adua, the then Chuef of Staff Supreme Headquarters was already waiting and in the latter’s presence, Obasanjo asked him to repeat what he had just said few hours earlier. He, Olutoye repeated what he told Obasanjo. The following morning, Olutoye’s retirement was announced on the FRCN. It was so bad in the 1970s down till the 1990s that some Southerners in the Nigerian Military had to change their names to Mohammed, Umaru and even converted into Islam to get promotion. I knew those Southerners who left the Nigerian Army out of frustration because of this nonsense. The fact of the matter is there is no Nigerian Army, what we have is Northern Nigerian Army. We cannot continue like this as a people, Southerners must assert their legitimate rights in their own fatherland or we go our separate ways, period.


What is the real legitimate reason for the annulment of June 12 elections?

We all know that June 12 is the ultimate culmination of the 1985 coup of survival which Babangida staged for self – preservation.

Let us be frank, the man did not want to leave the place. He was coming out with the idea of diarchy. He sent people like Mukoro Tony Nyiam to study the idea in Egypt, Santiago in Chile, and an admixture of civilian and military leadership. That was what the man was planning until Abiola decided to contest. Of course you know the story of how Abiola emerged as the candidate of the then Social Democratic Party S.D.P. Abiola was able to emerge as the presidential flag bearer as the SDP in Jos as late Major – General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua discovered that, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe was pealing away votes from Atiku Abubakar for Abiola.

The forces of Atiku and Abiola teamed up and worked for Abiola’s victory. What they did was that six people met at the residence of Ambassador Yaya Kwade on Ibrahim Taiwo Avenue in Jos, M.K.O. Abiola, his first son, Kola, Dr. Jonathan Zwingina (later became a senator), Major General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua himself, Atiku Abubakar and Yaya Kwande. And they agreed, and Abiola himself appended his signature that the forces of Atiku Abubakar will co-operate and that when Abiola emerged as the flag bearer that he would make Atiku Abubakar his running mate. Abiola agreed. He became the flag bearer of the SDP.

While they were there, because we have to be frank, it was not actually a primary, for those of us who were there, Abiola bought the ticket, because of his money power. Where Ambassador Kingibe was spending N500, N2,000 to buy delegates, Abiola upped the stakes to N10,000, N20,000 per delegate. Unknown to Abiola, Babangida’s agents were filming everything live. They captured everything on tape. For example, Abiola gave N10m cash to Lamidi Adedibu. And the late Adedibu was captured on tape with wads of Naira notes shouting to Oyo State delegates “Eyin ara Ibadan, Owo Abiola ti de”, meaning “Folks from Ibadan, Abiola’s cash has landed” (laughs) openly. You know the man was a political jobber, half-illiterate. And suddenly, delegates for Atiku and Kingibe moved and switched to Abiola. Abiola instructed Kola to increase the stakes to N20, 000 against N500 from the others. It was cash and carry for Abiola. They were all caught on tape and that was the tape that Babangida sent to the State Department here in the United States to justify the annulment among other reasons


There were basically three reasons Babangida annulled the election.

First, the man didn’t just want to go. He wanted diarchy. That was why Olumilua, Adeleke, Ebri, Osoba, Otedola ruled with him for two years.

Secondly, there were deep – seated animosities between him and Abiola. Most Nigerians do not want to hear this that the money kept in Abiola’s account through an arrangement brokered by Babangida was one of the reasons that caused the problem. And of course when Maryam Babangida went to Beijing in China, there were reports that Abiola slept with the woman, which no one knew. Whether it was a lie, it was going to be a lie. These were the personal reasons. Babangida’s personal self entrenchment and the betrayal of each other over Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe’s money.

Doe was looking for where to keep the money he had stolen from the Liberian economy. He was looking for a place to keep the money for his wife Nancy and his children. So he approached Babangida. And Babangida told him “hey, I’m president here and I don’t want to put the money in my account. We have a friend who we can use”.

That was how he suggested Abiola and of course, Abiola had investment in Liberia. So the money was paid into Abiola’s Swiss Account.

After Doe died, Nancy, his wife came all the way from London to Nigeria. No Nigerian newspaper, most editors knew, but did not want to carry it. None of them could carry the story, the plan was for…. Babangida had suggested to Doe to go on exile at the thick of the Liberian war. He felt he could go to Saudi Arabia. The late Idi Amin also came to Nigeria and stayed in Sheraton Hotel during that period. Idi Amin called and advised Doe not to go on exile, that with timing, the war may eventually favor Doe. Idi Amin was the one who told him not to go on exile.

The Saudi authorities were ready to take Doe. As it eventually turned out, Doe was killed by Yormie Johnson’s soldiers. So his family, Doe’s families were now in need and they came to Nigeria to ask for what their bread winner had kept for them. Babangida welcomed them, and then he sent for Abiola. Abiola replied that, well the money was paid into the late Simbiat Abiola, his first wife’s account. And that he wasn’t the person holding that account, that it was Kola Abiola and that Babangida should call his first son, Kola. So Babangida felt insulted that this was a friend of both of them who was in need so that he could take care of his family and Abiola was saying all those kind of things. You know how I was able to authenticate the story? Through the late Shehu Musa Yar ‘Adua, because Chris Mamman, who eventually became Chief Press Secretary to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar took me to General Yar’ Adua’s office in Victoria Island. Nancy Doe, the wife of late Samuel Doe of Liberia is in London, you guys should track her down for an interview. Nigerian newspapers don’t have the resources in the first place to pursue that kind of story and secondly, no editor in Nigeria will dare venture to publish such a story. I told you that Babangida has corrupted virtually all of them either directly or indirectly. It’s just so bad that most editors are on the payroll of the SSS while some are moles in the newsroom. Some editors have to be looking over their shoulders when they are planning stories because you just don’t know who would betray you to the soldiers in power. I doubt whether that culture has changed much. As I have said, we have the finest and the best journalists in the world but the institutional obstacles in media houses are formidable. Nigerian Journalists are poorly paid, there is no insurance and the tools are not there for them to work.

No wonder

Revelation 101

When I said somewhere else, that I saw an Igbo man who changed his name to Moslem name, I was called a liar!

Ijebu pipu and money!
Aaaah!
You see, because of small samuel Doe money, Abiola lost the shance to seat on niger Delta money!
Aaaaah!
Greedy is not goodu!
it is good to be good, my sisters.

what an enlightened piece. no wonder Nigeria remain d same. one day- not so far away- God will take over