Follow Us on Google
By AYO ALONGE
[email protected]
one of the sons of the late business mogul and acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, Jamiu Abiola has insisted that a former head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar owes Nigerians explanation of the controversy surrounding his father’s death.
Jamiu Abiola’s insistence came against the background of the recent claim by a former Chief Army Staff Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi.
Bamaiyi in his book entitled Vindication of a General had urged the former head of state, to own up to having a hand in the death of the late MKO Abiola.
Some principal suspects in the late politician’s death have continued to trade blames over who should be held responsible for the controversial passage of the late business mogul who died while in incarceration on July 7, 1998.
Reacting to Bamaiyi’s claim, Jamiu who had in 2015 in a book, The President Who Never Ruled, accused Abdusalami of owing the Abiola family and indeed the whole Nigeria explanations on what led to his father’s death, lamented that his Abiola’s death has been politicised by principal suspects.
“What you people don’t understand is that this is about somebody’s life. If it was your father, would you like to be talking over and over about it.
“There is nothing Bamaiyi said in his book that I didn’t say in my own. What the man said in his book about Abdulsalami is what I said in my book. If you now want me to talk about it again, that’s going to be repetition because I have said everything about Abdulsalami in my book.
“We have spoken about that and everybody knows that Abiola was in jail and Abdulsalami did not allow anybody to see him and even see his doctors. He allowed him to die in jail. This was a man everybody voted for and it concerns everybody.
Accusing Bamaiyi of also having a hand in the death of his father, Jamiu overruled the self exoneration of the former Army chief saying, “the Bamaiyi you are talking about was in government with the rest that arrested him (Abiola) but they are now trading blames, using his death to settle their scores. What do you expect me to say when you know they are all the same set of people?” Jamiu said.
He challenged the APC led government to live up to its change mantra saying, “if the Federal Government truly believes in change, this is a litmus test for them and everyone is waiting to see. Bamaiyi was the Chief of Army Staff. They can go ahead and reopen the case and we will know if they are really serious about moving the country forward and if not, they can send a clear signal to Nigerians that they are not sincere about what they have been saying,” he said.
