M.K.O. ABIOLA: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF CHIEF MOSHOOD KASIMAWO OLAWALE ABIOLA PRESUMED WINNER OF JUNE 12, 1993 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN NIGERIA

By MOSHOOD FAYEMIWO

Continued from Chapter Nine Last

Pages 61-73

CHAPTER TEN

M.KO. ABIOLA AND THE BABANGIDA REGIME

Someone once said the military does not mould a young man’s life rather it affords the potentials of a young man either good or bad to be exposed. That assertion was true for Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in his days and years as a soldier and Nigeria’s Head of State. Gen. Babangida was highly intelligent, he is a genius but as he himself confessed, he is an evil genius. One would rather not be a genius than be the evil type after all, of what use is a man’s talent and intellect if geared toward perpetrating evil. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida has the capacity for evil, to use the words of Gen (later President) Olusegun Obasanjo (Rtd). Babangida is well versed in the nation’s politics of intrigues, manipulations, duplicity and Machiavellian tactics. Most Nigerian leaders assumed leadership as Head of State or president in serendipitous ways. Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi was not the original planner of the 1966 coup which he hijacked to power. Gen. Obasanjo stepped into Murtala Muhammed’s shoes because of the latter’s assassination on February 13, 1976. Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari wanted to be a senator not president but the Northern Mafia drafted him into the nation’s exalted position because he was a sissy, pliable and a robotic lackey, a Zombie who could be manipulated by the power brokers. Gen. Buhari had to be drafted to become Head of State because the mastermind of the December 31, 1983 coup, Brigadier Bako died during a shoot-out at the Presidential Villa in Abuja as Shagari was on vacation from Lagos. Even General Yakubu Gowon. He came to power because he was the most senior Army Officer of Northern origin in the 1960s for the mastermind of the coup that brought him to power was Col. Yakubu Theophillus Danjuma and Co. The only person who really staged his own coup was Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Even the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed was drafted in by Col. Joe Garba and Col. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the two leaders of the 1975 coup that swept Gen. Gowon out of power while he was in Kampala, Uganda for the annual OAU Summit (now African Union).

Gen. Ibrahim Babangida came to power with a mission, with a clear-headed evilness and he manifested it so early in his administration. The popular refrain; “I know Nigerian damn well” was true and he visited so much evil on Nigeria never witnessed in the annals of that country. His regime killed so many innocent lives, executed many Army officers, majority of them secretly, destroyed families and slaughtered young Nigerians more than all previous administrations combined.

Many events took place during the eight disastrous years of Gen. Babangida pestilence but we shall focus more on those that pertained to Chief MKO Abiola.

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THE DEATH OF DELE GIWA, PIONEER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEWSWATCH

“The cautious seldom err”---Socrates (circa 469BC-circa 399B )

The above dictum should have been late Dele Giwa’s desideratum. Dele Giwa worked in Abiola’s Concord newspapers as editor of Sunday Concord. He returned to Nigeria from here, the United States of America about seven years earlier during the administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. Dr. Patrick Dele Cole, a career bureaucrat in the Obasanjo government had traveled to America in the mid-1970s and found people like Dr. Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa and host of other educated and highly qualified Nigerians making strides here in the United States. Dr. Macebuh was a journalism teacher at New York University (NYU) and had also worked with the influential New York Times newspapers. Dele Giwa was also a journalist in New York after graduating in Public Communications from the Jesuit-owned Fordham University, New York. Dr. Cole was able to persuade and convince the duo to return home in assisting in nation-building. Both agreed and were given jobs at the government-owned Daily Times Newspaper, Ikeja. Dele Giwa was on the Features Desk then known as Page 7. Prince Henry Odukomaiya, then Editor in the Daily Times pulled him out to Concord newspapers as pioneering Editor of the Sunday Concord publication when he was setting u the Concord Newspapers.

Dele Giwa’s relationship with his publisher, Chief MKO Abiola was smooth initially. Abiola regarded him as a young brother and assisted him in whatever capacity he could not as his employer. Abiola gave him a house at the eyebrow Ikeja GRA, bought him a Mercedes Benz car as official car and once in a while both traveled together to the USA, UK and other exotic places in Abiola’s private aircraft. Chief Abiola was in Bakassi Village, Cross Rivers State (now Akwa Ibom State) during Dele Giwa’s marriage to Florence Ita. Then few years later, Dele Giwa’s relationship with his boss began to strain. Many factors contributed to this but the last straw was in 1985 when Giwa learned that the Buhari-Idiagbon regime wanted to make him the Minister of Information but Chief Abiola, without even consulting him, refused the offer. It was not as if Dele Giwa would have accepted the ministerial offer though but Chief Abiola would still have consulted him. Dele began to see himself more and more as Abiola’s personal property. His wife, Florence did not help matters either. The lady had been complaining that it appeared Abiola owned him and that was part of the reasons their marriage floundered. Dele Giwa lived in Adolphus Davies Street, Ikeja GRA owned by Abiola, drove a Mercedes Benz car given him by Abiola and took some loans from Concord Newspapers which he was still repaying. Florence Ita, a rich lady in her own right couldn’t understand why Dele Giwa had to be tied to MKO even as an employee. After Dele’s bitter divorce from Florence Giwa, as a man, he needed another wife. The issue of women eventually led to Giwa and Abiola’s parting of ways.

In early 1985 or thereabout, a beautiful and an attractive young lady came to Concord Newspapers looking for a job. Her name is Funmi. She had just graduated in English Studies from the prestigious University of Lagos. She was directed to Raymond Ekpu who by then had just been forced to leave the government-owned Daily Times Newspaper for Concord Newspaper as Chairman, Editorial Board. As the lady and Ray were discussing in the latter’s office, Dele Giwa, then Editor of Sunday Concord sauntered in and saw Funmi. Dele loved women. Abiola loved women. That was a recipe for disaster and confrontation between employer and employee. The end of the game; the loser and the winner was predictable.

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Having being rehabilitated and brought back from the brink, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Mohammed now became the security Czar in the Babangida administration. In early 1986, Mohammed, as National Security Adviser, along with the goons of the regime people like Col. Haliru Akilu, Togun and other officials of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the State Security Services (SSS which Babangida had just renamed from NSO) met with the nations’ top Newspaper Publishers/Editors and magazine publishers. “Sad Sam” Amuka Pemu led the Vanguard Newspapers team comprising Muyiwa Adetiba, Toye Akiyode, Alhaji Animashaun, Chris Okojie and few others. From The Guardian Newspapers were Dr. Stanley Macebuh, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, the late Mr. Andy Akporugo, Mr. Sully Abu, Lade Bonuola, Femi Kusa and the rest wordsmiths from the Flagship. Chief Olusegun Osoba as Managing Director of Daily Times Newspapers (DTN) led his team comprising Prince Tony Momoh, Malam Farouk Umar Muhammed, and the other editors. The Punch Newspapers and the Ibadan-based Tribune titles and the Daily Sketch also sent representatives: Tola Adeniyi, Ogungbemi, Felix Adenaike and their top editors. The late Chief Chris Okolie represented his magazines, The New breed and The President publications. While Dan Agbese, Dele Giwa, Yakubu Muhmmed and Raymond Ekpu represented the newly-established News watch magazine. The Concord Newspaper management had no choice than to be the “unofficial mouthpiece” of the new Babangida regime, already its publisher and chairman, Chief MKO Abiola was the power behind the throne and its editor, Chief Duro Onabule was the new Press Secretary to Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Nevertheless, top editors from Concord Newspapers were also in attendance: Dr. Doyin Abiola, Editor-in-Chief, Sina Adedipe, Sunday Concord editor, Ben Onyechonam, Editor, NationalConcord who had just replaced Onabule, Mr Tom Borha, Chairman, Editorial Board, Malam Ismaila Mohammed, deputy editor, National Concord, Lewis Obi, Editor, Concord Weekly Magazine, and others. The Big Boys: Chief Alex Akinyele, Imme Umana; Board Directors of News watch magazine, Ajibola Ogunshola of The Punch, Chief Alex Ibru, Chairman of The Guardian, Dele Cole, Board Member and others dropped in once in a while.

What were all these top editors and newspaper publishers doing at the State Security Service (SSS), Apapa, Ikeja during the early days of the Babangida regime.

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