Al Mustapha narrates how Abacha died 17 years ago

I wrote allegedly because I don’t know if he really said this, found it on Africa Telegram. Major Hamza Al Mustapha was the Chief Security Officer of Gen. Sani Abacha, former Nigeria military head of state from November 1993 to his death in June 1998.

“when i got to the bedside of the head of state, he was already gasping. ordinarily, i could not just touch him. it was not allowed in our job. but under the situation on ground, i knelt close to him and shouted, “general sani abacha, sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.” contrary to insinuations, speculations and sad rumours initiated by some sections of the society, i maintain that the sudden collapse of the health system of the late head of state started previous day (sunday, 7th june, 1998) right from the abuja international airport immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied president yasser arafat of palestine shook hands with him (general abacha) i had noticed the change in the countenance of the late commander-in-chief and informed the aide-de-camp, lt. col. abdallah, accordingly. he, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the head of state.

Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m; his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him. He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m; the Head of State was bouncing and receiving visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends.

They stayed and chatted together till about 3.35a.m. A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre.

At about 5a.m; the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality.

As an intelligence officer and the Chief Security Officer to the Head of State for that matter, I devised a means of diverting the attention of the security boys from my escape route by asking my wife to continue chatting with them at the door – she was in the house while the boys were outside. From there, I got to the Guest House of the Head of State before them.

When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation on ground, I knelt close to him and shouted, “General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.” I again knocked at the stool beside the bed and shouted in the same manner, yet he did not respond. I then realized there was a serious danger. I immediately called the Head of State’s personal physician, Dr. Wali, who arrived the place under eight minutes from his house.

He immediately gave Oga – General Abacha (photo below) – two doses of injection, one at the heart and another close to his neck. This did not work apparently as the Head of State had turned very cold. He then told me that the Head of State was dead and nothing could be done after all.

I there and then asked the personal physician to remain with the dead body while I dashed home to be fully prepared for the problems that might arise from the incident. As soon as I informed my wife, she collapsed and burst into tears. I secured my house and then ran back.

At that point, the Aide-de-Camp had been contacted by me and we decided that great caution must be taken in handling the grave situation.

Again, I must reiterate that the issue of my Boss dying on top of women was a great lie just as the insinuation that General Sani Abacha ate and died of poisoned apples was equally a wicked lie. My question is: did Chief M.K.O Abiola die of poisoned apples or did he die on top of women? As I had stated at the Oputa Panel, their deaths were organized. Pure and simple!

It was at this point that I used our special communication gadgets to diplomatically invite the Service Chiefs, Military Governors and some few elements purportedly to a meeting with the Head of State by 9a.m. at the Council Chamber. That completed, I also decided to talk to some former leaders of the nation to inform them that General Sani Abacha would like to meet them by 9a.m.

Situation became charged however, when one of the Service Chiefs, Lieutenant General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi, who pretended to be with us, suggested he be made the new Head of State after we had quietly informed him of the death of General Sani Abacha. He even suggested we should allow him access to Chief Abiola. We smelt a rat and other heads of security agencies, on hearing this, advised I move Chief Abiola to a safer destination. I managed to do this in spite of the fact that I had been terribly overwhelmed with the crisis at hand.

But then, when some junior officers over-heard the suggestion of one of the Service Chiefs earlier mentioned, it was suggested to me that we should finish all the members of the Provisional Ruling Council and give the general public an excuse that there was a meeting of the PRC during which a shoot-out occurred between some members of the Provisional Ruling Council and the Body Guards to the Head of State When I sensed that we would be contending with far more delicate issues than the one on ground, I talked to Generals Buba Marwa and Ibrahim Sabo who both promptly advised us – the junior officers – against any bloodshed.

They advised we contact General Ibrahim Babangida (former Military President) who equally advised against any bloodshed but that we should support the most senior officer in the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) to be the new Head of State.

Since the words of our elders are words of wisdom, we agreed to support General Jeremiah Useni. Along the line, General Bamaiyi lampooned me saying, “Can’t you put two and two together to be four? Has it not occurred to you that General Useni who was the last man with the Head of State might have poisoned him, knowing full well that he was the most senior officer in the PRC?”

Naturally, I became furious with General Useni since General Abacha’s family had earlier on complained severally about the closeness of the two Generals; at that, a decision was taken to storm General Useni’s house with almost a battalion of soldiers to effect his arrest. Again, some heads of security units and agencies, including my wife, advised against the move.

The next most senior person and officer in government was General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was then the Chief of Defence Staff. We rejected the other Service Chief, who, we believed, was too ambitious and destructive. We settled for General Abubakar and about six of us called him inside a room in the Head of State’s residence to break the news of the death of General Abacha to him.

As a General with vast experience, Abdulsalami Abubakar, humbly requested to see and pray for the soul of General Abacha which we allowed. Do we consider this a mistake? Because right there, he – Abubakar – went and sat on the seat of the late Head of State. Again, I was very furious. Like I said at the Oputa Panel, if caution was not applied, I would have gunned him down.

The revolution the boys were yearning for would have started right there. The assumption that we could not have succeeded in the revolution was a blatant lie. We were in full control of the State House and the Brigade of Guards. We had loyal troops in Keffi and in some other areas surrounding the seat of government – Abuja. But I allowed peace to reign because we believed it would create further crises in the country.

We followed the advice of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and the wise counsel of some loyal senior officers and jointly agreed that General Abdulsalami Abubakar be installed Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces immediately after the burial of General Sani Abacha in Kano. It is an irony of history that the same Service Chief who wanted to be Head of State through bloodshed, later instigated the new members of the Provisional Ruling Council against us and branded us killers, termites and all sorts of hopeless names. They planned, arranged our arrest, intimidation and subsequent jungle trial in 1998 and 1999.

These, of course, led to our terrible condition in several prisons and places of confinement.

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See how small children jump into gutter to collect sweets thrown by PDP Campaigners

WHAT YOUR VIEW ON THIS???

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Newly married Bauchi state Gov’s son Umar admires his pretty wife Safiya

Handsome Umar Yuguda, one of the sons of Bauchi state governor, Isa Yuguda, married the love of his life, beautiful Safiya in Dec 2014. Son of Bauchi state governor, pictured looking smitten as he admires his new wife, Safiya.

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Delta State Politician Stripped By Prostitutes For Not Paying

 

A top politician in Delta State has reportedly been beaten up by a group of prostitutes after he refused to pay for services rendered.

The commercial sex workers, who operate in Asaba, were said to have attacked the politician along the popular Nnebisi Road.

The prostitutes then descended on their victim shouting, “pay us our money for the service we do for you.” Leadership reports.

The politician was reportedly stripped and his clothes torn to shreds before he could be rescued by his friends.

He was said to have agreed to pay the prostitutes the sum of N30,000 but then failed to honour the agreement after the deed was done.

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Boko Haram Leader, Shekau, Brands Nigerian Soldiers Cowards, Says Baga Weapons Enough To Win War

The controversial leader of the the radical Islamist sect, the militant Islamic group, Jamaatu Ahlissunnah Liddaawati Wal-Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram terror group Abubakar Shekau on Tuesday declared the duo of President Goodluck Jonathan and his 2015 arch-rival, Muhammadu Buhari as infidels who cannot rule Nigeria.

He declared that the war he is waging would soon bring democracy to an end.

Mr. Shekau who spoke in a 36 minutes video released via youtube also warned that more killings and attacks would be recorded in the days to come as he boasted that the quantum of ammunition his group has so far seized from the Nigerian army especially in Baga would be enough to prosecute a war against Nigeria.

The man whom Nigeria military authority had declared dead on three occasions in the last two years said his group would soon bring Nigeria to its knees and warned the governments of the neighbouring countries, comprising of Chad, Cameroon and Niger of similar attacks.

Mr. Shekau who appeared in the video standing in front of three patrol jeeps mounted with anti-air assault guns was dressed in his usual military khaki with an AK47 hanging from his shoulder across his chest. He delivered his long speech, first in Arabic which lasted for 17 minutes and then in Hausa for about seven minutes.

He ended his speech by burning a Nigerian flag, and replacing it with his group’s flag that had a black background and white inscription.

The full translation of his speech reads: “We thank God for making us enter Baga and Doro-Baga in victory. We have today declared Baga as part of our territory and one of our operational base”.

“Jonathan you are in trouble. All governors of Nigeria are in trouble. All these war equipment that you see being displayed in the screen are gotten from Baga and Doro. Your army kept deceiving the world that you can’t fight us because you have no arms. Liars! You have all that it takes; you are just coward soldiers. You forgot that it is God that arms. Is it not amazing that we, who started with sticks and machetes, are today the biggest headache to the almighty Nigerian soldiers? What a shame!!

“Jonathan is it not shameful that now even your supporters are insulting and causing you? This should be a sermon to the world that you should not trust in humans. Any one that trusts a man will end up regretting. This is just the beginning of the killings; what you’ve just witnessed is a tip of the iceberg; more deaths are coming. This will mark the end of politics and democracy in Nigeria. This is to confirm to you that we carried out the Baga massacre, and we are going to do more.

“Nigerians are busy with politics, hailing Buhari! Buhari, Jonathan! Jonathan! Do you think the two of them are spared? Do you think even Buhari is a good Muslim? Buhari is not a Muslim as far as we are concerned – He is nothing but an infidel and our enemy.

“Muhammed Yusuf, the president of Niger, so you too have the temerity of coming out to pay sympathy visit to the Francois Holland the President of France. Is this your true character? Muhammed Yusuf, you have amazed us. You shall soon see our wrath, very soon.

“And you, Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon. Now you are asking for foreign assistance; please don’t waste your time because God is more than all the help you will get.

“And even you Idris Debby, you are not spared. You guys have acted too late, very late.

“Before I end my speech; I want to react to a radio broadcast from France where the French said they are enemies of Islam and the prophet of Islam. I am going to read the France statement (he tried reading a French statement) In that broadcast the French government and people after insulting the holy prophet of Islam said a war against terrorisms is the same as fighting muslims.

“After this I will be setting ablaze the Nigerian flag just like we always do in all the places that we have conquered. It is a useless flag and its relevance would soon be a thing of the past. We are now showing the world all the arms and ammunition that we got from the Nigeria army barracks in Baga, Doron-Baga, Mile-4 and this barrack. What we have in our armoury now, plus all that we had before is enough to execute a victorious war against the whole Nigeria.

Shekau was later shown in the video setting a Nigerian flag on fire, and hoisting a Boko Haram flag. He then lifted a black flag with Arabic inscription as he recited an altered version of the first few lines of the Nigeria National Anthem, speaking in English:

“I pledge to Allah, my God. To be Faithful Loyal and Honest. To serve Allah with all my strength. To defend his Islam… Allahu Akbar!! Nigeria is dead; her constitution is dead!! Islam and Islam; war by war upon the Kafir who is the unbeliever”.

The concluding parts of the video showed a footage of some Boko Haram members setting flags of Nigeria on fire as one of them was heard saying; “and say the truth has come and falsehood has disappeared; verily falsehoods are bound to disappear”.

One of the Boko Haram members who was dressed in a kaftan with a belt on his waste and a turban around his head conducted the camera around a large a cache of arms and ammunitions, as he gave details on each weapon and how they were obtained.

“All these arms and ammunition you see in their thousands are gotten from Baga. We thank God for making this possible because he says we should always thank him for every good thing he does and he shall give us more. Words cannot express our gratitude to him. It is his mercy for us that is why we got them so easily. God says he would test us with all that he gives us; so we know God will be waiting to see what we would do with these things. Insha Allahu we are going to do his work with these arms at our disposal. We are going to sacrifice our lives in doing God’s work.

“As you can see we have thousands of AK 47 rifles, we have so much that we are still conveying them to our camp here. We have AA, we have different kind of them that can be mounted on vehicles. We have Shell Car; we have RPGs; We have mag and so on. We cannot just mention them. We have dozens of vehicles and thanks to God that has given us”.

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Revealed: How General Sanni Abacha Really Died

Hamza al-Mustapha, a former army major and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of General Sani Abacha has finally come out 17 years after Sanni Abacha’s death to falsify widespread claims that Abacha died on top of women.

He said, “When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation on ground, I knelt close to him and shouted, “General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.”

Contrary to insinuations, speculations and sad rumours initiated by some sections of the society, I maintain that the sudden collapse of the health system of the late Head of State started previous day (Sunday, 7th June, 1998) right from the Abuja International Airport immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him (General Abacha) I had noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief and informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, accordingly. He, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the Head of State.

Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m; his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him. He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m; the Head of State was bouncing and receiving visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends.

They stayed and chatted together till about 3.35a.m. A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre.

At about 5a.m; the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality.

As an intelligence officer and the Chief Security Officer to the Head of State for that matter, I devised a means of diverting the attention of the security boys from my escape route by asking my wife to continue chatting with them at the door – she was in the house while the boys were outside. From there, I got to the Guest House of the Head of State before them.

When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation on ground, I knelt close to him and shouted, “General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.” I again knocked at the stool beside the bed and shouted in the same manner, yet he did not respond. I then realized there was a serious danger. I immediately called the Head of State’s personal physician, Dr. Wali, who arrived the place under eight minutes from his house.

He immediately gave Oga – General Abacha – two doses of injection, one at the heart and another close to his neck. This did not work apparently as the Head of State had turned very cold. He then told me that the Head of State was dead and nothing could be done after all.

I there and then asked the personal physician to remain with the dead body while I dashed home to be fully prepared for the problems that might arise from the incident. As soon as I informed my wife, she collapsed and burst into tears.

I secured my house and then ran back. At that point, the Aide-de-Camp had been contacted by me and we decided that great caution must be taken in handling the grave situation.

Again, I must reiterate that the issue of my Boss dying on top of women was a great lie just as the insinuation that General Sani Abacha ate and died of poisoned apples was equally a wicked lie. My question is: did Chief M.K.O Abiola die of poisoned apples or did he die on top of women? As I had stated at the Oputa Panel, their deaths were organized. Pure and simple!

It was at this point that I used our special communication gadgets to diplomatically invite the Service Chiefs, Military Governors and some few elements purportedly to a meeting with the Head of State by 9a.m. at the Council Chamber. That completed, I also decided to talk to some former leaders of the nation to inform them that General Sani Abacha would like to meet them by 9a.m.

Situation became charged however, when one of the Service Chiefs, Lieutenant General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi, who pretended to be with us, suggested he be made the new Head of State after we had quietly informed him of the death of General Sani Abacha. He even suggested we should allow him access to Chief Abiola. We smelt a rat and other heads of security agencies, on hearing this, advised I move Chief Abiola to a safer destination. I managed to do this in spite of the fact that I had been terribly overwhelmed with the crisis at hand.

But then, when some junior officers over-heard the suggestion of one of the Service Chiefs earlier mentioned, it was suggested to me that we should finish all the members of the Provisional Ruling Council and give the general public an excuse that there was a meeting of the PRC during which a shoot-out occurred between some members of the Provisional Ruling Council and the Body Guards to the Head of State.

When I sensed that we would be contending with far more delicate issues than the one on ground, I talked to Generals Buba Marwa and Ibrahim Sabo who both promptly advised us – the junior officers – against any bloodshed. They advised we contact General Ibrahim Babangida (former Military President) who equally advised against any bloodshed but that we should support the most senior officer in the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) to be the new Head of
State.

Since the words of our elders are words of wisdom, we agreed to support General Jeremiah Useni. Along the line, General Bamaiyi lampooned me saying, “Can’t you put two and two together to be four? Has it not occurred to you that General Useni who was the last man with the Head of State might have poisoned him, knowing full well that he was the most senior officer in the PRC?”

Naturally, I became furious with General Useni since General Abacha’s family had earlier once complained severally about the closeness of the two Generals; at that, a decision was taken to storm General Useni’s house with almost a battalion of soldiers to effect his arrest. Again, some heads of security units and agencies, including my wife, advised against the move.

The next most senior person and officer in government was General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was then the Chief of Defence Staff. We rejected the other Service Chief, who, we believed, was too ambitious and destructive. We settled for General Abubakar and about six of us called him inside a room in the Head of State’s residence to break the news of the death of General Abacha to him.

As a General with vast experience, Abdulsalami Abubakar, humbly requested to see and pray for the soul of General Abacha which we allowed. Do we consider this a mistake? Because right there, he – Abubakar – went and sat on the seat of the late Head of State. Again, I was very furious. Like I said at the Oputa Panel, if caution was not applied, I would have gunned him down.

The revolution the boys were yearning for would have started right there. The assumption that we could not have succeeded in the revolution was a blatant lie. We were in full control of the State House and the Brigade of Guards. We had loyal troops in Keffi and in some other areas surrounding the seat of government – Abuja. But I allowed peace to reign because we believed it would create further crises in the country.

We followed the advice of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and the wise counsel of some loyal senior officers and jointly agreed that General Abdulsalami Abubakar be installed Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces immediately after the burial of General Sani Abacha in Kano. It is an irony of history that the same Service Chief who wanted to be Head of State through bloodshed, later instigated the new members of the Provisional Ruling Council against us and branded us killers, termites and all sorts of hopeless names. They planned, arranged our arrest, intimidation and subsequent jungle trial in 1998 and 1999. These, of course, led to our terrible condition in several prisons and places of confinement.

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Pres. GEJ visits mother of former president Yar’Adua

As his name suggests, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has a habit of being in the right place at the right time.

President Jonathan pictured above visiting the mother of late President Umaru Yar’Adua in Katsina earlier today.

 

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Daddy Showkey meets President Jonathan at Aso Villa

Daddy Showkey was at the Aso Villa today to meet with President Jonathan. He’s supporting the president’s campaign.

Daddy Showkey, Dan Iwuanyanwu & High Chief Raymond Dokpesi at the Villa today.

President Jonathan, the First Lady, Senator Amange & John Kennedy at the Villa Chapel today.

President Jonathan interacting with children today, at the Villa Chapel Sunday School.

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Top Nigerian Entertainers Campaign for Lagos APC Gubernatorial Aspirant!

The celebs turned out in their numbers today to show support for the Lagos APC governorship candidate Akinwumi Akimbode... They featured in an Advertorial campaign for him. Among them were Uti, Ice Prince, Funke Akindele, M. I., Banky W, Desmond Elliot Olamide...

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Obasanjo To Goodluck Jonathan: It Is Too Late To Support You

Ex-president dismisses PTF probe report

The desperate battle to secure former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid may have collapsed, The Nationlearnt yesterday.

Dr. Jonathan and Chief Obasanjo met for about one hour on Monday night at the former president’s Abeokuta home. The President requested for Obasanjo’s support.

“It’s too late; I’m sorry,” Obasanjo reportedly told Jonathan.

A source close to the meeting told our reporter on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media.

At the meeting were two Christian leaders – Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Winners’ Chapel – who attended at Obasanjo’s request.

None of those at the meeting spoke about it, but it was learnt that it was brief because Obasanjo insisted that for him, it was too late to back Jonathan.

The former president has been a virulent critic of the Jonathan administration, which he accused of embracing corruption and burgling the anti-insurgency battle.

Jonathan replied, slamming some “elder statesman who talk like motor park touts”. He, however, did not mention Obasanjo.

Also yesterday, Obasanjo advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, to recruit “men and women of character” – if the party wins the February 14 election.

Obasanjo said such abound in all political parties and also in every part of the country, adding that they make things better for a government, the country and the citizenry.

According to the former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), the advice applies to other political parties.

Obasanjo spoke also on the report of the probe panel on the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), for the period Gen. Buhari was the chairman, saying the “report was not of any material importance”, as he was convinced that Gen. Buhari made no personal gains while his tenure lasted.

The former president said he deemed it necessary to bring up the PTF report publicly now, believing that Nigerians, particularly politicians seeking elective offices, would “face issues rather than trivialities”. “Issues based campaigns are very important,” he said.

Obasanjo, who noted that he is still a card-carrying member of the PDP and had chosen to remain firm in the party at the ward level, said regardless of the political parties participating in the general elections, Nigeria comes “first” and should remain “paramount” to him.

The soldier-turned farmer was addressing a group of APC chieftains who visited his Abeokuta home. Among them were Gen. Buhari, his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Barnabas Gemade, Chief  Audu Ogbe, Chief Bisi Akande and Senator Bukola Saraki among others.

The APC national leaders and stalwarts, including wives of the party’s presidential candidate and his running mate arrived at Obasanjo’s mansion at 11:25 am. Gen. Buhari intimated the ex -President of the APC’s road map for the country and sought for his “support, trust and understanding” that the party’s in-coming government at the centre would give the nation a “better” and “quality” leadership.

Gen. Buhari said: “Your Excellency, under whom I served the most lucrative appointment of the minister of Petroleum Affairs for three and a quarter years before he sent me on course.

When I set about the programme of going round the states, somebody had the temerity to ask me that when I come (to Ogun State), shall I call on Chief Olusegun Obasanjo?

“I don’t think I answered the man, I just looked the other way. I think that I should not come here (Abeokuta) in whatever capacity without calling to pay my respect.

“Sir, it’s a fact that you know more than all we know about the problem that we are in. But what  we will do is try to convince you to believe us that we are going to do better.

“We expect your understanding and support, although you insist on remaining in the PDP. I have reached a certain degree of frustration in my attempt for you to try to shift a bit but you have refused.

“Briefly, we have been going around three fundamental issues: security, economy, corruption. This vicious circle is what the APC is determined to break. Because without security, there is no way the country can settle down not to talk of living in it.

“So many people, educated and uneducated, some said up to 60 per cent, will say Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder. And then corruption; we believe that if we are able to stop corruption, a lot of resources will be available to invest in infrastructure, get the factories to reopen, get jobs, and get goods and services.

“So security, economy, in terms of employment, production, manufacturing, goods and services, and then agriculture will again give impetus to employment. We have to be systematic and work to make sure that the vast land we have is cultivated not only to produce food, but to produce raw materials for agro-allied industries, which used to be very viable but which we allowed to die because everybody has concentrated on getting oil money.

“Now the oil money is dwindling rapidly; I think we better come back to our senses. Sir, briefly, this is what we intend to do and this is contained in our manifesto. We are not going to be inflexible the way some people accused us of doing it.

“We are going to be dynamic as we go along and that’s why I said we are here to seek for your understanding, for your support, in spite of the political card you hold.”

Replying, Obasanjo said he put off all engagements outside the state capital yesterday in anticipation that Gen. Buhari and his party would visit him, urging politicians to engage in  campaigns of “issues” and how to solve the nation’s “crying problems” rather than inanities.

Obasanjo, was apparently referring to the campaign of falsehood and misinformation against Gen. Buhari regarding his tenure at the PTF as chairman, noted that he did not find anything against him from the inquiry initiated into the establishment’s books.

According to the former President, he called off further inquisition into the PTF matter when Gen. Buhari assured him that there was no personal benefit accrued to him while his tenure at the PTF lasted.

Obasanjo said: “Our paths have crossed on a number of occasions and when I was told you are going to be coming to Ogun State, I wasn’t sure whether you will come here or not. But I told my boys; I said well, whatever programme we have outside Ogun State for today, let us shelve it just in case Muhammadu and his party and his team decide to call here.

“You have kindly underlined what I want everybody to remember; that I am a card-carrying member of another political party. But I have always also said that party or no party, what is paramount for me is Nigeria. And that will remain paramount as far as I am concerned.

“There is no political party in the world that is made up of saints and our own political parties in Nigeria will be no exception. All the political parties have saints and devils among them.

“But because what you are campaigning for is the votes of saints and devils to be able to win an election, I wish you well. Muhammadu, maybe I’ll remind you of one or two things.

“When you were commissioner for Petroleum, you went out for a meeting of OPEC and because of my carelessness, you give me anything. I am very careless about what people give me as presents. One of his colleagues gave me a hand-made shoes and I wore it once and I gave it to my ADC.

“So, the man then came up after about one month, he said ‘look, where is the pair of shoes I gave you?. Normally, I shouldn’t ask of it but I haven’t seen you wearing it; you are wearing these wretched shoes instead.

“I said I’ve given it to my ADC. He said the shoes cost £250. So, he called my ADC and said, ‘ADC, oga gave you a pair of shoes? He said ‘yes’. ‘Go and bring it’. When he brought it, he said when next I travel I will get you a captain’s pair of shoes.

“Muhammadu heard that story. So, he went and they gave them present; I think it was a gold coin and he came to me and said, assure me that you will not give this thing away. So I had to assure him that I will not give it away. After I had assured him, he said alright you can have it. It’s meant for you really since I was representing you.

“I must confess today that I didn’t give it away but in recent time, I cannot locate it. Another thing that I want to sayý, when you were going to become manager of PTF. We talked about it and when you finished and I took over, we looked into it.

“I haven’t said this publicly, I would say it publicly now. When we looked into it, there was really nothing amiss, except that organisation went from road building to mosquito net buying and all sort of things.

“And what the investigation discovered is a bit of inconsistency in prices and all that. In one area, mosquito net might have been given for N50; in another, N45. And then remarked that this is fishy. We should look into it.

“And I called my brother and colleague; I said this and he said, ‘look, we are managing billions of naira and I tried to make sure I see everything. But I will not say that what they have said about this is correct or not correct. But I can assure you I tried to see everything.

“I said, ‘okay. Muhammadu, between me, you and God, was there any personal benefit for you? And you said ‘no’. I said that is the end of the matter. Although there was that investigation, its report was not of any material importance.ý

“I thought that I should say it today that I have this opportunity because I hope people will face issues rather than trivialities. On occasion like this, issues are very important. And you have mentioned three areas which are demanding issues in Nigeria today.

“I will just beg all of you who are contesting to add one to it; you mentioned economy, you mentioned corruption, and you mentioned security. All of you I will beg of you to add infrastructure. It’s very important. You may take it as part of economy but I will take infrastructure as special and give it special attention.

“For all political parties that are trying to woo us to vote for them in the coming election; let’s go away from red-herring, let’s go away from trivialities; let’s face issues and tell the people of this country what we will do to deal with these crying problems of our country.

“Having said that, I will also say that while a party must be microcosm of a nation – and in a nation you will have the good and the bad and a good party must have all these in them. But what matters is that when that party has to go into government, it must look for men and women of character. And we have them in all parties, we have them throughout the nooks and crannies of this country.

“I cannot end without reminding you, even though I saw some old faces(past PDP members), but some of us will remain firm, at least at the ward level where I am very active in my party.”

A massive and enthusiastic crowd  welcomed the APC Presidential candidate and his running mate to Abeokuta.

Buhari had on his campaign train the National leaders of the party, including Chairman Chief John Odigie – Oyegun, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Senator Barnabas Gemade, Senator Oloruninmbe Mamora, Senator Bukola Saraki, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu among others entered the town at 12 noon.

Apart from ex-President Obasanjo, the delegation visited the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, before proceeding to the MKO Abiola stadium venue of the rally.

Gen. Buhari pledged to explore the nation’s non-oil sectors so as to create jobs and wealth for Nigerians, if voted into office.

The former military Head of state said over reliance on the oil sector and the failure to manage the revenue from it, particularly during period of booms, the nation’s leaders threw Nigeria into the current economic woes.

He said:”our leaders have over relied on oil money to the detriment of other sectors. Now that the price of oil has crashed, we are now facing serious economic challenges.

“Our extreme concern is the vicious cycle of insecurity, corruption and unemployment that is confronting Nigeria now.”

He also promised to explore more opportunities in the agriculture and the mining sectors.

Buhari said the education standard had fallen and gave assurance that the APC government would tackle it by creating  an enabling environment for teaching and  learning to thrive.

He said: “we will engage in commercial agriculture and mining as well as resuscitate the abandoned agro-allied industries so as to generate employments and create wealth for Nigerians.”

Chief Odigie – Oyegun hailed the people of Ogun for their support for the APC-led government.

He also handed the party’s flag to Amosun and presented him to the people for reelection.

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