By: Abdulfatai Muhammad Sadiq
This
week will mark the 15th anniversary of the death of the late military
ruler, General Sani Abacha, who died on June 8, 1998. Despite the
implacable hostility of his enemies, no fair-minded Nigerian can pretend
not to notice Gen.
Abacha’s remarkable record of achievements. There is no public relations magic better than performance. Abacha’s performance will remain the yardstick by which objective Nigerians would judge the late military Head of State who took over the affairs of Nigeria at a point the nation was facing imminent disintegration. His courage and equanimity in the face of tough challenges are rare qualities among leaders. In fact, he shocked many who originally under-estimated him, critics that insisted Abacha had nothing to offer.
In the words of Woodrow Wilson, the late U.S. President, “an office is what the officer makes of it.” Therefore, being a weak or strong leader is a choice and Abacha chose the latter. He moved very fast to save the nation from disintegration. Many Nigerians were going back to their states of origin because of the apparent storm clouds of war arising from June 12 political crisis of 1993.
Gen. Abacha wowed many critics that had doubted his capacity to govern. To their shock, however, he held the country together and many of those nervous Nigerians that went back to their states of origin because of the fear of war had started to return to the states they were doing business and earning a living. He had restored their confidence that Nigeria would survive this temporary political challenge, which he had inherited but handled skillfully.
Holding Nigeria together was Abachas’s first major political test. General Abacha was like General Paul Kagame of Rwanda. They were two men that took power in crises and restored their countries to stability at a point the international community had predicted their collapse.
Abacha’s genuine effort to find a political solution to the late Abiola’s detention was frustrated by members of the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) who used Abiola to attract European Union donations to “fight” for democracy. In 1995, General Abacha had offered to release Abiola on bail, but the NADECO activists fooled the billionaire businessman to reject the offer. Abiola’s eldest son, Kola, was so angry at the rejection of the offer that he went to court, seeking to sack his father’s lawyer, Chief G.O.K Ajayi. The lawyer and NADECO were approaching the issue academically against political reality. The bail offer by Abacha could have saved Abiola the inevitable death that he suffered because of a heart attack.
NADECO members demonstrated incredible naivety. After urging Abiola to declare himself President with a military ruler already in power, their calculation was that the Western nations would automatically declare diplomatic recognition to Abiola and isolate Abacha to render his government illegitimate. To NADECO’S chagrin, that expectation didn’t come to fruition. At that point, one would have expected the NADECO leaders to re-evaluate their political strategy. They never did and Abiola eventually died an avoidable death.
In the words of General Oladipo Diya, who was deputy to the late Head of State, Gen. Abacha had assembled one of the finest cabinets. His government was focused. Despite the limited sanctions on Nigeria, Abacha didn’t enslave Nigeria to external borrowing. He refused to take dictation from Western powers. The naira had enjoyed a favourable exchange rate with the dollar, the pound sterling and other hard currencies. Inflation was under control. A N3,000 salary under Abacha was more valuable than a N50,000 salary today.
According to the late Professor of Economics, Sam Aluko, Gen. Abacha was more patriotic and committed than his critics would have the courage to admit. He said he was proud to serve Abacha because he had passion for the well-being of ordinary Nigerians. The rehabilitation of the railway system was a good example of Abacha’s commitment to ordinary Nigerians.
In fact, the introduction of Vision 2010 committee of experts, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, the former head of the Interim National Government, was another example of Abacha’s commitment to the progress of Nigeria. Strangely, most of the economic policy frameworks of the former Obasanjo administration were ideas stolen from Abacha’s Vision 2010 without acknowledgement.
Before his death, Gen. Abacha was committed to introduce 25,000 housing projects across the country. Though he didn’t live long enough to see his dream come true, the Gwarimpa housing estate, described as the largest housing project in Sub-Saharan Africa, remains a testimony to Abacha’s commitment to the provision of shelter for Nigerians.
A performing leader, however, doesn’t need many years in power to prove himself. Within five years, the late Abacha had achieved what other leaders couldn’t have accomplished in eight years or more. In fact, a good record will always speak for itself. No amount of efforts to vilify Abacha’s memory can successfully obscure or obliterate his concrete record of performance. Gen. Abacha’s impressive record is etched in brass, which no mischief by enemies can erase.
—Saddiq, a political scientist, wrote from Abuja.
Abacha’s remarkable record of achievements. There is no public relations magic better than performance. Abacha’s performance will remain the yardstick by which objective Nigerians would judge the late military Head of State who took over the affairs of Nigeria at a point the nation was facing imminent disintegration. His courage and equanimity in the face of tough challenges are rare qualities among leaders. In fact, he shocked many who originally under-estimated him, critics that insisted Abacha had nothing to offer.
In the words of Woodrow Wilson, the late U.S. President, “an office is what the officer makes of it.” Therefore, being a weak or strong leader is a choice and Abacha chose the latter. He moved very fast to save the nation from disintegration. Many Nigerians were going back to their states of origin because of the apparent storm clouds of war arising from June 12 political crisis of 1993.
Gen. Abacha wowed many critics that had doubted his capacity to govern. To their shock, however, he held the country together and many of those nervous Nigerians that went back to their states of origin because of the fear of war had started to return to the states they were doing business and earning a living. He had restored their confidence that Nigeria would survive this temporary political challenge, which he had inherited but handled skillfully.
Holding Nigeria together was Abachas’s first major political test. General Abacha was like General Paul Kagame of Rwanda. They were two men that took power in crises and restored their countries to stability at a point the international community had predicted their collapse.
Abacha’s genuine effort to find a political solution to the late Abiola’s detention was frustrated by members of the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) who used Abiola to attract European Union donations to “fight” for democracy. In 1995, General Abacha had offered to release Abiola on bail, but the NADECO activists fooled the billionaire businessman to reject the offer. Abiola’s eldest son, Kola, was so angry at the rejection of the offer that he went to court, seeking to sack his father’s lawyer, Chief G.O.K Ajayi. The lawyer and NADECO were approaching the issue academically against political reality. The bail offer by Abacha could have saved Abiola the inevitable death that he suffered because of a heart attack.
NADECO members demonstrated incredible naivety. After urging Abiola to declare himself President with a military ruler already in power, their calculation was that the Western nations would automatically declare diplomatic recognition to Abiola and isolate Abacha to render his government illegitimate. To NADECO’S chagrin, that expectation didn’t come to fruition. At that point, one would have expected the NADECO leaders to re-evaluate their political strategy. They never did and Abiola eventually died an avoidable death.
In the words of General Oladipo Diya, who was deputy to the late Head of State, Gen. Abacha had assembled one of the finest cabinets. His government was focused. Despite the limited sanctions on Nigeria, Abacha didn’t enslave Nigeria to external borrowing. He refused to take dictation from Western powers. The naira had enjoyed a favourable exchange rate with the dollar, the pound sterling and other hard currencies. Inflation was under control. A N3,000 salary under Abacha was more valuable than a N50,000 salary today.
According to the late Professor of Economics, Sam Aluko, Gen. Abacha was more patriotic and committed than his critics would have the courage to admit. He said he was proud to serve Abacha because he had passion for the well-being of ordinary Nigerians. The rehabilitation of the railway system was a good example of Abacha’s commitment to ordinary Nigerians.
In fact, the introduction of Vision 2010 committee of experts, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, the former head of the Interim National Government, was another example of Abacha’s commitment to the progress of Nigeria. Strangely, most of the economic policy frameworks of the former Obasanjo administration were ideas stolen from Abacha’s Vision 2010 without acknowledgement.
Before his death, Gen. Abacha was committed to introduce 25,000 housing projects across the country. Though he didn’t live long enough to see his dream come true, the Gwarimpa housing estate, described as the largest housing project in Sub-Saharan Africa, remains a testimony to Abacha’s commitment to the provision of shelter for Nigerians.
A performing leader, however, doesn’t need many years in power to prove himself. Within five years, the late Abacha had achieved what other leaders couldn’t have accomplished in eight years or more. In fact, a good record will always speak for itself. No amount of efforts to vilify Abacha’s memory can successfully obscure or obliterate his concrete record of performance. Gen. Abacha’s impressive record is etched in brass, which no mischief by enemies can erase.
—Saddiq, a political scientist, wrote from Abuja.
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