₦airaland Forum

How Abacha Kissed The World A Final Bye

He was 54 at the time he took his final breath deep down the night of June 8, 1998 in Aso Rock, Nigeria's presidential seat of power. It was a major drama celebrated by many, mourned by some. That was the end of General Sani Abacha, the country's dreaded head of state at the time.

Many years later, his former Chief Security Officer (CSO), Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), said his boss never died from eating an apple from his concubines as broadly insinuated.

Instead, he said Abacha's health collapse suddenly started on June 7, 1998, right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the security personnel, who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him.

"Shortly after the hand shake, I noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief, and I immediately informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, who advised that we keep a close watch on him.

“Later in the evening of June 8, 1998, around 6pm, his doctor came around and administered an injection to stabilise him. He was advised to have a short rest. “Happily enough, by 9pm, he was bouncing and receiving visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Useni, the then minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), came to see him. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends. They stayed and chatted together till about 3.35 a.m.

“A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, Useni, was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security guards that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre.

“At about 5 am, the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that Abacha was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately I prepared myself fully for any eventuality.

“As an intelligence officer and the Chief Security Officer to the Head of State for that matter, I devised some means of diverting the attention of the security boys from my escape route by asking my wife to continue chatting with them at the door. She was in the house while the boys were outside. From there, I got to the Guest House of the Head of State before them.

“When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation, I knelt close to him and shouted: ‘General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.

“I again knocked at the stool beside the bed and shouted in the same manner, yet he did not respond. I then realised that there was a danger. I immediately called the Head of State’s personal physician, Dr. Wali, who arrived in the place in eight minutes from his house. He immediately gave oga (Abacha) two doses of injection, one at the heart and another close to his neck. This did not work apparently as the Head of State had turned very cold.

“He then told me that the Head of State was dead, and that nothing could be done after all. So I asked the personal physician to remain with the dead body while I dashed home to be fully prepared for the problems that might arise from the incident.

“As soon as I informed my wife, she collapsed and burst into tears. I secured my house and ran back to where Abacha was. At that point, the Aide-de-Camp had been contacted by me, and we decided that great caution must be taken in handling the grave situation.

“Again, I must reiterate that the issue of my boss dying on women was a great lie just as the insinuation that Abacha ate and died of poisoned apple was equally a wicked lie.

“It was at this point that I used our special communication gadgets to diplomatically invite the Service Chiefs, military governors and some few elements purportedly to a meeting with the Head of State by 9am at the Council Chamber.

“That completed, I also decided to talk to some former Nigerian leaders to inform them that Abacha would like to meet them by 9am.

“The situation became charged when one of the Service Chiefs, Lieutenant General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi (rtd), who pretended to be with us, suggested he be made the new Head of State after we had quietly informed him of the death of Abacha. He even suggested we should allow him access to Chief MKO Abiola.

“We smelt a rat, and other heads of security agencies, on hearing this, advised I move Abiola to a safer place. I managed to do this in spite of the fact that I had been terribly overwhelmed with the crisis at hand.

“But then, when some junior officers overheard the suggestion of one of the Service Chiefs earlier mentioned, it was suggested to me that we should finish all the members of the Provisional Ruling Council and give the public an excuse that there was a meeting of the PRC during which a shoot-out occurred between some members of the Provisional Ruling Council and the body guards to the Head of State.

“When I sensed that we would be contending with far more delicate issues than the one on ground, I talked to Generals Buba Marwa and Ibrahim Sabo (all retired), who both promptly advised us-the junior officers- against any bl00dshed. They advised we contact General Ibrahim Babangida, who equally advised against any bl00dshed, but that we should support the most senior officer in the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) to be the new Head of State.

“Since the words of our elders are words of wisdom, we agreed to support General Jeremiah Useni. Along the line, Bamaiyi lampooned me, saying: ‘Can’t you put two and two together to be four? Has it not occurred to you that Useni, who was the last man with the Head of State, might have po!soned him, knowing well that he was the most senior officer in the PRC?”

ℹ️Ethnic African Stories

Copied

galantjoe:
This is vega

Sex enhancing drug

prof, prof. Wehdone sir.

Omoboricash:
What is full meaning BP and ED

BP means British parliament and ED means executive director.

Those are medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

The is incomplete without a big bottle of acid and gun

God giveth and God taketh. From God we come, unto him we shall all return.

Pray that Tinubu should not die in office. If he dies and this animal takes over, all of una go know sey Tinubu na angel.

Why now? What's the course of their problems?

The Fall Of The Masquerade? Wole Soyinka, 2023, and the Price of Picking Side

_From National Conscience to Tribal Apologist? How One Election Recast a Nobel Laureate_



By Swill Mavua



For 50 years, Wole Soyinka was untouchable.



Prison under Gowon. Exile under Abacha. Nobel Prize in 1986. _The Man Died_. The “conscience of the nation.” When Soyinka spoke, Nigeria listened — not because he was Yoruba, but because he was right. He fought military rule, tore into Obasanjo, mocked Jonathan, and called Buhari “lifeless” to his face.



Then 2023 happened. And the masquerade cracked.



The endorsement that broke the myth. Three men were frontrunners in 2023: Atiku, Obi, Tinubu. Soyinka pitched his tent with Tinubu.



To Obidients, it was treason. How could the man who wrote _You Must Set Forth at Dawn_ back a candidate they saw as “crooked in all ramifications?” A man trailed by Chicago drug allegations, certificate questions, bullion-van politics?



Their verdict was swift: _“He was always a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”_ Others went further: _“He only hid his tribal bigotry. Tinubu is Yoruba. That’s it.”_



Soyinka didn’t help his case. He was reported to have said: _“Anybody who dares Tinubu would have me to contend with.”_ Whether he said it exactly that way or not, Obidients heard a declaration of war. The icon became an enemy combatant.



The silence that became louder than words. After Tinubu was sworn in, Soyinka went mute. For a man who appraised every government from Balewa to Buhari, the silence was deafening. When pressed, he said he’d assess Tinubu “after two years.” Two years passed. Then three. Insecurity metastasized. Naira collapsed. Hunger protests shook states. Soyinka? _Deft as dumb._



To his critics, the silence proved the charge: _He wasn’t a nationalist. He was a Yoruba nationalist._ He could fight Fulani generals and Hausa presidents because they weren’t his. But a Yoruba president? Suddenly the “conscience” took a sabbatical.



His defenders say different: _“Soyinka is 91. He’s earned the right to choose his battles. He said two years, and he’ll speak when he wants.”_ But in Nigeria, two years of hunger is a lifetime. Silence in that window reads as complicity.



The Obi statement that lit the final fire. Then came the 2027 pre-season. Soyinka was reported to have said Peter Obi “should not be allowed to contest.” Reason: the “irrationality” of Obidients.



That broke the dam.



You can’t, critics argue, call yourself a democrat and ask to bar a candidate because you dislike his supporters. You can’t survive Abacha’s gulag only to become what you fought — a gatekeeper. To Obidients, it confirmed everything: _Tinubu made Soyinka reveal himself._



The questions now write themselves:



Has he ever been a true statesman? Yes — if statesman means “critic of power.” He was jailed for Biafra. He risked death under Abacha. He condemned June 12 annulment when many Yoruba elites kept quiet. That’s not tribal. That’s courage.



Is he utterly tribalistic now? The charge sticks because his pattern changed. He called Buhari “clueless” in year one. He’s not called Tinubu anything in year three. He attacked Jonathan’s “corruption” monthly. He’s not attacked Tinubu’s “forgery” allegations once. The selective outrage looks ethnic. And in politics, perception is indictment.



What’s the connection between Tinubu and Soyinka? No one has receipts of money. But they have history. Both NADECO. Both fought Abacha from exile. Both Yoruba, both Lagos. Soyinka once said Tinubu helped him during exile. Loyalty, not tribe, might be the bond. But when loyalty mutes your conscience, the public stops caring about motive. They judge outcome.



The defense Soyinka deserves. To be fair, three facts complicate the “fallen angel” narrative:



- Age and method: At 90 in 2026, Soyinka isn’t leading protests. He writes, he watches. His “two years” promise may be literal. He assessed Buhari after two years too — and called him a failure. He might still eviscerate Tinubu.

- Obidient hostility: Obidients insulted him first — “tribal bigot,” “expired.” He responded by disengaging. You can’t abuse a man and then demand his activism. He told them: _“I don’t owe you respect you didn’t give me.”_

- He never claimed sainthood: Soyinka always said he’s a writer, not a politician. He backed Awolowo, backed Falae, backed Ribadu. He’s been wrong before. Endorsing Tinubu doesn’t erase 60 years of dissent.



The damage that’s already done. But here’s what 2023 cost him: _Moral monopoly._ Before, Soyinka could condemn any government and Nigerians would say “Kongi has spoken.” Now, half the country replies: _“Speak on Tinubu first.”_ He lost the power to be heard without a prefix. Every word now runs through a 2023 filter: _“Is this the tribal Soyinka or the national Soyinka?”_



Tinubu didn’t make Soyinka tribal. 2023 revealed that even icons have ethnic blind spots. Or, worse, that Nigeria’s politics is so toxic it forces even Nobel Laureates to pick village over vision.



Did Tinubu reveal the true Soyinka? Maybe. Or maybe Tinubu revealed the true Nigeria. A country where you’re only a statesman until your kinsman runs. Where “national conscience” expires the day it disagrees with your candidate. Where 90-year-olds are dragged because 30-year-olds are hurting.



Soyinka was never a god. He was a man who chose, for 60 years, to fight power. In 2023 he chose to defend a friend. The tragedy isn’t that he picked Tinubu. It’s that by picking Tinubu, he lost the room. And when the masquerade loses the room, the dance is over.



History will still call him Nobel Laureate. But 2023 will be the footnote that asks: _“Conscience of a nation, or conscience of a tribe?”_ He still has time to answer. The question is whether Nigeria still wants to hear it.


Copied

This is truly a true Muslim. Not people like Gumi, Hell Rufai, Buhari and co

ayorwizz:
IMPECCABLE..... repeat after me! IM PEC CABLE

Don't be a dunce, allergic to corrections!

both impeccable and impreccable are correct. One is British English, while the other one is American English. I chose to use the American English which is my mother tongue.

SINGLE MOTHERHOOD!!!

If not for the Adagbe, Adaso, Adasun, Adaji some women are going through, trust me, most men that think they’re rich today might not be able to withstand some women financially, sugbon kadara nko?

The money some single mum spend on their children alone is enough to build a beautiful house and live comfortable for the rest of their lives sugbon, ayanmo nko

O n bere ibi oja n gbe ta, Oo bere lowo ori.

Owo ile, mummy ni
Owo Gas
Owo School, mummy ni
Owo ounje, mummy ni
Medical, mummy ni
Pocket money, mummy ni
Subscription…..mummy ni
Owo Nepa, mummy ni
Owo aso, owo bata etc
Mummy yi noni….. habah kilode

If you’re fortunate to have a husband that pays 60% out of all these, wake up in the middle of the night, kneel down and start prophesying good things into the life of your husband, If you have not been doing this, start doing it from now. You’re blessed to have him.

And if you're a single mum and you have a man supporting you in any little way he can no matter how small, please hold the man tight and give him prayers everyday, not every man do this, some only call your kids their own with mouth only without supporting you, so if you are lucky to have one that support you always, don't use your bad or I don't care attitude to send him away.

If you’re living with your husband and he pays 60% and you’re still nagging and complaining, my dear sister, take a walk and visit your friend that is single and ask her what she’s going through with her precious children, it takes the grace of God.
Having a responsible man that takes good care of his home is a blessing to the wife, please DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED………IGBORO TI DARU. KO SI OKO MO O, JIGOLO LO KU
The Society has been destroyed, no more real husband, No matter how much you’re able to save in a month, if you’re the only one responsible for the upbringing of the children, walai, hunmmmmmmm…….account yen o ni balance.
God bless all single mothers and single fathers too



Copied

Why won't he collapse? Make oyinbo dey chop good food like us, for where? Dem go dey chop hand burger, salad, Coker oath, omillete and other yeye yeye foods.

ayorwizz:
This your English na real enemy of progress 🤔

what happened to my English? I speak and right impreccable English and I tooked A1 when I wrote my WAEC. You're not in anyway in the position to correct my English.

Holluwhakemmy:
hmmmn(hair) here ko there ni

iwo lo mo. Abeg leaf me alone jo.

CONCLUDED LIST OF APC SENATORIAL CANDIDATES SO FAR

ABIA
• Orji Uzor Kalu — Abia north
• Erondu Uchenna Erondu Jr — Abia south
• Emeka Atuma — Abia central

ADAMAWA
• Umaru Fintiri — Adamawa north
• Felix Tangwami — Adamawa south

AKWA IBOM
• Godswill Akpabio — Akwa Ibom north-west
• Aniekan Bassey — Akwa Ibom north-east
• Ekong Sampson — Akwa Ibom south

ANAMBRA
• Nelson Onubuogu — Anambra north
• Kene Chiedu Ngozi Benedicta — Anambra central
• Chibuogu Oraelusi — Anambra south

BAUCHI
• Yakubu Abdullahi — Bauchi south
• Ibrahim Baba — Bauchi north

BAYELSA
• Fidelis Agbiki — Bayelsa west
• Friday Kombowei Benson — Bayelsa central
• Israel Sunny-Goli — Bayelsa east

BENUE
• Dave Padopads-Awunah — Benue north-west
• Gabriel Suswam — Benue north-east
• Francis Agbo — Benue south

BORNO
• Kaka Shehu — Borno central
• Ali Ndume — Borno south
• Tahir Monguno — Borno north

CROSS RIVER
• Jarigbe Jarigbe — Cross River north
• Oden Ewa — Cross River central
• Asuquo Ekpenyong — Cross River south

DELTA
• Ede Dafinone — Delta central
• Ifeanyi Okowa — Delta north
• Joel-Onowakpo Thomas — Delta south

EDO
• Adams Oshiomhole — Edo north
• Joseph Ikpea — Edo central
• Ogbeide-Ihama Omoregie — Edo south

EKITI
• Opeyemi Bamidele — Ekiti central
• Cyril Fasuyi — Ekiti north
• Yemi Adaramodu — Ekiti south

ENUGU
• Osita Ngwu — Enugu west
• Kelvin Chukwu — Enugu east
• Ikeje Asogwa — Enugu north

GOMBE
• Inuwa Yahaya — Gombe north
• Mohammed Ahmed — Gombe central
• Jerry Damara — Gombe south

IMO
• Alex Mbata — Imo east
• Hope Uzodimma — Imo west
• Patrick Ndubueze — Imo north

JIGAWA
• Babangida Hussain — Jigawa north-west
• Ahmed Malam Madori — Jigawa north-east
• Sani Garba — Jigawa south-west

KADUNA
• Ramalan Yero — Kaduna north
• Shehu Sani — Kaduna central
• Sunday Katung — Kaduna south

KANO
• Jibrin Barau — Kano north
• Ibrahim Shekarau — Kano central
• Abdulrahman Kawu — Kano south

KATSINA
• Mutari Dandutse — Katsina south
• Nasir Daura — Katsina north
• Abdulaziz Yar’Adua — Katsina central

KEBBI
• Adamu Aliero — Kebbi central
• Yahaya Abdullahi — Kebbi north
• Jafar Gajere — Kebbi south

KOGI
• Joseph Erico — Kogi east
• Yahaya Bello — Kogi central
• Sunday Karimi — Kogi west

KWARA
• Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq — Kwara central
• Sadiq Umar — Kwara north
• Olalekan Adewoye — Kwara south

LAGOS
• Wasiu Eshinlokun — Lagos central
• Idiat Adebule — Lagos west
• Tokunbo Abiru — Lagos east

NASARAWA
• Abdullahi Sule — Nasarawa north
• Faisal Shuaib — Nasarawa west

NIGER
• Idris Kutigi — Niger south
• Sani Musa — Niger east
• Sani Bello — Niger north

OGUN
• Dapo Abiodun — Ogun east
• Jimoh Ojugbele — Ogun west
• Shuaib Salisu — Ogun central

ONDO
• Gbenga Elegbeleye — Ondo north
• Taiwo Fasoranti — Ondo central
• Isaacs Kekemeke — Ondo south

OSUN
• Francis Fadahunsi — Osun east
• Adekunle Adeogoke — Osun central
• Akintunde Oyebiyi — Osun west

OYO
• Remi Oseni — Oyo south
• Yunus Akintunde — Oyo central

PLATEAU
• David Barji — Plateau central
• Simon Lalong — Plateau south
• Simon Mwadkwon — Plateau north

RIVERS
• Felix Obuah — Rivers west
• Allwell Onyesoh — Rivers east
• Barry Mwara — Rivers south-east

SOKOTO
• Aliyu Wamakko — Sokoto central
• Umaru Ajiya — Sokoto east
• Ibrahim Danbaba — Sokoto south

TARABA
• Manu Haruna — Taraba central
• David Jimkuta — Taraba south

YOBE
• Mai Mala Buni — Yobe east
• Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan — Yobe north
• Ibrahim Bomai — Yobe south

ZAMFARA
• Abdulaziz Yari — Zamfara west
• Ikra Bilbis — Zamfara central
• Sahabi Ya’u — Zamfara north

FCT
• Philip Aduda — Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

_*#NB: Senatorial districts not listed are either pending, inconclusive, or yet to conduct APC primaries due to internal disputes, zoning disagreements, logistical challenges and postponements.*_

No teacher has the write to caught a student here. It's totally wrong.

Bloody liar! Son of lying Mohammed

The are both beds of the same feathers

That is if there is no alomo bitter or Buratanchi

hpk:
Since that man said he drove from Ore to Surulere without fuel I stopped taking him serious and believing any of his utterances.

the same reason Mynd44 stopped going to the church.

kingthreat:
You children of hate have put Adeboye into your hate list. Continue, just know that Bitter Obi will never be president and Mazi Kanu will continue enjoying Tuwo Shinkafa in Sokoto.

una father in the lord fumble big time during that protest against Jonathan

This church has lost its. Dem dey even do korokoro lie for man wey drink tea with God.

Op and co, make una no take mouth spoil wetin God give us free of charge o.

In the theatre of Nigerian politics, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is often hailed by admirers and bootlickers as a master strategist.

Yet beneath this carefully crafted narrative lies a troubling reality: Tinubu is less an independent leader and more a puppet, controlled by entrenched power brokers, oligarchs, and international players.

The fact remains that Tinubu's rise, governance style, and presidency today reflect not autonomy, but dependency.Tinubu’s political ascent was built on patronage networks, not grassroots independence.

He perfected the art of “godfatherism” and "agbero" politics in Lagos, his APC used insecurity as a tool against a sitting president, but today, he finds himself ensnared by the very system his party once manipulated to gain power.

His presidency is tethered to the demands of those who financed and orchestrated his campaign. Every major decision must appease these benefactors and foreign puppeteers, leaving little room for genuine reform or independent vision that can benefit ordinary Nigerians. This one of the reasons life is harder in Nigeria today than before he took power.

Nigeria’s political economy is dominated by wealthy elites who wield disproportionate influence. Tinubu’s administration has consistently advanced policies that protect elite interests—such as subsidy removals and privatization—while ordinary Nigerians bear the brunt of economic hardship. For example, he knows the subsidy thieves who turned the regime into one of Nigeria’s most corrupt ventures, because they are his friends, yet in three years of governance, how many of them has he prosecuted? This silence suggests Tinubu is executing the agenda of oligarchs and foreign overlords, not championing the people.

Far from bold or transformative, Tinubu’s policies mirror those of his predecessor—the total waste of time and abysmal failure called Buhari. Tinubu himself admitted he is a continuation of Buhari, even referring to himself as such. His lack of innovation signals that he is not steering Nigeria’s ship but merely following a script handed down by external actors—the same forces that saw President Jonathan removed and replaced with Buhari, a man unworthy even of local government leadership.

A true leader would have broken from failed traditions and taken a stand against foreign influences. A puppet simply repeats them. If Tinubu is not in France today, he is in Britain tomorrow, dancing to the drums of his overlords and taking instructions from them.

His presidency is also the product of delicate compromises among Nigeria’s political blocs. To maintain power, Tinubu must constantly appease political thugs, regional and ethnic factions, sacrificing independent decision-making for fragile coalition-building. This balancing act reduces him to a figurehead, constrained by competing interests.

For me, Tinubu is a disappointment. One would expect that as someone who taunts himself as a pro-democracy figure—a so-called member of the defunct NADECO, a man close to late MKO Abiola, an admirer of the late reformist Chief Obafemi Awolowo—he would have taken pragmatic steps to break Nigeria free from its endless cycle of bad governance. Instead, for Tinubu it is business as usual.

And yet, many Nigerians, ever as daft, myopic, and naive as they are, continue to support him.

The truth is that Tinubu’s presidency is not the story of a visionary leader charting Nigeria’s future. It is the story of an old, corrupt, exhausted, entitled, self-centered puppet, whose strings are pulled by godfathers, oligarchs, and external powers.

His actions reflect dependency, not autonomy; continuity, not innovation. And until Nigeria breaks free from this vicious cycle of puppet leadership, the promise of a better Nigeria—where all lives matter—will remain elusive and unfulfilled.

This is the sad and bitter truth.

—Albert Afeso Akanbi, Creative Director @ Dopplerfilmz Production LTD


Copied

Mohammed Ali the best midfielder Italy has ever produced. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

I'm here to read comments and lies.

Welcome to Liverpool Mr Aduni

It's just a matter of time before Nigerians will start coming for all of you.

What happened thereafter? Did she express her appreciation in kind or in cash? I don’t an inconclusive story.