by Eze Eluchie
I never thought the day will come when I will miss the rulership of former dictator, Sani Abacha.
I never thought the day will come when I will miss the rulership of former dictator, Sani Abacha.
But how I wish Sani Abacha was at the helm
off affairs today, as British authorities decide to impose, from November 2013,
a most discriminatory 'cash-bond charge' of over 750,000 Naira {3,000.00 British Pounds} on every
intending Nigerian visitor to Britain.
Sani Abacha had come unto the Nigerian scene
at a very volatile period in the nation’s history. Upon 'stepping aside' from
office, Ibrahim Babangida, the dictator who had annulled the June 12 1993
elections had deliberately allowed a raw military officer, who had little
formal education but had under Nigeria's flawed quota-driven process, found
himself to the rank of a 3-Star General in the Nigerian Army.
Being poor in formal education, it was quite
easy for smart alecs who surrounded Sani Abacha to manipulate him to their own
personal pecuniary ends.
Two principal set of characters that seized
the opportunity of Abacha's low IQ to clean up themselves were Abacha’s
security team headed by former Chief security Officer {CSO} (Major Al-Mustapher) and
those who had access to public funds and the bidding processes for Nigerian 'Oil
Blocks'.
Sani Abacha rarely traveled outside the
borders of Nigeria during his tenure and for a very lengthy period during his tenure
as Head of State was virtually imprisoned within the walls of Aso Rock by his security advisers who coined ceaseless tales of attempts by all manner of imaginary folks to
kill Abacha. It was later revealed that the CSO himself had been instrumental
to some of the terrorist attacks and bomb-blasts targeting military barracks in
Nigeria during the Abacha era. These attacks had then been blamed on pro-June
12 actors. Having cornered his boss (Abacha), Major al-Mustapher was thus able
to secure access to unrestricted and inexhaustible funds under the guise of
'tackling the opposition' and 'securing the head of State'.
Abacha was so intimidated and frightened of
his own shadow that he was even made to adorn very dark sunglasses even whilst
in his office.
Abacha's children and persons who were close
to him, all cashed in, with frightful frenzy, on the intellectually challenged
late Head of State’s inability to see through the woods. Within a period of 3
years, well over U.S.$8 Billion was stolen out of Nigerian reserves by
relatives and friends of the Abacha clan, as the reclusive ruler hid behind his
sunglasses. A certain childhood acquaintance of Abacha, Mai Deribe, overnight
acquired the single most lucrative oil block in Nigeria and pronto, became one
of the 'richest men in the world'.
Even in death, most who accuse Abacha of
graft, have not stopped to wonder why a man who hardly left the confines of the
Presidential villa, had no plans of vacating office and was not a great fan of
travel, except to Mecca for Hajj, would be stashing away billions of dollars in
Swiss Banks. The fact is that the billions stolen during Abacha’s tenure were
stolen, not by the goon, but in his name!
In all his 'dumbness', one area where Sani
Abacha excelled heads above his peers was in a stubborn insistence on
reciprocity in intergovernmental relations.
When for instance the British authorities in
an effort to muscle our then Nigeria Airways from flying into the lucrative
Lagos - London route (which till date remains the most lucrative route operated
by British Airways worldwide), by claiming that aircraft's used by Nigeria
Airways on the said route were not 'airworthy', Abacha did not waste time in
promptly banning British Airways flights from coming into Nigeria.
The impact on the fortunes of British
Airways and the British economy was instant. Overnight, the British authorities
announced a review and then a reversal of their policy against Nigeria Airways.
Delegation upon delegation were dispatched from London to Abacha to plead for a reversal
of the ban Nigeria had imposed on the British carrier. Abacha staunchly refused
and British Airways flights did not land in Nigeria till the end of the Abacha-era.
Yet another instance occurred when the
Nigerian national soccer team (the Eagles) was due to play a friendly match in Johannesburg
with their South African counterparts in celebration of a Nelson Mandela
victory. Nigerians, our Eagles (who had already arrived Johannesburg for the match), and
the international football community, were shocked when the South Africans
turned the Nigerian national team back on account of the most unfortunate
murder (by hanging after a jaundiced trial) of famed writer and environmental
rights activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Not to be out done, Sani Abacha waited for
the commencement of the African Cup of Nations, which was to be hosted later
that year by South Africa and which had Nigeria’s Eagles as defending champions
to exert his pound of flesh. Abacha aborted Nigeria's participation at the
South African event, reminding all of the insult South African authorities had
meted out to Nigerians and the Nigerian soccer team. Everybody ranted, but Abacha, on point of reciprocity and mutual respect amongst sovereign States, stood his ground - and rightly so, I must state.
In the face of the recent announcement by
British authorities of the imposition of a most discriminatory 'cash-bond
charge' of over 750,000 Naira on every intending Nigerian visitor to Britain, I
have no doubt whatsoever that if Abacha was in charge, the British would not
have contemplated such move and if in their folly they did try it, the
consequences would have been instant and drastic.
At his end, the very same factors who felt they had had enough of crisis following the botched June 12 1993 elections in Nigeria craftfully eliminated the two principal actors in the imbroglio - Sani Abacha and MKO Abiola, and our contraption continued. After killing Abacha, a childish dummy of 'apples and Indian prostitutes' was sold to our gullible population.
Over the Saro Wiwa hanging, Abacha can
continue to rot in hell!
Over the planned 'cash-bond charge' required from Nigerians planning to
visit Britain, may the spirit of Abacha come back to life!!
Picture: Former military dictator, Sani Abacha
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