Sight of Sergeant Rogers during Abacha’s regime meant death – General Diya speaks in explosive interview
Retired General Oladipo Diya
Retired General Oladipo Diya was accused of planning a coup by the late head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha. In this interview with ADEOLA BALOGUN and TUNDE AJAJA, he talks about how he escaped death and opens up on the arrest of late Chief MKO Abiola, his death and other sundry issues.
When you became the de-facto second in command to General Sani Abacha, how did you feel?
I felt completely fulfilled and satisfied
that I reached the peak of my profession which was when I became the
Chief of Defence Staff. That was the highest anybody could reach in the
Armed Forces, be it Army, Air force or Navy. The post of the Chief of
General Staff was a political office. So naturally, I was happy and
suffice to say that it formed part of my achievements in life.
So, because of ambition to be number one, you decided to plan a coup?
If you say I planned a coup, I will order
your arrest. Everybody, including the news media, knew and they all
described it as a phantom coup. I don’t want to go into details of all
that, but I thank God that even though men had their judgement, that of
God was supreme. The Oputa panel looked into every detail of the
allegation concerning the alleged coup. I know many people watched the
procedure, but there was a report, which I advocated that should be
published and implemented. It’s there on the internet for everyone to
see.
In the video of the Oputa panel
proceedings with General Bamaiyi and Major Al Mustapha present, you were
insisting that you didn’t plan any coup and anybody could have believed
you, but your colleague, General Adisa, insisted that you planned a
coup.
No. Adisa wouldn’t say that. I think he
was slightly misquoted, because he faced trial like me, and he did not
say, during the trial, that he planned the coup. Being a member of the
Armed Forces Ruling Council, he had his own view, because the view then
was that the military should leave in October, but that did not go down
well with some people within the government. So, should we because of
that rope some other people in? I wouldn’t like to mention their names.
For example, all the soldiers guarding us, including Adisa and
Olanrewaju, were from Abacha. So, how do you plan a coup when the
soldiers guarding you are from the head of state? It is not done. That
was enough to show that it was a phantom coup. And, in any case, which
other coup have we seen that people would be recording even before the
coup was executed? It was obvious that all those that were planning the
coup were there in government, not those that were suspected.
What grouse did Bamaiyi have against you to have you implicated?
We are all human beings. Everybody has
ambition, and anytime you are going up on the ladder, there are people
that are envious, very jealous and they are so many, even within your
own group. They tend to question why you have what you have and how you
became whatever. Those acts were envious, otherwise, I saw someone like
Bamaiyi as a good man because I believed he also didn’t want the
military to continue. Virtually everybody wore Abacha’s badge then but
he didn’t wear it. I also refused to wear it and that was how he
deceived me. But I believe that God used him the way he wanted. I choose
to leave everybody with their conscience. I thank God for where I am
today.
You would have been close to General Abacha, being his deputy. At what point did things fall apart between the two of you?
I will not open my mouth to condemn
Abacha as a human being. I served him as the deputy and I believe that
there is still a lot that could be said creditably about him.
From the video that went viral
then, you were seen pleading with him for fellow generals whom you
thought were arrested. If you were that close to him, why did he find it
difficult to forgive you?
No. When it comes to people’s ambition,
you have to be careful. We had to allow General Abacha have his
ambition. If he felt there was nobody that he could hand over to in
Nigeria and that the only solution to our problem was probably himself,
he was entitled to that opinion, but it doesn’t mean that opinion would
also be acceptable to me. I believed that was probably the beginning of
our conflict. The moment he knew that I was not 100 per cent with him
along that line, I mean his ambition, we started having differences
which was showing in the open. The first step he took, for example, was
about the late Chief MKO Abiola’s arrest. When Abiola was arrested and
detained, (and I am still saying that up till today, I didn’t know where
he was detained throughout), the law of detention at that time stated
that it was only the Chief of General Staff who could arrest, detain,
sign and agree on the location where someone should be detained. But
that law was changed overnight and the Police IG was given the full
powers, so that cut me off completely. Anybody reading between the lines
would know that the difference was very clear.
Some even said that people like you had to be crawling for Al Mustapha even as a General. Was it true?
In my life, I can never crawl before
anybody. And nobody can ever make me crawl before him, except God who is
my maker. When that video was shown, I was surprised that a lot of
people believed it. But I wondered why people were not intelligent
enough to query why the video had no sound. Truly, I was pleading with
Abacha to release those people that came to him about handing over in
October. I was aware of it and I was a party to it. I told him to leave
them alone that I was responsible because I thought they were arrested.
However, on the day of the trial, they made the mistake of conducting
the hearing in the open. They invited the world press to be there. When I
went in and moved round, I saw Adisa and Olanrewaju, but I didn’t see
Bamaiyi, Magashi and the rest. That was what prompted me and I didn’t
care about what would happen anymore. I wondered where Bamaiyi and
others were then. It was then that I understood that it was a phantom
coup and a real set-up that was organised from the top against me. I was
almost killed that night but God saved my life.
You said you didn’t support
Abacha’s wish to remain there forever like he wanted, was that the only
issue that pitched him against you?
Well, I wouldn’t know. Someone once asked
if I was sure that Abacha wanted to release Abiola. That how was I sure
that I was not actually going against his desire, which could have been
the beginning of the problem. But I said I didn’t see any sign that he
didn’t want to release Abiola. Even though, when Abiola was arrested, I
didn’t know, I was in Enugu. When I got to Abuja, I asked Gen. Abacha
and he confirmed it, but I was not privy to where Abiola was detained
because the order of detention had been changed. So, the person who
brought the detention paper to me did so in error. He didn’t know that
the order had been changed.
What made you go against his wish to remain there?
I could not defeat the spirit of my
profession. Being in an office that was political was not part of our
assignment as soldiers. I didn’t join the army for political reasons and
I wouldn’t have supported such idea. Look at what is happening in Egypt
now where the Army Chief resigned to contest an election. That was a
gentleman’s decision. So, if the election is free, fair and credible and
he is elected, the Western world will accept him.
In the midst of those troubles, why didn’t you resign and go?
Haah…. That would have been worse. They
would kill me somewhere and just find something to cover it up. You were
still there and they did all that they did. The only thing is that they
would just support it with law. It was just an unfortunate moment. But,
like I said, let’s leave everything to God, but in my heart, I thank
God and I still have a space to thank General Abacha, at least for the
opportunity he gave me to serve.
You had a close shave with death
about three times. Some people would have thought that you probably had
juju being an Ijebu man. Was there anything like that?
Not at all. My parents were very good
Christians. In fact, the church that I attend now in Abule Ijesha was
founded by my father. So, when one goes through all these, you become
more confident that nothing can happen to you. Otherwise, my saving
grace was the 10 minutes lateness to the plane in which I would have
been blown up together with those on my entourage. The plane would have
been blown up and those people wouldn’t care. About 16 people were to
travel with me and everybody would have been killed.
The opposition claimed that the
government which you were a part of promised that Abiola would be given
justice. What was the commitment?
There were divided opinions then. Some
felt that Abiola should be given justice; some even said that he should
be installed as the president. In fact, that view cut across the
military and that was why the military came in to pacify things and to
correct all the mistakes and that was the intention of the national
conference then. Even the Yoruba wanted to boycott it but for the
efforts of the Ooni of Ife who encouraged people to go for the
conference because some had come out to say that the conference should
be boycotted. Eventually, the findings and the recommendations of the
conference became the nucleus of the 1999 constitution which we are
still using up till now.
Was it true that Abiola was granted bail?
These are questions that you should be
asking the right people. Because up till now, there are two questions
that I have also been asking. People have condemned me but I still thank
God. The first question is, why did Abiola refuse bail, and he did that
in writing and he gave the reasons for his refusal. I don’t want to
mention names, but somebody was there. These were the things that almost
killed Dr. Onagoruwa because even as an insider, he fought for Abiola
to accept bail. Also, Alex Ibru was on the phone for about two hours
begging Abiola to accept bail but he didn’t. The Minister of Transport
then, Ebenezer Babatope, arranged a plane with a pilot to take Abiola to
anywhere he wanted, but he didn’t take the offer. An English adage
says, he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Look at
Abiola’s estate today, all the people who said he should not take bail,
what was their intention? Also, when General Abacha died, why didn’t
these same people, who told Abiola to refuse bail, demand that until
Abiola was released, they would not take part in any discussion on the
transition programme with the government? These two questions have not
yet been answered and I will continue to ask. The people who did their
best suffered more; they were attacked and their children were killed. I
still believe that Alex Ibru died as a result of that attack.
It was suspected that you had sympathy for NADECO at that time. Is it true?
There were so many allegations. Those of
us who were in government were even called more NADECO than those
outside, and you can see that even from the degree of hostility that we
eventually went through. You would even pity those of us in government
more than those who were outside, enjoying their freedom. We had it very
tough in the government because the suspicion was that we were all
NADECO people. From the experiences of people like Dr. Olu Onagoruwa
whose son was even attacked and killed, Alex Ibru’s newspaper was shut
for many months, all because of suspicion, but it’s okay. There are so
many people also that I wouldn’t want to mention their names, they are
too many. Senator Adefuye was accused of being a spy for NADECO but
these are all part of history now.
Apart from the bomb blast escape, how exactly did you escape after the death warrant that was signed against you?
Well, if any death warrant was signed, I
didn’t see it. If you were in an enclosure with people like Sergeant
Rogers who were very hostile, you would naturally have thoughts because
when you see Rogers, you have indirectly seen death. You don’t see
Rogers and smile the following day. Colonel Omenka was not as terrible.
We were brought to Kano from Jos for execution. At the end of the day,
Abubakar came and there was no execution anymore. So, that was a narrow
escape but we give that credit to one Sgt. Bush who became friendly out
of the eight soldiers that came with Rogers for the alleged execution.
What was the role of Sgt. Bush?
He was one of Rogers’ men who took us,
including Olanrewaju and Adisa from Jos to Kano. When we got to Kano,
they hid us inside a jeep, took us to a bungalow and as usual, the
rumour started that we were to be executed the following day in Kano.
That night, Sgt. Bush went to buy battery for his radio. So, while he
was out, he heard on BBC that Abacha had died, so that was when
he made up his mind that he was not going to be party to the execution
since Abacha had died. When he told Rogers that he was not going to be a
part of the execution, he insisted we should be killed. Rogers said
they had already been given an instruction which they had to follow. So,
the camp was divided into two. Bush and three other men supported him
and Rogers and the other men were on the other side too. That was how
the camp split into two and nothing happened the following day. By the
following morning, Abdulsalam Abubakar had resumed duty as the head of
state.
How did you feel when you heard that Abacha died?
We didn’t know on time. We got to know
through Sgt. Bush when newspapers came out in the afternoon, he got a
copy of the newspaper and slid it to us through the door, so we read it
in the paper that Abacha was dead.
What was your reaction at that moment?
Well, at that point, we were confused
because we didn’t know who would take over. We didn’t know if the person
who would take over would be nice or otherwise, or may even be worse
than Abacha. So, there was no jubilation. It was a mixed feeling and we
all kept quiet. We once had a positive expectation that didn’t work for
us. When the judge of our court, Victor Malu, was appointed, we were
jubilating because the judge was a principled man whom we believed would
be fair to us, but when we got to court and saw him with Abacha’s
badge, then, all the jubilation stopped. We couldn’t sleep in the cell
that day because we knew things had changed. For Victor Malu to wear
Abacha’s badge, it meant something to us. But like I said, we have to
give God the glory. Someone even asked me if I had forgiven them, I said
why wouldn’t I, I believe God will forgive them.
You once said that you didn’t
regret serving Abacha’s government, but with the kind of looting being
reported, how do you feel, or were you hand-in-glove with him in
looting?
Let us be frank here. I read in the
papers that Abacha looted $458m. One should wonder what a man would want
to do with that kind of money. When I was Chief of Defence Staff, I
worked with him for about three to four years before I became the Chief
of General Staff. When I was the deputy, any memo, especially when it
had to do with money, would pass through me, and when you write your
memo and you talk of thousands, it would be very easy for Abacha to
approve. The moment you start talking of millions, the answer would be
no. So, when you hear that the man that was so strict, very careful in
spending, stole millions in dollars, not even naira, after he died, it’s
unbelievable. I mean, how do you spend that kind of money?
Is it that you don’t believe that he stole as much or that he didn’t steal at all?
How could a head of state have that kind
of money? Was it through the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General
or the Central Bank? You see, we should talk with evidence and
authority. We should be able to substantiate whatever we say with facts,
so that it can serve as legacy for generations coming behind to know
that these stories are real facts, not imagination.
But, why didn’t Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar grant you pardon before he left?
Don’t let us go into all these details,
because if you do, you would mention names and when you mention names,
(hmm…) I know that somebody told Abubakar not to pardon me, promising
that he would pardon me when he took over as president, because he too
had been pardoned after he had been rusticated to prison. Abubakar
nearly believed him but I had to send another message to Abubakar that
he shouldn’t believe the man, that if he believed him, we would all be
in the prison till eternity. I requested that he should grant us release
and that if the man chose to grant us pardon, that would be fine. The
most important thing was for us to be out and that was what he did. I
thank him for it and I remain grateful for that because if he didn’t
grant that release, maybe we would still be in Potiskum prison. Human
beings are different. You have some human beings that are just naturally
wicked. It may not be their making, may be that was the way God made
them. So, I don’t even hold any grudge against anybody.
Even against Obasanjo?
You are the one mentioning Obasanjo (Laughs…) Leave people to their own conscience and live your life.
With all that happened, do you regret joining the military?
Never. Nothing can make me regret joining
a profession that has always been very dear to my heart. There is no
profession, no matter how simple, that does not have some elements of
risk. Anything can happen in any profession but I thank God everything
worked out fine. As human beings, we all have our moments of trouble.
So, I thank God I am alive to clock 70. Everytime I sleep and wake up,
as a good Christian, the first thing to do is to thank God.
You later studied law, was it an ambition that you hid under the military to accomplish?
Yes. Also because I had the opportunity
and I had the entry requirements. I had already graduated from the NDA. I
was qualified to read law, so I applied to the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, but I later transferred to Ahmadu Bello University. I applied to
the Nigerian Law School and I was called to the bar in 1992 as a
solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
You must have had godfathers to rise so fast in the Army?
You are using the wrong words. You cannot
have godfathers in the army. In the military, there is nothing you can
get without struggling and working hard for it. Sixty of us entered the
Nigeria Defence Academy, and when I was promoted to be a lieutenant
general, we were only five. So you see, there is nothing like godfather
and nothing is hidden.We all knew that military regime was not a
permanent institution. It was just to correct one or two things and
leave. No other form of government can compare with civilian
administration.
How are you enjoying your retirement?
I’m enjoying it because I don’t allow
anything to bother me. I always thank God because I went through all the
trials, travails and God saved me, but the real one that encouraged me
was the day they were unable to bomb my plane. I was to go to Makurdi
and I was 10 minutes late and, they were trying to re-prime the bomb
when it exploded and killed the two men who were to carry out the
assignment. They had the same surname: Ishmaila. From that point, I
believed that, I am, by the Grace of God, beyond human destruction. You
can imagine how 10 minutes saved my life.
As a Christian and church leader, why did you marry two wives?
The issue of wives differs from one
denomination to another. You have a denomination where you will not even
marry at all, so, if anybody talks about two wives and you have a wife,
why don’t you even take an example from the Catholic and don’t marry at
all? The Bible says that those of you who want to be Canons, take unto
yourselves a wife. In other words, those who want to be Canons and
Bishops should take one wife. When Jesus was asked about a woman who
married seven brothers from the same family, he said there is nothing
like marriage when we get to heaven. This issue of marriage ends here,
so the question about wives is the decision of individuals as long as
one’s heart is pure and Jesus said it too, that Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.
Source: The Punch