Buhari And Abacha: The Matter Of Double Vision

By Emmanuel Aziken

The news of the return of another $311m loot linked to the erstwhile military dictator, General Sani Abacha was received by Nigerians with comic relief.

With the nation’s economy threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic and revenue inflow diving to unprecedented low levels, an alert at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN of a windfall from the late General Abacha should be celebrated.

Nigeria’s increasingly vibrant social media commentators were indeed quick to celebrate Abacha’s benevolence!

Some alleged that anytime President Muhammadu Buhari needs money Abacha sends him alert from the grave.

The nature of the receipt is, however, a politically touchy one for Buhari and his close supporters.

So while many Nigerians celebrated the inflow as the return of another Abacha loot, one of Buhari’s closest political minders, Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF called it Abacha asset.

Malami, being one of the associates that has stayed longest with Buhari must have been sensitive to the president’s political nuances and hence his resort to “verbal dexterity and vocal acrobatics.”

He was probably with Buhari in 2008 at the tenth anniversary of the death of the former head of state when he affirmed that Abacha was not a thief.

In the light of that postulation, receiving on behalf of Nigeria the Abacha loot must be a serious ethical issue for the president.

How President Buhari reconciles himself to spending money from an innocent Abacha must be a serious ethical dilemma for him. It is even so given what some have now alluded to a close relationship between the two men in their younger days. 

In studying the relationship between President Buhari and Abacha, it becomes easy to dismiss, or at least relegate one of the very prominent personal weaknesses critics attribute to Buhari; to wit, that he is unforgiving of betrayal.

If it were really so, it would be difficult to find a nexus between the claim of unforgiveness and Buhari’s decision to serve in the Petroleum (Special) Task Force, PTF created by Abacha.

That is, given the fact that Abacha who was reportedly a close family friend was instrumental to his removal from office as military head of state.

That relationship was evoked last month with the death of one of Buhari’s long-serving bodyguards, WO Lawal Mato.

Mato according to sources was handed over to Buhari from the Abacha network when he was about joining politics in 2002. He was reportedly a highly trained marksman from the cream prepared by Abacha while he was in power.

Mato had apparently been removed from Buhari during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration but was restored to him by President Umaru Yar`Adua.

However, politics apparently came between the two families as Buhari made what he had declared would be his last presidential bid in 2011.

At that time, Mohammed Abacha also sought the governorship ticket of his father’s friend’s party, that is, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC. He, however, received the cold shoulders from Buhari. That was after an initial homage to Buhari’s residence in Kaduna in 2010 when he was received gladly.

It is alleged that by 2011 Buhari’s eyes had become open or he had been schooled on Abacha’s theft of the commonwealth.

So despite the fact that Mohammed Abacha got the highest number of votes and was at one time affirmed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as the CPC governorship candidate for Kano, Buhari openly opposed him.

His preference was for the suave former military governor of Kaduna State, Brig. Gen. Jafaru Isa.

Speaking to an international observer mission in February 2011, Buhari while apparently noting the development in Kano, said:

‘There is the scandalous substitution of candidates submitted by our party in some states. How can the electoral agency revalidate a candidate rejected by us based on inducement of party members with money?” he said after INEC validated Abacha’s candidacy based on court orders.

So, it was apparent in 2011 that Buhari’s perception of the Abachas had started to change. Indeed after he came to power and saw documents for himself, that change was established.

In a tweet on April 27, 2016 the new perspective was contextualized in a presidential tweet where it was said

 “Nigeria is awaiting receipt from Swiss Govt. of $320 million, identified as illegally taken from Nigeria under Abacha” – Buhari @NGR President, 5:09 PM – 27 APR 2016.

What the president meant by illegally taken away from the country was what others have called looted funds. It is in that context that Buhari’s problem in dealing with the Abacha heist can be better understood.

It is what scientists will call a case of double vision!

Correction

It was stated here in this column last week that only one deputy governor in the person of Umaru Shinkafi of Zamfara had succeeded into the office of governor since the advent of the Fourth Republic. Your correspondent has since recollected the ascension of Abdullahi Ganduje to the Kano governorship in 2015 and also, the hostile takeover of Ebonyi by Dave Umahi also in 2015.

The slip is regretted.

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