Prominent leaders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Col Tony Nyiam (retd.) and Chief Ayo Opadokun, have rejected claims by former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), that leaders of the pro-democracy group requested an extension of military rule in 1998.
The duo also challenged Abdulsalami’s assertion that the late winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, was not poisoned, insisting that his account of the events surrounding Abiola’s death was unconvincing.
Abdulsalami, in his recently launched autobiography, “Call of Duty,” claimed that some NADECO leaders privately appealed to him to prolong the military transition after becoming convinced of his commitment to handing over power in 1999.
According to the former military ruler, the request came about two to three months into his administration.
Abdulsalami said he rejected the request, asking the group to acknowledge it if they were serious publicly.
The former Head of State also dismissed the long-standing position that Abiola was poisoned before his death on July 7, 1998, insisting that an autopsy conducted by pathologists from Nigeria, the United States, Britain and Canada concluded that he died of natural causes linked to pre-existing hypertension and heart disease.
Reacting in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Nyiam and Opadokun described Abdulsalami’s account as inaccurate.
Nyiam, a key member of NADECO abroad, said he was unaware of any recognised leader of the coalition who demanded an extension of military rule, stressing that the group’s struggle was aimed at ending military dictatorship, not prolonging it.
Nyiam said, “I am not sure which NADECO Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar is referring to. To the best of my knowledge, the leader of NADECO was Chief Anthony Enahoro, and while he was briefing all of us, he insisted that Gen Abdulsalami should carry out due process by giving Nigeria a people’s constitution to create an enabling environment for genuine democracy,” he said.
According to him, Enahoro’s position was that the transition should produce a Constitution agreed upon by Nigerians through a national conference rather than the 1999 Constitution, which he said was imposed by the military.
Nyiam recalled that Abdulsalami sent a close associate, Olowu, to meet NADECO leaders in exile, including the current President, Bola Tinubu, who was then based in London.
He said Tinubu invited key NADECO figures from across Europe to the meeting, where the coalition unanimously insisted on a credible democratic transition rather than an extension of military rule.
“When Gen Abdulsalami sent an emissary, Olowu, to meet with us, Tinubu invited all the key NADECO people. I travelled from Edinburgh to London for that meeting.
“The man sought our opinion, and what all of us insisted on was that the handover should be properly done to create a system that would bring in democracy.
“There was nobody, to my knowledge, whether Gen. Alani Akinrinade, Chief Anthony Enahoro or any other person from NADECO abroad, who ever asked him to extend military rule. Who would have done that when what we were all fighting for was to end military rule?” Nyiam asked.
He suggested that Abdulsalami was either misinformed or “being economical with the truth.”
He said, “I think the General was either misinformed or deliberately being economical with the truth. There was nothing like that.
“The issue was very clear. We wanted a process that would first produce a people’s constitution through a national conference. That could have been achieved within a few months.
“No one I know from the NADECO chapters in the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada, all led by Chief Anthony Enahoro, made such a request. I was shocked when I heard him say so,” he added.
Nyiam identified Enahoro, Akinrinade and Tinubu as the principal figures of NADECO abroad, noting that Tinubu largely financed the coalition’s activities during the struggle.
He also mentioned former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, who led the National Liberation Council of Nigeria, as key figures who could corroborate his account.
“There was nobody who made such a request to Abdulsalami. I don’t know where that came from,” he said.
Nyiam also faulted Abdulsalami’s account of Abiola’s death.
“I am surprised by his claim that nobody did anything bad to Chief MKO Abiola. From all the evidence we have heard, I doubt his position, with all respect to my senior.
“Chief MKO Abiola was done away with by those who did not want him to govern,” he said.
He challenged the former Head of State to identify those who allegedly betrayed Abiola during the struggle.
“He should name those who betrayed Chief MKO Abiola. Those I know who remained committed to the struggle were Chief Anthony Enahoro, Gen Alani Akinrinade, Bola Tinubu, who spent a lot of his money, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and Prof Wole Soyinka, even though he led NALICON and not NADECO directly. They can all confirm what we are saying.
“It is not true that any worthwhile leader of NADECO requested the General to extend his stay. It is also not true, in my opinion, that his account of Chief MKO Abiola’s death tells the full story,” Nyiam stated.
Also speaking, former NADECO General Secretary, Chief Ayo Opadokun, said Abdulsalami appeared to have misconstrued discussions held between his emissaries and NADECO leaders in exile.
“He was not talking about us in Nigeria. He was referring to NADECO abroad because he sent emissaries to meet them.
“What NADECO abroad asked was that Abdulsalami should prepare a programme for stability by ensuring that a people’s constitution was produced before elections were conducted,” Opadokun said.
According to him, the coalition advocated forming a government of national unity headed by Abiola rather than extending military rule.
“They wanted a situation where a valid and acceptable constitution was in place before elections.
“We asked him to form a government of national unity to be headed by Chief MKO Abiola. I documented this in the NADECO story,” he said.
Opadokun added that reports reaching him from former NADECO leaders abroad indicated that Abdulsalami had misunderstood the purpose of the discussions held with his representatives.
“I have received reports from some of our people abroad that he seems to be misconstruing their discussions with the emissary he sent to them as requesting an extension of military rule, which is not true,” he said.
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