@ blink182
The truth cannot be "corrected".

blink182:

When ℓ̊  first saw this thread, ℓ̊  didn't bother to open it because ℓ̊  guessed OP will be corrected and he'll refrain but here we aя̩̥̊ε̲̣̣̣̥. Its really amazing Τ̲̅ђε̲̣̣̣̥ stuff some people aя̩̥̊ε̲̣̣̣̥ made of.

culled from a post from another thread:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
, when Abacha came to power, he began to work out ways to run this country and was committed to reducing Nigeria’s debts which he did from $33 billion to $26 billion.

He repaid $7 billion of our foreign debt. We had a domestic debt of over a hundred million (100,000,000), Abacha paid it.

It is in the records and Obasanjo testified to that when he took over. Obasanjo confirmed that and went forward to say they have recovered some of the Abacha loot. So as I was saying, by the time Abacha died, he has cleared Nigeria’s domestic debts and this was testified to by the regime that followed him. He has mapped out billions of dollars to reactivate the Nigerian railway and that was meant to cheapen the transportation of goods and services. He has also invested on the establishment of Media Commission.

If he were alive today, all these problems we are having over lack of stable power supply would have been history because he had a blue print on how to turn things around for good. He stabilised the naira. It is the Western press that transferred its own personal biases against Abacha to Nigerians. He refused to be a ploy in the hands of the West and they wanted him out.

When Abdulsalami Abubakar took over, he came up with information about Abacha loot in Switzerland. How did he come about that?

Let me tell you. The Jews have been hiding their assets and wealth, gold, money and everything they own that is precious since 1917 during the 1st world war including the 2nd world war, from 1917 till today in Switzerland.

They could not get assess to their inheritance because of the coding system and the absolute secrecy with which the Swiss account are shrouded and yet Abdulsalami said shortly after he assumed power that Abacha looted money and that they have found out the account, they have found out the numbers and that they have found out the balances.

They were lies.

They wanted Abacha out because they wanted the naira to go back from where it has come from the SAP era so that it will continue to have a free fall like we had during the Obasanjo era. Abacha did not play their game.

But when Obasanjo came in, he did business with the West. He did all their bidding which Abacha refused to do.
Let me tell you something Chioma, during the NPN days, in 1992, I was one of those that accompanied Shagari to North-South dialogue. It would interest you to know that the US government under President Ronald Regan asked the Shehu Shagari government to devalue the Naira by a whopping 500%. Shagari refused on the ground that the measure would impoverish Nigerians.

He said the Nigerian economy hasn’t got the capacity to raise its production by a corresponding 500%. If he had accepted that request from Reagan under the prevailing economic situation at the time, Nigerians would have been impoverished by over 500%.

The West did not only want us to devalue the naira by 500 per cent, they wanted us to withdraw fuel subsidy on all imported goods. That attempt failed with Shagari and failed with Abacha.

But Obasanjo danced to their tune and that is why our economy is in a mess. We had an economic policy in the Abacha days which was at par with that of Malaysia. You know Malaysia is not suffering from the effects of the global economy. It is a growing economy.

At the time Shagari was overthrown, our exchange was $1.61 to N1 but now, our naira is one dollar to N150. Things began to deteriorate after the Second Republic. Abacha’s regime was set to revamp things but the West felt threatened because Abacha was not doing business with them.

==Was the problem created by the civilians or military regime because they are all seemed mixed up from your analysis?

Well, I don’t see any difference between the military regime and Obasanjo’s regime. I mean his second coming. This current administration is still on course and I will not be hasty to assess their performance. That is the only fair way of making a fair comment.

==So, you stand by what you said in the past that Nigeria is being reckoned with as a failed state?

I have no regrets saying that. Our politics is leading us towards being regarded as one and so we must reconsider the way we do things.

==And you think Abacha was killed by the West?

He was killed by Western agents in concert with oriental agents who were activated at the time they needed the operation. They came to Nigeria on holiday and were introduced to Abacha. They administered a drug on him which he thought was Viagra which was given to him by these agents. That was the pill that killed him.

==How did you come about this analysis? Why would the West kill him?

They wanted him out because he wanted to create an independent country. There was so much propaganda about him. Newsweek and Time reported that Abacha took the pill which he thought was Viagra. It shows that they must have known it was not Viagra that he was given.

==But he was having a marathon with love-peddlers at the time he died?

Even then, they were used.

Abacha was said to be diabetic and had a kidney problem too.
He was eased out by the West because he wanted to be independent of them.
-senator ahmed uba

another post from same thread:

Nigeria-America: Naira versus Dollar analysis in retrospect by Apostle Dr. Genesis A. Dawuda

About 37 years ago, co-incidentally my birth year; Nigeria’s economic situation was not competing with American Dollar but with that of United Kingdom’s Pound sterling buying it at N2 to a £ 1.

Nigeria is a country blessed and also bedeviled by myriads of hydra-headed problems. Back in the days, when 65kobo was exchanged for a dollar, there was no such thing as brain-drain, human trafficking and what have you.

Back in those days, do you know that the government of U.A.E. came to Nigeria seeking for loan from Nigeria? I don’t need to write about Malaysia coming to Nigeria, consulted some of our best brains and even exported our own brand of palm trees from the nursery to improve their agricultural sector. Today I don’t need to tell you how strong that economy is today. Thousands of our children troop to their embassy to either go for studies or business pursuits for greener pastures. In the cause of doing that we’ve lost some due to unnatural causes.

Nigeria, a nation destined for greatness is still crawling on her fours. I’ll tell you why later.

Where was America in the early 70s on the lips of little kids? We didn’t know about America, we only knew so much of London, England and UK as registers for accomplishments and destinations for young dreamers. Why? Because our economy was stable. So stable that we needed no application for Visa to go somewhere like America to be ill-treated to the extent of being deported or questioned on the system of government we are practicing today.

In 1980, two years into the 2nd republic under President Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s naira enjoyed the peak of her glory pegged at 55kobo in exchange for a dollar. Since that time, like the proverbial one-legged man who, out of the praise and applause accorded him for an excellent dance performance threw away the stick that supported him in the dance. Upon throwing away the stick, consequently he also lost the dance. Nigeria got so excited with a thriving second republic, she threw away the stick of prudence, the stick of the fear of God ( a common phrase of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, “Basu da tsoron Allah?”) Our leadership also threw away the stick of Accountability. From that moment, the naira got a dent. Which led to the Buhari-Idiagbon coup with the then Brigadier Sani Abacha, while announcing the coup emphasized the Squander-maniac state of the toppled or ousted leadership of the 2nd Republic.

In 1981 61kobo exchanged for a dollar. 6kobo increment in the purchasing power of the currency to buy a dollar. In 1982 67kobo bought a dollar. In 1983 the naira fell again buying the dollar at 72 kobo.

On the re-entry of the military, thinking the country has come to roost. In 1984 about 76kobo exchanged for the dollar. In 1986 the naira nose-dived to N2.02kobo exchanging for a dollar. For this, IBB (General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, first military president in Nigeria) gave four reasons for that I think:

1. A decrease of our domestic production continues to increase.

2. Dependence on import for both consumer goods and raw materials for our industries.

3. A grossly unequal gap between the rich and the poor.

4. The large role played by the public sector in economic activity with hardly any concrete results to justify such a role.

Me thinks to this day we are still trying to confront these four “IBB Realities.” But when he stepped-aside, he left the naira down begging to rise at N22.33kobo in 1993, no thanks to him and his economic advisers. Could it be the reason he wants to return? To still confront his Four IBB Realities. In 1994 Abacha raised it to N21.89kobo sustained it at N21.89kobo until he died; thanks to Prof. Aluko his economic adviser,(not for Abacha’s death but for contributing immensely to the economy.) For five good years the naira was stubbornly pegged at N21.89kobo with all the sanctions and bans on Nigeria left right and center; yet, the naira survived it at N21.89kobo

Gen. Abdulsalam left it to Gen. Obasanjo at a crazy shot of N85.98kobo. At the end of OBJ’s 1st tenure the naira had reached and roamed between N127-130 Naira in exchange for a dollar. With all the wonderful travels and monies spent on Esther’s Coat, oh I mean on estacode yet the naira soared high not like an eagle but against all winning formulas that will make it strong. Upon his second entry the naira suffered another blow, exchanging for the dollar between N132-136. But in 2005 the government gave the naira a slight lift between N128.50kobo-131.80kobo.

Quoting IBB in August 27th 1985 “Events today indicate that most of the reasons which justified the military takeover of government from the civilians still persist.” I too after 25 years of that speech can see that the problems still persist.

The almighty Legislative Houses (Both Upper and Lower) needs to go ask Prof. Aluko, what magic did he do to peg the naira @ N21.89kobo for five good years consecutively. You may want to ask, why ask Aluko? Because he was the Chairman of Gen. Abacha’s National Economic Intelligence Committee. A man reputed to be second only to the late Dr. Okigbo on analyzing and managing of economic matters under different Governments in the past. Don’t you think he’ll do better in a democracy given the opportunity to perform better than he did under pressure? I can’t answer my question for the reader. You have your own say. It’s in the constitution.

Today you and I know that the naira is floating between N150-155. Nobody could stay it like Aluko. A man who once said we are an economically silly nation; importing nearly everything, name it is it rice, or power or refined petroleum. Those who import generator will not allow NEPA or PHCN to work, neither will those importing rice allow mechanized agriculture to work, can you imagine the OBJ government voted N80Billion naira for the importation of rice? It he who warned against the “voodoo” economic system OBJ was concocting; warning that “the private sector-led economy, which OBJ was operating would lead the country into chaos and retrogression but he did not listen.” Probably I’m giving him too much praise here but then tell me what others did, because I don’t know. Yes! I mean I just don’t know. No man, they say has the monopoly of knowledge.

The man who couldn’t travel out (Abacha) pegged the naira at N21.89 and those who dined and wined with kings and Queens and paid courtesy visits across the globe(Globe-Trotting everywhere) estacoded, shook hands with very successful and powerful leaders around the world, came back the same and left the office, I mean the naira worst than they met it. Well a friend said Abacha’s N21.89kobo was not confronting any international market forces at that time with so many sanctions rammed and slammed at his government; that was why, and that Abacha stumbled on the windfall of the gulf-war when the price of crude jumped for good, that means God must be a Nigerian and Abacha-Aluko as his errand boys. Market forces or not Abacha left the price of Petrol at N17.00, established the PTF to channel the proceeds of subsidy withdrawal into critical social service areas. And the results of this initiative remain resounding eleven years after Abacha’s death, while ObJ shot it to N70.00 and no one knows where the proceeds were channeled into. So where did the proceeds of subsidy withdrawal go into during OBJ’s tenure? Did I here you say foreign investments? Yes it was invested into the air. It vanished into the thin air. Or into some people’s farm.

It was Prof. Aluko who gave the following analysis at conference 5th May 2001 hosted by Schiller Institute, Germany.

“In 1986, the IMF/World Bank succeeded in convincing the then Nigerian military government into adopting their Structural Adjustment Program. The Marketing Boards were disbanded; public enterprises were deregulated; government intervention in the economy became discredited; monetary and fiscal policies of government were relaxed, and the free traders took over the reins of government. The result was that cocoa production in Nigeria fell from about 400,000 tons a year in 1986 to 150,000 tons in 2000, and the production of cotton, groundnuts, hides and skin, rubber, and palm produce decreased to between 25% and 35% of the 1986 level. Coal production fell from 360,000 tons in 1980 to 19,000 tons in 2000. Per capita income of Nigerians fell from $760 per annum in 1985 to $360 in 2000. Food imports replaced food exports. The value of the naira, Nigeria's currency, fell from N1=$1 in 1985, to N115=$1 today, at the Central Bank exchange rate (Table 1).[FIGURE 11] Black marketing in the nation's currency began and grew since 1985, to become N140=$1 today. For more go to www.drgenesis.com/pulpit.htm

Apostle Dr. Genesis A. Dawuda writes from Centre For World Rebirth, Jos Plateau State, Nigeria

Website: www.drgenesis.com

Email: info@drgenesis.com or centreforworldrebirth@yahoo.com

Phone: +2348028063695 | +2347027001527

[size=18pt] Jeremiah Useni interview (continued):[/size]

What where those qualities that endeared you to General Abacha?

Well, he was straightforward. I like straightforward people. We all studied our likes and dislikes; we tried to avoid such. When he spoke, if he was serious about something, you would know. If he was joking, you would know. But by and large, he was a straightforward man and didn’t care where you came from. For him, that is your property. I would say he was an economist, even though he didn’t go to school of economics. You also know that during his time, we never borrowed money from the World Bank.

In fact, it was during our time that the World Bank folded up all its offices in Nigeria because the loan they gave us that they used in setting up offices and directed how such loans should be used was no longer there. When we refused to take loan, those offices became useless and they had to close them down. It was when Obasanjo came and started taking loan that Nigeria started owing. Throughout the regime of General Abacha, we never took any loan from anywhere and yet, we were paying salaries, meeting our obligations and we stabilised the Naira. We just believed in ourselves. We never believed in loans.



Then how were you able to generate funds at that time to manage the economy properly, as you are now claiming that the economy was better during General Abacha’s regime?

We managed the economy well. We have a lot of money now, but are we managing it? Have you ever heard of any military regime, except during the Obasanjo civilian government, where a governor was be accused of stealing three billion Naira? I think during our time, we were not more than three states that could announce a budget of N150 million. That is: FCT, Kano and Lagos. But today, even some local governments get billions. If the money were properly utilized, Nigeria would be far ahead.

What I mean is that General Abacha was a fine, fantastic economist, even though he didn’t go to school of economics. The little we generated; the little we got from oil, which was about 10 to 11 dollars per barrel, was properly utilised and that was why we were able to do what we did. So, it is not the amount of money that matters; the important thing is to utilize it well. If you cannot use it, you will just squander it and people would not see anything to show for it. And yet, if you are utilising the money, do it in such a way that people would see the result.

[size=18pt]Jeremiah Useni interview (continued):[/size]

So, how can the Nigerian people hold their leaders accountable?
It is by continuing to point out to the government that what they are doing now bad. When the government is doing well, praise it. When the government is doing badly, we should be bold and courageous enough to say that what they are doing is wrong. And we should also come out during election to stop them. These people who steal money, use the money fight for election. They take advantage of poverty in the land, which they created, to get people do what they want, illegally of course. We just have to be courageous enough to say no to all these malpractices and drive out those who are causing trouble. We should not allow them to be in the corridors of power. That is the best we can do.

You so much believed in General Abacha, who people believed was a dictator. Why?
I think people are just trying to rubbish him. If he were a dictator, what will you say of Obasanjo? You see, some people don’t want to be corrected; some people don’t want to be told that what they are doing is wrong. Once you do that, they take exception and start saying all sorts of things. Despite the things they say about Abacha, nobody has ever said that this is the money Abacha took and this was where he took the money from? They will be talking about the children. They will be talking about the children or some associates of the children. Every time, Abacha family, Abacha family, Abacha family and now we are seeing that what they said of Abacha family, cannot even be compared to what some aides that worked under Obasanjo did. These are aides, not even head of state, not even ministers.

Are you saying Abacha never looted the treasury?
I don’t think he looted the treasury the way they have painted it. Abacha had money before he even became head of state. His father was a businessman and he (Abacha) was very careful with money. I worked with him. I know how stingy he was when it comes to spending money. He held on to money properly. I remember when (General Oladipo) Diya, who was the second-in-command, said that our government was going to conserve money because the head of state was from Kano and the second-in-command is an Ijebu man. He said that people from Kano and Ijebu don’t like to spend money. He said that we were going to use money in government to work (laughs). So that was what happened. All those talks were just exaggerations, just to nail the man or to paint the man black. But I believe even those who were at the forefront of such campaigns are now singing different tunes.

[size=18pt]Here is a biased anti-Abacha analysis of an interview given by Abacha's widow in 2002:[/size]

http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/ngguardian/2002/sep/06/article25.html

Mrs Abacha
By Reuben Abati

MRS Maryam Abacha, wife of the late General Sani Abacha, is a very bold woman. Reading her interview in the Hallmark, a newspaper that has just returned vigorously from the grave (September 4), we gain fresh insights into what exactly must have gone wrong with that infamous General. Mrs Abacha granted interviews in the past, where she spoke as Nigeria's First Lady, and as co-ordinator of the now safely dead Family Support Programme (FSP). But her interview with the Hallmark is perhaps her most revealing interview to date. This is so for what it says about her as a person, and the temperament of the Abacha family and their attitude to Nigeria. With a woman like Maryam Abacha, General Sani Abacha was bound to end up the way he did. The literature on the influence of women in the chamber of power, that is the character of the women in the bedrooms of men of power is one of the most exciting chapters in the rather long subject of power and its effects. Hitler had Eva Braun. Before her was Helen of Troy. Before Helen of Troy, there was the Queen of Sheba. Long before the Queen of Sheba, there was Eve in the Garden of Eden. Shakespeare has written about Lady Macbeth. But in more contemporary times, we have had Wallis Simpson, the woman whose beauty took a King off his throne. Imelda Marcos. Mrs Roosevelt. Mamie Eisenhower. Hillary Clinton. Lady Diana. Camilla Parker-Bowles, 

Because a wife (in some instances, a mistress) is the refuge of last resort, the closest sounding board, and the main priest in a man's private temple, she wields not only immense powers, she becomes the main spiritual anchor of the home. This is perhaps why after warning all of us that there will be no First Lady in his administration, only the wife of the President, President Obasanjo has not been able to keep his Stella in check, and in spite of him, she has erected perhaps the second most colourful First Ladyship in Nigerian history, beaten to the game only by Mrs Maryam Babangida whose appetite for power soon proved to be larger than that of her husband. There would be more time someday in the future to attempt a study of Nigeria's First Ladies, and to see how badly or well, they have contributed to the making and the unmaking of Nigeria with the informal, but decisive powers that they wield and exercise. But for now, Mrs Maryam Abacha is the one who has taken her battle to the public square, and on the basis of what she has said or is saying, and our understanding of her place in the scheme of things, she deserves some attention.

I don't know how much education Mrs Abacha has, finding out is pointless, for reading her she comes across as a very articulate but crafty woman. She is nursing in retirement, a persecution complex, and she is determined to settle scores with anyone she perceives to be her husband's enemies. She holds Nigerians in contempt. She has no regard whatsoever for the Nigerian state. And she is supremely confident that attacks on the Abacha family amount to a "joke carried too far." She insists for example that her son, Mohammed Abacha has not done anything wrong. "Let them hold him, that is all", she says in the interview. "When they are tired, they would release him. At least everybody now knows he didn't do anything". This is of course not Mrs Abacha's fault. It is the fault of the Supreme Court which gave a funny judgement in the Mohammed Abacha case. In some other countries, Mrs Abacha herself would also be in detention. By now, the Federal Government would have instituted a full, open probe of the Family Support Programme and Mrs Abacha may have been required to answer some questions. The Security agencies would also have provided useful details about her personal use of power as General Abacha's wife. If this had been the case, she would not now be in a position to gripe as follows: "Yes, I can't travel abroad, not even to Mecca for hajj. I pleaded with them to let me go to Umra, they refused. They seized my passport.". Mecca? Hajj? So, why doesn't she go to court to ask for her passport? The main issue really is that the Obasanjo government has handled the Abacha case in a rather cowardly manner. Rather than carry out a detailed probe of previous administrations, the Federal Government limited itself to the Abacha government making it seem as if it is out to settle personal scores. In her interview, Mrs Abacha exploits this line by presenting herself and her children as victims of something she really does not understand. It would be recalled that the Obasanjo government had earlier announced that it had worked out a deal with the Abacha family, on the basis of which the family agreed to return about one billion dollars of their stolen loot to the Nigerian state.

President Obasanjo described the deal as "the most difficult decision of his life." Public opinion attacked this initiative as a bad way of dealing with confirmed crime. "Nobody should ever cut such a deal", we all said. If the Obsanjo government thought that it was looking for a save way out of a potentially messy situation, Mrs Abacha has blown everything sky-high by denying that there was ever such a deal. She is now saying that President Obasanjo is a liar. And she is quite categorical: "There was no agreement between me and anybody, The lawyers are there. Go and ask them. They did not sign an agreement with anybody, There was no agreement. Our lawyer came here with this piece of paper. It was not an official letter head. There was no coat of arms or anything like that." Really? Piece of paper? Could this be the same agreement that is the "most difficult decision" of President Obasanjo's life? In this breath, Mrs Abacha is really laughing at the Obasanjo team. Someone has some explaining to do. Piece of paper? Mrs Abacha also goes on to boast that the Abacha family did not at any time loot the Nigerian treasury. The money that they have is from the proceeds of her husband's business, "Ibrahim's monies are included too, and Mohammed too was doing business, his monies are there too. Now they say they want all the monies". In other words, Mrs Abacha believes that the Nigerian government is trying to STEAL. Nor is she too impressed with President Obasanjo. The man once snubbed her when she requested for an audience, but at the Emir's palace recently she says, "he greeted me in his speech". Oh, congratulations! Mrs Abacha did not spend all those years in the corridors of power without learning a few tricks. She didn't waste time in seizing the opportunity of the interview to further inform the public that the present First Lady once came to her for help: "I helped her, I have not done anything wrong to her. She wanted oil lifting. I helped her to get it. Yes. Even Obasanjo himself. My husband gave him oil block." True? False?

Former Head of State Abdusalami Abubakar was not spared. Mrs Abacha accuses him of being the cause of "all these problems", for failing to close the file on the matter of the money that her husband was keeping on behalf of Nigeria. According to her, "there was no loot. All those monies were security money and General Abubakar knew about it." After taking back the money that General Abacha was keeping, General Abubakar had assured Mrs Abacha that "everything was okay", he even sent her N5 million and three vehicles, and a decree was issued (Decree 53) stating that "if anyone returns money voluntarily, that person is free. He cannot be taken to court, or anything like that." God!

Referrring to this decree, Mrs Abacha is convinced that certain persons are determined to victimise the Abacha family. They have taken the cars away; her son is in detention, General Abubakar is part of the conspiracy, there are others, her husband was killed; so she asks: "Who killed Idiagbon? Who killed Bola Ige?"; even the President will not grant her audience. And she no longer cares. Again hear her: ", We know that there is a plot to destroy this family, the Abacha family. But insha Allah, it will not succeed. They will all fail, because we have not done anything. Abacha is dead. If they have anything against him, they should go there (pointing at the grave behind the house), and take him. That is all." On Mohammed Abacha, she adds: "Ah we have accepted that he is a captive. It is now a kidnapping case and we have to pay a ransom. He is a captive in his own country. So let them tell us how much to pay for his release. At first they said if there is global agreement, they will give us total freedom. Me. I don't know which one is global agreement, " And so on. I wouldn't surprised if when next Mrs Abacha grants an interview, she offers advice about how to run a government. Even she is amused at the conduct of the handlers of the Abacha case, and she is exploiting their clumsiness to the fullest. Her tone is defiant, if not arrogant. Her voice is that of a sacred cow who is just having a temporary bad weather.

Mohammed Haruna has written that she is suffering from schizophrenia, that is "a severe psychiatric disorder" (Comet, September 4). I don't think so. What I see instead is a cold and calculating mind at work. With her husband dead, and her son in detention, Mrs Abacha by granting the Hallmark interview is taking the fight to those she perceives to be enemies of the Abacha family. She has dropped hints and clues about the past, giving the impression that she knows a lot more than she is saying, and that should the opportunity arise, she would say more. She may be bluffing, but would her target audience have the courage to call her bluff, and get the Abacha family off our back? For all of Mrs Abacha's self-righteousness, however, she and her husband belong to the past. It is particularly amusing that she is now talking about the rights of the Abacha family under the rule of law. One of the good things about democracy is that it allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of a democratic order. Mrs Abacha is sounding off on the pages of a newspaper. Her husband did not allow other people to do that. He shut down newspapers. He jailed editors. He brutalised the Nigerian press. So, Mrs Abacha wants her passport back? Does she know the number of persons whose passports her husbands seized and without any just reason? She is relying on the controversial Supreme Court judgement in her son's case. How nice? Her own husband did not allow the courts to do their job. She says "we didn't do anything". That is a lie from the pit of hell. Can she say that to the people of Ogoni? Or the various families who lost their loved ones to the Abacha gulag? Or to his goons? Mrs Abacha insists that her husband did not loot the treasury, and yet she is quick to call the name of the Almighty Allah. Isn't there a punishment for persons who tell barefaced lies under the Sharia? Like the cutting of the lips or the tongue - something like that? And to add salt to injury: Mrs Abacha is now a social critic and a human rights crusader!

Obviously, she has stopped mourning. Now, she is looking for public sympathy. It is a pity she won't get it. It is true that Nigerians forget too easily and that there are too many charlatans in high places. But I doubt if we would all ever forget the war that General Abacha waged against the Nigerian people between 1993 and 1998. It was worse than the civil war. The suffering was so much Nigerians had to vow that General Abacha would be the last military ruler in Nigerian history for all times. He reigned over us as if Satan himself had ascended from Hell. Mrs Abacha may be a loyal wife; fine she has every reason to be. She says Abacha is dead, and that he is in his grave. Fine, let him stay there.

Finally, I can "un-follow" this infuriating thread.

Nigerians would someday cry to have an Abacha rule them again.

[size=18pt]hmmm..

The PDP Senator bribed by Obasanjo and / or Babangida to accuse Abacha in Swiss court:[/size]

http://thenewsafrica.com/2010/01/18/abacha%E2%80%99s-money-launderer-in-senate/

A business associate of the late General Sani Abacha family, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, will formally be welcomed into the Senate this week having won a by-election in Kebbi State

Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bagudu will become the new face of the Nigerian Senate this week. As the newly elected senator from Kebbi Central District, he will be taking the seat vacated by Alhaji Adamu Aliero, who resigned to become Minister of the Federal Capital Territory some months ago. Bagudu’s reception party will also feature an old face, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who, in cahoots with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ignored a court order and conducted an illegal re-run election for the Osun East Senatorial district, which he claimed he won. While Omisore will have a series of legal battles to contend with in the next few weeks, Bagudu’s emergence creates a new dimension in Nigeria’s politics, that the past matters no more to Nigerians: it is forgotten and buried.

Freshman Senator Bagudu is an embodiment of Nigeria’s dark past, when the military leader, Gen. Abacha looted the national treasury without restraint. Bagudu was Abacha’s bagman, his money launderer. He was Abacha’s conduit through whom passed most of the $4-5 billion Abacha was reputed to have stolen.

Shoving aside considerations for political, ethical and moral correctness of his candidacy, and emboldened by a bottomless cash to spare, Bagudu had gone into the election, almost without opposition. As announced by Alhaji Abubakar Falke, the INEC Resident Commissioner in the state, Bagudu, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, clinched victory with a landslide, polling 285,578 votes out of the 310,800 total votes cast. The Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, candidate, Alhaji Sambo Aliyu, who scored 8,377, emerged a very distant second, while 16 other candidates from other political parties only just symbolically ran. Their votes were inconsequential.

While the agent of the DPP candidate, Alhaji Haruna Saidu, was reported as saying that there were anomalies such as violation of electoral laws and money politics, Bagudu’s representative, Alhaji Bello Dandiga, told newsmen that “there is no country that has conducted a perfect election.” Alhaji Muhktari Ibrahim, the state Commissioner of Police, claimed that there were no violations of the law.

The clean bill of health notwithstanding, the election was boycotted by the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, because it feared that the exercise would not be fair. The party’s apprehension could have emanated from what transpired at the PDP primaries which threw up Bagudu as the party’s candidate.

In the December primaries held in Birnin Kebbi, the party adopted Bagudu, after polling 1,735 votes, defeating Alhaji Mai’eka Bello Mohammed who scored 114 votes. Only two persons—perhaps himself and his wife––voted for the third contestant, House of Representatives member, Abdullahi Umar Faruk, no relation of Abdulmutallab, the failed bomber. However, Mai’eka cried blue murder, alleging that the Kebbi State governor and state party leaders manipulated Bagudu’s victory “through means fair and foul”. Mai’eka submitted a petition to Wadata Plaza, the secretariat of the party in Abuja, claiming that from the outset, “the party and the government made it clearly known that there was a preferred candidate and that by all means he must emerge as the candidate.”

He complained further: “People like a former Minister, some retired Federal Permanent Secretaries and some members of the state House of Assembly all queued up with their ballot papers in front of Alhaji Sani Dododo who was assigned to write the name of Atiku Bagudu for delegates who were illiterate.” It was to make sure that Governor Dakingari could see that they voted for his candidate, he argued, maintaining that PDP “flouted all the primary election rules right from the selection of delegates, delegates’ accreditation and conduct of the elections”.

Bagudu may have won his election or even bought the votes, but his past will continue to haunt him. He had set up Morgan Procurement Corporation and Mecosta Securities which, as Africa Confidential put it, “were involved in the illegal transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Nigerian state to the Abacha family.” According to other reports, Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu siphoned $66m from the $111m purchase of vaccines from the French firm Pasteur Merieux. The loot was kept in foreign financial institutions through the assistance of David Jones, a director of Borough High Street, South London-based Smith & Tyers, where Mohammed is a principal shareholder. For his complicity in this and other illegalities, Bagudu and Mohammed faced court charges on many fronts.

Problem started for Bagudu when the federal government asked for the assistance of the Isle of Jersey government in recovering money fraudulently transferred into the banks in that territory. Thereafter, the Isle of Jersey began its own probe which resulted in the arrest of Bagudu on 22 May 2003 in Houston, Texas, where he had been living for three years. According to reports, Bagudu’s arrest was based on an extradition warrant requested by Britain from the Isle of Jersey. It accused Bagudu of “fraudulent transfer of money from Nigeria to the Deutsche Bank, making false declarations to open the bank accounts, and using federal government fund to purchase notes that federal government had defaulted on, then selling them back to it for twice the purchase price.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Jersey in June 2004, to thank the island’s authorities for their efforts at investigating laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars by the Abachas and Bagudu through that country’s financial institutions and the return of some $150m (£73.25m) to Nigeria.

According to The Lawyer, an on-line medium, “the Bagudu matter has been the most high profile in a series of criminal investigations by the island’s attorney-general into the misuse of the services of local financial institutions for the purpose of laundering the proceeds of corruption.” At the request of the Nigerian authorities, Bagudu coughed out $150m.

Nigeria also had its own charges against Bagudu and Abacha’s son, Mohammed: assisting in concealing stolen property, the sum of £10 million each on 6th, 9th January, 1998; £9 million on 12 January 1998; $25 million on 27 January of the same year and others which were “punishable under Section 97(1) of the Penal Code”.

To facilitate the repatriation of the stolen funds, the Federal Government had an agreement with Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. In all, according to reports, Switzerland returned about $615 million.

Very unrepentant, Bagudu hired big lawyers––Gordon Pollock, Lawrence Cohen, SJ Berwin and other Queen’s Counsel––to defend himself and the Abachas. According to a report, “more than $12m is estimated to have already been spent, of which $8m has gone to lawyers in Britain.” They fought feverishly so that the former home secretary, Jack Straw, could soft-pedal in assisting Swiss and Nigerian criminal investigations with banking evidence held in London.

When all his strategems failed, Bagudu, detained in the US for this financial crime, agreed to transfer about $300 million (N40.566 billion) to the federal government. It was paid into Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Limited Bank on the Isle of Jersey. After paying $500,000 bond, he was released from a six-month detention at an American prison by Magistrate Calvin Botley “on the condition that he would transfer the said sum and return to Nigeria to face charges of assisting Mohammed to transfer looted funds abroad”. Bagudu’s counsel in the US was Bob Sussman. The movement of Bagudu, the newly elected senator, was restricted and monitored through an electronic ankle bracelet!

However, Bagudu defended himself when he was questioned at a Swiss court in September 1999. He said that the late Ibrahim Abacha was his childhood friend whom he knew before Mohammed Sani Abacha. He claimed that he became close to the latter after Ibrahim’s death, in a plane crash. Ibrahim and Mohammed, according to Bagudu, had an international sugar company and, “therefore as early as 1985, we had business links without being business partners”.

Bagudu told the court that in February 1994, he and Ibrahim established Morgan Procurement Corporation. “I agreed to work with Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha in 1994 because the latter had a huge fortune and I had a lot of ideas about how to invest or manage the fortune. At that time, my fortune was much smaller than now,” he added. But he argued that there was no direct link between the rise to power of General Sani Abacha in November 1993 and the fact that he accepted in February 1994 to become the business partner of his eldest son, Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha. “It was only coincidental. However, it is probable that the fact that my new trading partner is the son of the head of state contributed to a large extent to the expansion of our business,” Bagudu admitted.

Born in 1961, Bagudu had his primary education in Gwandu. He studied economics in the University of Sokoto from 1979 to 1983. Apart from being an assistant lecturer in the University of Sokoto between 1985 and 1989, he claimed to have worked for Nigeria International Bank in Lagos, after which he moved to Columbia University in New York from 1992 to 1993, where he obtained a masters in International Business. He worked for six months in the World Bank in Washington.

What are the implications of Bagudu’s emergence in the Senate? Debo Adeniran, head, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, told TheNEWS that Nigeria would have more treasury looters in the National Assembly. This is because, as the activist said, “the nation is suffering from paucity of honest people to make laws that will assist in creating a corruption-free environment and that it would deny us the opportunity to have honest lawmakers that can perform good oversight functions so that public officials do not perpetrate corruption.” He added that Bagudu’s victory is a step backwards in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

Also, Yinka Odumakin, the secretary of the Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, re-echoed what Senator Nuhu Aliyu, a retired police deputy inspector-general, said some years ago, about the Senate being filled with criminals. “Bringing Abacha’s money launderer into the Senate has proven the veracity of that statement,” Odumakin said.

poll added

Thank God for the unfollow button

naijababe: Thank God for the unfollow button

I will only thank God when there is a channel for me to put a bullet in his daft brain. I would really love to graciously destroy the thing he mistakens for a brain.

Have you not understood that the whole purpose of this thread was to show you that the bank accounts do not belong to Abacha, but people which Obasanjo and IBB had bribed to act as his associates / business partner.

Yinkuche: Why are you laundering Abacha's image now? I thought the stolen money was discovered. So who stole and saved it in Abacha'ss account?

Please continue to take the poll

The problem with us Nigerians is that we seem to lose our ability to analyse and think for ourselves.

If BBC or CNN tells you that Abacha looted (reporting Obasanjo's lies), we would automatically believe that it is gospel.

Please get into the habit of analysing situations and forming your own opinion without adopting the opinion the white man or their stooges (e.g Obj and IBB) would like you to adopt.

[size=18pt]If Abacha was guilty why would government of Obasanjo find it necessary to bribe witnesses? See another case:
[/size]

One of the star witnesses in the murder case of Kudirat Abiola, Muhammad Abdul, also known as Katako, who during the trial testified against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha has yesterday said that he was bribed by the government to lie, and that Al-Mustapha is innocent.
Katako made the startling revelation in an interview with the Hausa service of Radio France International (RFI), monitored in Abuja.
“Yes, I lied. But later I reflected over my life and what I will meet in the hereafter. Whatever financial reward one gets here for giving false testimony, one will one day definitely die. So, I realized what I was doing was mortgaging my hereafter, and went back to the court and told them that I lied”, he said.
Asked why he gave the false testimony in the first instance, Katako said, “I was promised so many things. But let me clarify something first. When I was arrested my case had nothing to do with Major Al-Mustapha. I was arrested concerning the issue of Mohammed Sani Abacha. They told me they wanted to recover some money from him and they promised me 10 percent of whatever they will recover, plus a house at any place of my choice. After convicting him, they will also take me to any country of my choice.
“Then later, they brought Al-Mustapha’s case, read all the charges against him and told me what to say when I am taken to court. That was how I found myself among the witnesses introduced in court”, he said.
Among the people who lured him into the trap, according to him, were “Colonel Kayode Are (rtd), former Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, former Lagos state Commissioner of Justice, Yomi Oshibanjo and his deputy, Fola Author-Worrey. We sat with these people several times. These are lawyers. I asked them if anything was going to affect me negatively; and they said no. They said I should not worry about any anything. They said these people are your lawyers; they will not lie to you. After all, this is a government case and you are a government witness.”
Katako said he now regrets his action, because as a Muslim he is supposed to be a good person, not the cause of someone’s pains or death.
“But even though I went back to the court earlier and said that I lied, still the court decided to discard my second testimony and based its judgment on the lies I told earlier. That’s why I now want everybody to know the real truth, through other means”, he said.
Asked if the lofty promises made to him were fulfilled, he said: “Only one promise was fulfilled. They bought me a house in Jos,” he said.
He however added that it was not because of the unfulfilled promises that he was spilling the beans, because even if the rest were fulfilled, he will not accept anything from them now.
“My conscience is pricking me; that’s because of my false testimony against an innocent person. That person is now facing death by hanging. If he is killed, his blood is in my hands; and no matter how long I live, one day I must die.
“So, I want the world to know that he is innocent” , Katako concluded

SOURCE:www.people-dailyonline.com
http://www.peoplesdaily-online.com/news/national-news/29723-i-was-bribed-to-nail-al-mustapha-says-katako

^^
Abacha is dead. Obasanjo wanted to use hired witnesses to discredit Abacha and his sons.

GenBuhari:
[size=18pt]If Abacha was guilty why would government of Obasanjo find it necessary to bribe witnesses? See another case:
[/size]

One of the star witnesses in the murder case of Kudirat Abiola, Muhammad Abdul, also known as Katako, who during the trial testified against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha has yesterday said that he was bribed by the government to lie, and that Al-Mustapha is innocent.
Katako made the startling revelation in an interview with the Hausa service of Radio France International (RFI), monitored in Abuja.
“Yes, I lied. But later I reflected over my life and what I will meet in the hereafter. Whatever financial reward one gets here for giving false testimony, one will one day definitely die. So, I realized what I was doing was mortgaging my hereafter, and went back to the court and told them that I lied”, he said.
Asked why he gave the false testimony in the first instance, Katako said, “I was promised so many things. But let me clarify something first. When I was arrested my case had nothing to do with Major Al-Mustapha. I was arrested concerning the issue of Mohammed Sani Abacha. They told me they wanted to recover some money from him and they promised me 10 percent of whatever they will recover, plus a house at any place of my choice. After convicting him, they will also take me to any country of my choice.
“Then later, they brought Al-Mustapha’s case, read all the charges against him and told me what to say when I am taken to court. That was how I found myself among the witnesses introduced in court”, he said.
Among the people who lured him into the trap, according to him, were “Colonel Kayode Are (rtd), former Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, former Lagos state Commissioner of Justice, Yomi Oshibanjo and his deputy, Fola Author-Worrey. We sat with these people several times. These are lawyers. I asked them if anything was going to affect me negatively; and they said no. They said I should not worry about any anything. They said these people are your lawyers; they will not lie to you. After all, this is a government case and you are a government witness.”
Katako said he now regrets his action, because as a Muslim he is supposed to be a good person, not the cause of someone’s pains or death.
“But even though I went back to the court earlier and said that I lied, still the court decided to discard my second testimony and based its judgment on the lies I told earlier. That’s why I now want everybody to know the real truth, through other means”, he said.
Asked if the lofty promises made to him were fulfilled, he said: “Only one promise was fulfilled. They bought me a house in Jos,” he said.
He however added that it was not because of the unfulfilled promises that he was spilling the beans, because even if the rest were fulfilled, he will not accept anything from them now.
“My conscience is pricking me; that’s because of my false testimony against an innocent person. That person is now facing death by hanging. If he is killed, his blood is in my hands; and no matter how long I live, one day I must die.
“So, I want the world to know that he is innocent” , Katako concluded

SOURCE:www.people-dailyonline.com
http://www.peoplesdaily-online.com/news/national-news/29723-i-was-bribed-to-nail-al-mustapha-says-katako

http://www.nigeriatoday.com/excerpts_from_an_interview_with_abacha_by_jo.htm

[size=18pt]Excerpts from an interview by John Corry, senior correspondent for the monthly American Spectator, with Gen. Sani Abacha.[/size]


Q: When you be came head of state in November 1993, what was the most difficult problem facing Nigeria?

A: I think the major problem was the unity and the stability of the nation itself, its territorial integrity and existence as it is. That was the major problem because there was even part of the country that was threatening to secede, and Nigerians who had lived their own lives in parts of the country different from their own ethnic origin were feeling threatened and...moving back into their own cultural locations. So, that was one of the most difficult challenges facing us - the unity, the stability of the country.

Q: Are you confident the transition process will be carried out on schedule in 1998?

A: Yes. My confidence is from the journey so far. After I came in, all that I promised so far has been carried out. It is now over three years. I promised a constitutional conference. It is history today. The draft constitution is there. And the draft constitution can only be promulgated by a democratic government. There must be a parliament or legislature to do that. The draft constitution...will wait until democracy comes into effect. So for now, we are using the old constitutional procedures.
I promised electoral processes and so on. Last year, we conducted local government elections on a nonparty basis, which were quite successful. We have put into place all the organs to make sure the transition process is implemented. The local government elections on a party basis will take place in this quarter. We have also completed the registration of political parties, another step in the program. After the local government election, there will be the states' gubernatorial election and also the state assembly election. Then come the National Assembly election and the presidential election. So everything is...going on course, and we pray it will continue.

Q: I know it's early, but would you consider running for president?

A: I am soldier, and I see my duty as an extension of my profession. I see my position today as an extension of my responsibility. When the crisis in this country started out, I was the most senior officer, and at that time, civilians and (presidential candidate Moshood K.O.) Abiola was one of them, were calling upon me, upon the military, to intervene. So, we intervened, and we were putiing things in order. We are doing our best. A military administration is not new in this country.

Q: The reason I ask: A number of people here say, we want this man to run.

A: They are always saying that, but the decision is mine, not theirs. And the decision is my own constituency's. It is not new in Africa, neither is it new in this subregion, where military people have stepped into politics. It depends on the circumstances, and I know that so far now, I have not put my mind to, never thought of it. What I am concerned about, where I concentrate my efforts, is making sure that everything is on course; that the political, the social, the economic programs we have succeed.

Q: The U.S and the British Commonwealth have criticized Nigeria for human rights violations, especially in the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa. What is your response?

A: The criticism of Nigeria on human rights is most unfair and unfortunate. The law of Nigeria condemned Ken Saro- Wiwa and he was hanged according to the law, just like other Nigerians who committed similar offenses in the past...Ken Saro-Wiwa was the one who organized and killed four other people. So, someone who commits murder and goes through the same legal process that has been in existence for many, many years, and is found guilty, that he should be exonerated or he should be set free is not reasonable just because he has international connections. A Human Rights Commission has recently been established here. It is headed by a retired chief justice of this country, and there hasn't been any interference from government...And everybody who is in detention, either he is awaiting trial or is awaiting investigation, depending on the nature of his offense.

Q: Chief Abiola is widely regarded as the winner of the election that (Gen. Ibrahim) Babangida annuled in 1993. Now, he is detained.

A: Abiola is not being detained just like that. There is a judicial process. If you are arraigned in Nigeria, you cannot expect it to be over yesterday. Abiola is not detained by me, but because he committed an offense. For one year after the election, he did what he liked. He was one of those who asked me to become head of state. And he also recommended people...and we gave them Cabinet appointment as ministers.

So how could somebody who even came and congratulated me - there are all the documents, the records are there, the video, the newspaper reporters, they were all there - and agreed also to cooperate and do everything, and even nominated people to participate in the same government, and only a few months later, starts talking of declaring himself president of this nation? That is the issue of Abiola.

Q: The US has decertified Nigeria as not cooperating sufficiently on drug-related matters. Why should Nigeria be recertified?

A: We believe that whatever we are doing is more in the interest of the United States than it is in the interest of Nigeria. We are not a transit for drugs going to the United States, because there is no way for us to be.
But we accept that there are a few Nigerians, like any other nationality, who are unfortunately misguided... and may be involved in this trade. But lately, the United States is unfairly acc using us of getting involved in this drug traffic just as a way of implementing their overall policy. We are not a producer of these drugs, we don't consume in this country. Which is why it is in our interest to act. We have seen the effect of drugs in the United States. We have seen the effect of drugs in Europe. And we don't believe it is in our interest to leave this thing alone. So, we believe it is in the interest of the United States, if there are some Nigerians involved in drug trafficking, for them to cooperate with us over drugs or money laundering or any other activities which are not in our social or economic interest. And also to recognize our own efforts to date and recertify Nigeria.

Q: How do you assess US-Nigerian relations today?

A: I think the American government does not face the reality of the Nigerian situation, because it is very difficult for Nigeria under the present stance of US government policy - the policy that says they will have nothing to do with government officials of Nigeria. But the American government has its own embassy here in Nigeria - it has not closed its embassy, neither has it recalled its ambassador - and Nigeria also has its own embassy in Washington and that establishes the recognition of the legitimacy of the administrations of the two governments. So, it is most ridiculous for either of the governmens to come and say `I am not going to deal with any officials Abacha interview of the other government.'
If there is no contact, it is difficult to find any way that misunderstanding can mutually be resolved through dialogue. We in Nigeria, for many years, we have regarded America as a friend, and that's why in the past, until 1993, we had a very excellent relationship I myself was invited by General (Colin) Powell to visit the United States in Nigeria in 1992. So militarily, we had excellent relationship and politically and economically also.
And I recall that we as a nation, we went into Somalia, right from the onset. Not at the invitation of the United Nations or by the Organization of African Unity, but purely because of the excellent bilateral relationship between us and the United States. The United States was going into Somalia and invited us to join it. We did. So, we are really surprised with the attitude of the United States since 1993.

Q: What could be done to improve relations.

A: Air travel was direct between Lagos and New York and some other parts of the United States. But now people must go through London or Frankfurt, and that must increase their journey by God knows how many hours, and of course the financial cost of it is something that must be of concern. And we know that so many Nigerians in the United States, many students, have been coming to Nigeria, and there are a lot of Americans here in Nigeria, in the oil industry and so many other industries that have been traveling to the United States...Stopping the air linkage we find difficult to understand, because air communication is a very important element as far as economic and social relationship is concerned.
It is also important for the United States to recognize the relevance of Nigeria, if not to the entire African continent, at least in the West African subregion. I believe we have played a very positive role in Liberia. And President Clinton's envoy who is in charge of relations with Liberia, he has been coming here, contacting us. It is most ridiculous: The United States will come and talk to me as the head of state because of its interests in Liberia, and at the same time if there are other areas such the economic and social or political, they refuse. It looks like a one-sided sort of thing, and it doesn't look reasonable in the present circumstance.
The United States needs the cooperation of o ther countries to meet the objectives, the aspirations of seeing a continent and a world at peace...These unfortunbate incidents - like in Liberia, like in Angola, like in Somaila, like in Bosnia - cannot be resolved without the overall cooperation of various countries in various regions. I feel that there is a need for the United States to think about some of these policies as a great power.

Q: In the last month, there have been three bomb attacks on military personnel in Lagos. The other day, there was an apparent attempt to assasinate a senior official of NADECO (National Democratic Coalition, an opposition group). So the violence seems to be coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. Who, or what do you think is responsible?

A: I think there are people, quite a number of them outside Nigeria, who are being aided by external elements. I think they act out of frustration, because they have seen that government is succeeding.
In the past they said it was all a lie, that we were not going to do that thing. But they have seen that the transition is on course. The economy is getting healthier. Even prices of foodstuff are going down. The value of the currency has stabilized. There is order. People go about pursuing their legitimate interests. Then, what is the problem?
One reason we had to delay the local government election is because, in reports we received, these same peole were planning to go to various polling centers and start bombing innocent people. How can somebody who calls himself pro-democracy be anti-democracy? An innocent person, innocent citizen in Nigeria goes to a polling booth to cast his vote for a registered party or an individual and you call yopurself prodemocracy, wanting democracy and so on, to come and start planting bombs to undermine the process of democracy. People like (Nigerian poet) Wole Soyinka, they are terrorists. Unfortunately, these people are aided by some foreign elements, some NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). They claim they are for democracy, but they do not want democracy to succeed.

Q: How would like to be remembered?

A: For bringing peace, stabilty and democracy to Nigeria.



ABACHA WINS, SAYS THE ECONOMIST

Sani Abacha, the small, unsmiling scar-faced general who rules Nigeria, was recently given a medal. It is a gold one usually awarded to great inventors by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization. What, many asked angrily, has he done to deserve such an honor?
Were he an articulate man, the general might answer: made nonsense of American and European policy towards Nigeria, humiliated the Commonwealth and defeated his own country's political class. He has shown two fingers to the human rights lobby and got away with it. He might add that he has reined in Nigeria's gargantuan public spending, got inflation under control and begun a wide-ranging privatization program.
A year ago, General Abacha might have thought the roof was falling in. He had just hanged a pesky television scriptwriter-turned rebel who had upset the oil flows - and revenues - from the Ogoni area of eastern Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa had been properly convicted of murder, had he not, albeit by a special tribunal? Who but a nutter would have demanded several billion dollars in compensation for "Ogoni oil"? Yet here were Nelson Mandela, John Major and other grandees chuntering on about it. And about other things, like the release of political prisoners and an earlier date for a return to civil rule.

They did more than chunter. A bit more. Europe and America imposed some restrictions and banned visas for Nigeria's soldiers. But would they also block oil sales? No, the general judged, and he was right. When Warren Christopher, on a recent tour of Africa, called for further measures, the American secretary of state quietly reassured Mobil and Exxon that this did not mean oil sanctions..."Big men" were once immune from penalties for corruption, even when it was blatant. No longer. The government's Failed Banks Tribunal has hauled in dozens of leading businessmen and made them disgorge some of their ill-gotten gains. Even former military men have now been called before it.

The notorious custom officials have been subjected to investigation. So have local government officials. The economy is turning around. Between 1992 and 1994, it shrank. But last year growth was 2.2% and this year it could be higher. Anthony Ani, the finance minister has balanced the books - the budget was in surplus last year and inflation has dropped below 30%. The state telecoms and electricity companies are being privatized, as will be large chunks of the oil and gas industries. Foreign and Nigerian businessmen are licking their lips.

Abroad, the general - who rarely goes there - has triumphed. Appeals for African solidarity and gifts of cheap oil have undermined his regional critics. And, knowing the rich world would not use oil sanctions, he has called its bluff.
The Commonwealth, which suspended Nigeria a year ago, has been turned from judge to supplicant. It wanted to send a team of foreign ministers to Nigeria to examine human rights abuses and plans for democracy. No, said the Nigerians. Never mind, said the Commonwealth, the team would go anyway - with no guarantee of seeing Abacha, political prisoners or anyone important.

Excerpted from The Economist, Nov. 9, 1996



SOME EAGLES CONFIRM ABACHA CALLED BEFORE NIGERIA/ARGENTINA DUEL

Athen, GEORGIA, Aug 3, 1996 (NigeriaTODAY): Several members of the Super Eagles confirmed today that they had spoken directly to Nigeria's head of state Gen. Sanni Abacha just before the gold medal encounter between Nigeria and Argentia.

The players said Gen. Abacha had encouraged them to "win this game for Nigeria and for Africa".

"It was motivating to know that he cares," said a striker who prefered to remain anonymous and whose play was critical for Nigeria's victory.

The Nigerian government had declared Monday a public holiday to celebrate the Eagles performance. It also promised cash rewards to any atheletes who wins a gold medal.

The Eagles stand to share 5 million naira (about $62,000) for beating Argentina.

[size=18pt]NATIONAL BROADCAST BY THE HEAD OF STATE OF NIGERIA ON THE 36TH ANNIVERSARY OF NIGERIA'S INDEPENDENCE, OCTOBER 1, 1996[/size]


I am happy to address you on this important occassion of the 36th anniversay of our political independence which marks the beginning of a glorious era. I seize this opportunity to salute the memory of our founding fathers who endured all hardships to bequeath to us a prosperous, proud and resilient nation.

This year's independence anniversary is coming at a time of great national transformation. As we continue to move along the path of success and progress in all sectors, we should rededicate ourselves to the cause of our great nation and attain yet greater heights in all fields of our national endeavors...

Following the remarkable success of the operation of the 1995 Budget and the economic reforms of the same year, we launched the Budget of Consolidation in 1996. We considered it necessary to consolidate on our gains of the previous year and move our nation forward.

I am happy to state that the mid year budget report and independent assessment of the performance of the economy in 1996 have shown greater success over that of the previous year. We have now achieved considerable economic stability in various sectors and are in a position to plan ahead for the future.

Having effectively checked all areas of losses and wastages, we have met all our revenue targets in both oil and non oil sectors. The heavy deficit level which has adversely affected the operation of our budget and the performance of our economy for over a decade now has been reversed. WHILE IN 1995 WE RECORDED A SURPLUS OF 1 BILLION NAIRA, OUR MID-YEAR REVIEW THIS YEAR SHOWS PROSPECTS FOR A HIGHER LEVEL OF SURPLUS AT THE END OF 1996.

We have achieved macroeconomic stability in our exchange rate and interest rate regime. As a result of all these, inflation is substantially reduced and it is our hope that in the not too distant future, all other negative trends in our economic and social lives will be effectively controlled. In particular, government will put in place the appropriate policy measures meant to bring down cost of foodstuff, goods and services. In the meantime, I appeal to manufacturers to respond postively to the various tax incentives and other policy measures to lower the prices of their goods and products.

With our political transition programme very well on course, the prospects for stability, peace and unity will continue to be greater. The successful conduct of the local government elections earlier in the year, formation of political associations and the process of registration as political parties, administrative reforms undertaken in the civil service are all positive signs of bright prospects for our nation.

VISION 2010

The concept of VISION 2010...arose out of our historical experience of the post-independence era where successive national plans and strategies for development were conceived of and executed on short-term and ad-hoc basis.

Our nation has, in the last three decades missed the opportunities to harness its resources properly, control areas of wastage and utilize such resources for development-oriented projects and programmes. We have also realized that in all that we did, the mobilization of our population in the rural areas towards meaningful development has not been effectively achieved. This state of affairs has led to a continuous rural-urban drift creating serious socio-economic problems for our people.

It is our hope, therefore, that a solid foundation for our progress and success could be achieved within the framework of Vision 2010. The first step is to identify where we went wrong and then consolidate our gains as a nation. Happily, this is the time to do so, having achieved within the last two years a substantial level of macroeconomic stability, unity and peace. This is a period of stock-taking, a period to get the correct bearing for our nation, a period during which all hands should be on deck...

Fellow Nigerians, in realization of the problems that have brought about economic recession and instability in our country, this Administration introduced some far-reaching measures to sanitize the system and instill some discipline in the operation of the economy and public service management. Already, the Failed Banks Decree which has come into effect has sent positive signals for recovery and sanitization in that sector. This policy will be maintained and further extended to other sectors with similar problems. The Failed Parastatals Decree will come into effect before the end of the year...

EDUCATION

...The crisis in the (education) sector covers all segments of our educational system, from the primary to the tertiary levels. We do realize that the crisis arose out of the cumulative effect of several negative forces both from within and outside the sector. Thie solution therefore has to be gradual and lon lasting.

Accordingly, government has decided to set up a high powered Committee cosisting of eminent professionals in the field and other well meaning Nigerians to examine the problems that have retarded our educational growth and proffer solution for the restoration of normalcy to our national education system...

CREATION OF STATES

... I am aware of the large number of requests made for states, local governments and boundary adjustments. While some of the demands were genuine and capable of improving upon the administrative machinery of government, many could not be justified within the present context of our economy and administrative structure.

The committee received a total of 72 requests for states, 2,369 for local governments and 286 for boundary adjustments...

The principle adopted for the creation of states and local governments was to ensure a fair spread and balancing within the geographical zones of the country applying such criteria as population and land mass among others. Accordingly, six states are hereby approved, one each from the six geopolitical zones of the Federation as follows:

1. BAYELSA STATE (from Rivers, headquarters at Yenagoa).
2. EBONYI STATE (from Abia and Enugu states. Headquarters in Abakaliki).
3. EKITI STATE (from Ondo State. Headquarters in Ado Ekiti)
4. GOMBE STATE (from Bauchi State; headquarters at Gombe).
5. NASSARAWA STATE (from Plateau; headquarters in Lafia)
ZAMFARA STATE (from Sokoto State; headquarters at Gusau).

CREATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

...A total of 182 local government areas are hereby approved

Fellow Nigerians, as we are all well aware, the exercise of state and local government creation entails considerable amount of administrative work to ensure a smooth take-off...Implementation committees have now been established to monitor and co-ordinate the various administrative work involved in the exercise. In carrying out these
assignments, it is important that all past mistakes are avoided. Therefore, there should be no festivities and jubilation or ill-feelings among communities over the new states or nes local governments created. There should be responsible and orderly behavior over matters of assets-sharing or movement of personnel...The Federal Government will not provide special take-off grants beyond what is budgeted for in the Federation account for States and Local Governments. The impression should not be created that more resources will be channeled to new states or local governments.

FOREIGN POLICY

Our primary foreign policy preoccupation remains the defence of our national interest. We are all aware that in international relations, only national interest remains permanent...

Since independence, Nigeria has pursued a consistent policy of friendly relations with all countries of the world, especially fellow African countries to which we have demonstrated solidarity through material assistance and manpower development programmes. We have made these enormous sacrifices not only to maintain African brotherhood but the collective security of the world...

Let me use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians and the international community that this Administration is determined to ensure that Nigeria is not left out of the global trend towards democratization inspite of the orchestrated campaign against our committment. We are not oblivious of the linkages between lasting democracy and economic development.

...Nigeria has a long history as a peace-loving nation with contributions to the UN peacekeeping missions dating back to pre-independence days. Ou philosophy of peaceful coexistence has greatly influenced our contributions to world-wide peace keeping operations...

It is on record that Nigeria cancelled the honorarium due to her from the Organization of African Unity amounting to millions of dollars which the country expended in sending and maintaining peace-keeping forces in neighboring Chad in the early 1980s. This sacrifice was to save money for other pressing areas of need in the continent.

A decade later, Nigeria again embarked on a more politically ambitious and financially involving venture in beleaguered Liberia contributing some 90 per cent of human and material resources...

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When did Obasanjo ever make an address such as this full of positive achievements?