PRESIDENT SHAGARI IS OVERTHROWN: SPEECH OF
BRIGADIER SANI ABACHA, DECEMBER 1, 1984 – RETURN OF
MILITARY RULE
Fellow countrymen and women, I, Brigadier Sani Abacha, of the
Nigerian army address you this morning on behalf of the
Nigerian armed forces.
You are all living witnesses to the great economic predicament
and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has
imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. I am
referring to the harsh, intolerable conditions under which we
are now living. Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged.
We have become a debtor and beggar nation. There is
inadequacy of food at reasonable prices for our people who are
now fed up with endless announcements of importation of
foodstuffs. Health services are in shambles as our hospitals are
reduced to mere consulting clinics without drugs, water and
equipment. Our educational system is deteriorating at an
alarming rate. Unemployment figures including the
undergraduates have reached embarrassing and unacceptable
proportions. In some states, workers are being owed salary
arrears of eight to twelve months and in others there are
threats of salary cuts.
Yet our leaders revel in squandermania, corruption and
indiscipline, and continue to proliferate public appointments in
complete disregard of our stark economic realities. After due
consultations over these deplorable conditions, I and my
colleagues in the armed forces have in the discharge of our
national role as promoters and protectors of our national
interest decided to effect a change in the leadership of the
government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and form a
Federal Military Government. This task has just been
completed.
The Federal Military Government hereby decrees the
suspension of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1979 relating to all elective and appointive
offices and representative institutions including the office of
the President, state governors, federal and state executive
councils, special advisers, special assistants, the establishment
of the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly including
the formation of political parties. Accordingly, Alhaji Shehu
Usman Shagari ceases forthwith to be the President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria . All the
incumbents of the above named offices shall, if they have not
already done so, vacate their formal official residences,
surrender all government property in their possession and
report to the nearest police station in their constituencies
within seven days. The clerk of the National Assembly, the
President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall, within two weeks, render account of all
the properties of the National Assembly. All the political
parties are banned; the bank account of FEDECO and all the
political parties are frozen with immediate effect.
All foreigners living in any part of the country are assured of
their safety and will be adequately protected. Henceforth,
workers not on essential duties are advised to keep off the
streets. All categories of workers on essential duties will,
however, report at their places of work immediately. With
effect from today, a dusk to dawn curfew will be imposed
between 7pm and 6am each day until further notice. All
airways flights have been suspended forthwith and all airports,
seaports, and border posts closed. External communications
have been cut. The Customs and Excise, Immigration and the
Police will maintain vigilance and ensure watertight security at
the borders. The area administrators or commanders will have
themselves to blame if any of the wanted people escape.
Fellow countrymen and women, the change in government has
been a bloodless and painstaking operation and we do not want
anyone to lose his or her life. People are warned in their own
interest to be law abiding and to give the Federal Military
Government maximum cooperation. Anyone caught disturbing
public order will be summarily dealt with. For avoidance of
doubt, you are forewarned that we shall not hesitate to
declare martial law in any area or state of the federation in
which disturbances occur. Fellow countrymen and women and
comrades at arms, I will like to assure you that the Armed
Forces of Nigeria is ready to lay its life for our dear nation
but not for the present irresponsible leadership of the past
civilian administration. You are to await further
announcements, 1 NIGERIA!

Dictatorship, I feel for people in those days

abacha d saint has spoken.

Imagine where we would have been today if that despot, Buhari, had not truncated our democracy then. The power drunk fascist took us back a century. This coup 20 months later to give us the unfortunate eight years of IBB, the hellish five years of Abacha, the roguish nine months of Abdulsalam and eventually the 15 years of stagnation with unprecedented looting by politicians across political divides.

Yet some backward thinking nitwits want the vision-less undemocratic Buhari to ruin us again. It's a shame that most of them are youths. Pray! What are Buhari's ideas? What is his vision for Nigeria that we can buy into. In terms of ideas his other corrupt fellow conservatives, Kwakwanso and Atiku, are even ahead of him. And you know why Buhari cannot say anything bad about Atiku? The later was the custom boss at Murtala Mohammed Airport in 1984 during the infamous '52 suit cases' issue. He as every fact and Buhari dares not say nonsense about Atiku. Any wonder he has advised his followers not to insult Atiku?


The most ridiculous thing is that these guys are the so-called progressives. What is progressive about Buhari, Atiku and Kwakwanso?


The man who hates Nigeria the most is the man who calls APC progressives. I am sure Abacha would have been a progressive if he had been alive. Lest I forget, didn't the progressive go cap in hand and 'dobaleed' to Obasanjo to be their NAVIGATOR? Certainly, APC has redefined progressivism.






Yeye de smell.

Lol... I love abacha tho! he dictated cuz nigeria leaders of dat time didnt av d ballz N brain to lead

They where corrupt N self centered N it s still happening till date

Precise,accurate,authoritative and edge cutting. Lovely speech

op shagari was overthrown Dec 31 1983
so abacha cant make d address in 1984 Dec

Feed on d power of d speech, ignore d date

Buhari aborted democracy in 1983

Personally, I don't subscribe to taking power through unconstitutional means no matter what. I use to think that GMB nursed the 1983 coup until I stumbled upon some materials. Like Shonekan, GMB was asked by the military to lead the country by virtue of his position as at that time. I hope we don't experience another military takeover again

barcanista: Personally, I don't subscribe to taking power through unconstitutional means no matter what. I use to think that GMB nursed the 1983 coup until I stumbled upon some materials. Like Shonekan, GMB was asked by the military to lead the country by virtue of his position as at that time. I hope we don't experience another military takeover again

Please sir, let us not attempt to distort history. GMB was the leader of the coup that truncated the second republic. Shagari was complacent of the advice of Umaru Dikko to check-make Buhari and the cream of IBB, Abacha and other coup plotters. These officers were unprofessional and corrupt as some of them like Buhari had tasted Government appointment as the Petroleum minister. Their main motivation was not the masses but their selfish goals.

The likes of Buhari should honestly apologies to us for destroying our democracy instead of seeking to rule under a democratic dispensation.

Personally, I don't subscribe to taking power through unconstitutional means no matter what. I use to think that GMB nursed the 1983 coup until I stumbled upon some materials. Like Shonekan, GMB was asked by the military to lead the country by virtue of his position as at that time. I hope we don't experience another military takeover again

Bros his fully involved. coup plotting is not two days affairs. Everyone of them most have agreed on their respective duties and office before hand.