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| MKO Abiola the Enigma |
The trip to Abuja was a disaster from the beginning.
My brother and I woke up early that morning because we were supposed to leave
at 7 a.m. Abuja is around twelve
hours from Lagos by road and because of traffic, the late one leaves, the
longer the journey takes. But we did not leave until we were two hours behind
our schedule because the old man, our guide, stood us up. He did not show up
till 9 a.m.
My brother and I woke up early that morning because we were supposed to leave
at 7 a.m. Abuja is around twelve
hours from Lagos by road and because of traffic, the late one leaves, the
longer the journey takes. But we did not leave until we were two hours behind
our schedule because the old man, our guide, stood us up. He did not show up
till 9 a.m.
I remained optimistic;
however, about the prospects of getting to Abuja
on time because our driver was not only a good driver, he was a fast one. Our
appointment with the federal government big shot was at 9 p.m. Our guide
finally came and it was time to go. By then my bags and those belonging to my
brother were already in the boot of the car. He put his own bag on top of ours
but just before we were off, I remembered that I had forgotten my books and Walkman inside the house. I dashed
inside to fetch them and was back outside in less than two minutes.
however, about the prospects of getting to Abuja
on time because our driver was not only a good driver, he was a fast one. Our
appointment with the federal government big shot was at 9 p.m. Our guide
finally came and it was time to go. By then my bags and those belonging to my
brother were already in the boot of the car. He put his own bag on top of ours
but just before we were off, I remembered that I had forgotten my books and Walkman inside the house. I dashed
inside to fetch them and was back outside in less than two minutes.
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| MKO Abiola…The Star Boy from Egba Land |
One book
and the Walkman would keep me company
inside the car while the other books would remain inside my bag that was in the
boot. I had to pull out the old man’s bags before I could reach mine and as I
was doing that the wrap on one of them slipped off and revealed the last thing
that I expected to see.
and the Walkman would keep me company
inside the car while the other books would remain inside my bag that was in the
boot. I had to pull out the old man’s bags before I could reach mine and as I
was doing that the wrap on one of them slipped off and revealed the last thing
that I expected to see.
“I dashed inside to fetch them and was back outside
in less than two minutes. One book and the Walkman would keep me company inside
the car while the other books would remain inside my bag that was in the boot.
I had to pull out the old man’s bags before I could reach mine and as I was
doing that the wrap on one of them slipped off and revealed the last thing that
I expected to see”
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| Kudirat Abiola…Very disturbed with events in her husband’s political career |
It was a round
clock with the colors of the Nigerian flag- green,
white, and green-and a picture of Nigeria’s military leader in the middle.
It was obviously intended as a gift to General Abacha. At the bottom, in
beautiful hand lettering was the full name of the individual who was giving the
gift. It was the full name of the old man. The same man who had made me feel
guilty about contemplating leaving Nigeria without seeing my dad. Treachery! I had
experienced it a few times but not in this way. I had never known that it could
inflict such a sharp pain. Was this how my father felt when politicians used
him as a bargaining chip to strike deals with corrupt military officials? Was
this how my mother felt when she had to risk her life for a mandate that
belonged to a whole country that had chosen democracy? My heartbeat
accelerated. I was furious. I removed my bag from the car and went back inside
the house. I called off the trip.
clock with the colors of the Nigerian flag- green,
white, and green-and a picture of Nigeria’s military leader in the middle.
It was obviously intended as a gift to General Abacha. At the bottom, in
beautiful hand lettering was the full name of the individual who was giving the
gift. It was the full name of the old man. The same man who had made me feel
guilty about contemplating leaving Nigeria without seeing my dad. Treachery! I had
experienced it a few times but not in this way. I had never known that it could
inflict such a sharp pain. Was this how my father felt when politicians used
him as a bargaining chip to strike deals with corrupt military officials? Was
this how my mother felt when she had to risk her life for a mandate that
belonged to a whole country that had chosen democracy? My heartbeat
accelerated. I was furious. I removed my bag from the car and went back inside
the house. I called off the trip.
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| The Book of MKO according to Jamiu Abiola |
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| General Sani Abacha…Played 419 on MKO Abiola |
Confronting a
man old enough to be my grandfather was not something I ever wanted to do. I
would not have had to if the old man had not followed me inside the house. The
others, my brother and the driver, joined us as well. The old man literally
screamed at me. “Go ahead and show your
true colors. I knew you were arrogant but not to this extent. You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, young man”
man old enough to be my grandfather was not something I ever wanted to do. I
would not have had to if the old man had not followed me inside the house. The
others, my brother and the driver, joined us as well. The old man literally
screamed at me. “Go ahead and show your
true colors. I knew you were arrogant but not to this extent. You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, young man”
I looked at him
sternly, wondering from where shameless people like him got their pride. “Through the likes of you, evil dictators thrive
since you are wolves in sheep clothing. It is you who ought to be ashamed of
yourself”
sternly, wondering from where shameless people like him got their pride. “Through the likes of you, evil dictators thrive
since you are wolves in sheep clothing. It is you who ought to be ashamed of
yourself”
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| MKO & Kudirat Abiola; First Nigerian Couple to die for Democracy |
He looked
puzzled. Everyone did. But instead of saying anything else, I rushed back to
the car, pulled out his gift to General Abacha and returned inside.
He glanced at it and quickly moved his eyes away. Then a smile full of guilt
lit his face before he stated casually, “Oh,
is this what this fuss is all about? All that talks about wolves in sheep
clothing … Well I…”
puzzled. Everyone did. But instead of saying anything else, I rushed back to
the car, pulled out his gift to General Abacha and returned inside.
He glanced at it and quickly moved his eyes away. Then a smile full of guilt
lit his face before he stated casually, “Oh,
is this what this fuss is all about? All that talks about wolves in sheep
clothing … Well I…”
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| Jamiu Abiola wants the World to read about the true story of his dad |
I interrupted
him. “We had only agreed to travel three
days ago, which was not enough time for you to have had this kind of gift made.
In other words, you have had it for a while but were looking for the right
channel through which you could present it to your murderous general. What an
inconsiderate man you are!”
him. “We had only agreed to travel three
days ago, which was not enough time for you to have had this kind of gift made.
In other words, you have had it for a while but were looking for the right
channel through which you could present it to your murderous general. What an
inconsiderate man you are!”
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| The Author Jamiu Abiola tells the GDA more story of how his father fell for Abacha’s dirty deal |
Someone else
might have buried his face in shame and withdrawn quietly. But not this man; He
maintained a straight face and said gently.
“1 will not be angry with you because if I were in your shoes, I would be angry
as well. In fact, I think I deserve it because I was wrong to have kept
something like this to myself despite my noble intentions”. He sat down and breathed heavily as if he was
worn out. He was obviously trying to gain sympathy. All of sudden he quoted a
Yoruba proverb. “If you want to catch a
monkey, you should behave like one”. Then he went on to add, “That man, General Abacha, is a monster. All
he cares about is money and prostitutes. But if I have to give him a clock to
touch his heart so that you can see your father, so be it! What is a damn clock
in comparison to the bigger picture, your. .. “
might have buried his face in shame and withdrawn quietly. But not this man; He
maintained a straight face and said gently.
“1 will not be angry with you because if I were in your shoes, I would be angry
as well. In fact, I think I deserve it because I was wrong to have kept
something like this to myself despite my noble intentions”. He sat down and breathed heavily as if he was
worn out. He was obviously trying to gain sympathy. All of sudden he quoted a
Yoruba proverb. “If you want to catch a
monkey, you should behave like one”. Then he went on to add, “That man, General Abacha, is a monster. All
he cares about is money and prostitutes. But if I have to give him a clock to
touch his heart so that you can see your father, so be it! What is a damn clock
in comparison to the bigger picture, your. .. “
My anger reached
new heights. “1 see! Then you have been
deceiving us all along. It is Abacha, and no one else, whom you want us to see”
new heights. “1 see! Then you have been
deceiving us all along. It is Abacha, and no one else, whom you want us to see”
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| General Abacha’s 2nd in command, Genere Oladipupo Diya (His Hands were tight on MKO Abiola’s Case) |
At this point,
some of our domestic staff who were present got involved. They calmed me down
and politely told the old man that he was wrong. He apologized. He promised to
stick to the original plan and leave General Abacha out of it. By then I
had lost interest in the trip but decided to still go ahead. But before we
left, I had something important to do. I picked up the clock from the table, took
it to the kitchen and threw it into the trash
some of our domestic staff who were present got involved. They calmed me down
and politely told the old man that he was wrong. He apologized. He promised to
stick to the original plan and leave General Abacha out of it. By then I
had lost interest in the trip but decided to still go ahead. But before we
left, I had something important to do. I picked up the clock from the table, took
it to the kitchen and threw it into the trash
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| Dignatories @ the Launching of ‘The President who Never Ruled’ |
(Excerpts from
the book, The President Who Never Ruled by Jamiu Abiola; get copies
in any book shop across the world or write Jamiu Abiola through jamiulinguist@yahoo.com. Read The Abuja Search Gamble by Jamiu &
Lekan Abiola for MKO in our next post on this blog)
the book, The President Who Never Ruled by Jamiu Abiola; get copies
in any book shop across the world or write Jamiu Abiola through jamiulinguist@yahoo.com. Read The Abuja Search Gamble by Jamiu &
Lekan Abiola for MKO in our next post on this blog)
Star Quote
