November
17th has had its fair share of palace coups in history. It was
the day in 1954 that General Gamal Abdel Nasser assumed full powers as Egyptian
head of state following the overthrow of President Mohamed Naguib in a Palace
coup. On the same day, four years later in 1958, General
El-Ferik Ibrahim Abboud, then Sudanese Army Commander-in-Chief, staged the
first coup in the history of Sudan when he deposed the civilian government of
Abd Allah Khalil. On the same day, in 1971, Prime Minister
Thanom engineered a coup against his own government in Thailand. He
suspended the 1968 constitution, dissolved parliament, and created a new Troika
composed of himself, the deputy prime minister, Field Marshal Praphat
Charusathian; and Colonel Narong Kittikachorn. Narong was Thanom's son and
Praphat's son-in- law.
On
November 17, 1993, as judges from 11 nations were being sworn in at the
inaugural session of the United Nations Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal and
Zaire was celebrating its Armed Forces Day, Nigeria was once again the throes
of a political succession crisis. General Sani Abacha, Secretary for
Defence and Vice Chairman, ousted Chief Ernest Shonekan, then Chairman of the
82-day-old Interim National Government (ING), in order "to save
Nigeria from imminent disintegration.”
It
happened quickly and in broad daylight. All relevant
military units and conspirators in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna were quietly placed
on alert. Under protective cover provided by a detachment of the
National Guard led by Colonel Lawan Gwadabe, three very senior officers,
motivated by different instincts and with no consensus on what would happen
thereafter, flew to Abuja from Lagos. They calmly walked into
Shonekan’s office at the Presidential Villa and asked that he
resign. These officers were General Sani Abacha (Defence Secretary),
Lt. General Oladipo Diya (Chief of Defence Staff), and Lt. Gen. Aliyu Mohammed
Gusau (Chief of Army Staff). Shonekan, the former United African
Company (UAC) Executive, never had operational control of the Armed Forces
during his controversial tenure. He wisely chose not to resist.
Interestingly,
the Army Chief, Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, was said to be a personal friend of
Shonekan and reportedly played games with him from time to
time. With British backing, he is even alleged to have nominated
Shonekan for the position back on August 25 when outgoing General Babangida
decided to make Shonekan the Chairman of the ING as an exit strategy, rather
than General Obasanjo (rtd) or one or two other contenders. In the
macabre environment of schemes and counter-schemes preceding the November coup,
Gusau was not originally supposed to accompany the group to confront
Shonekan. As a bonafide coup merchant himself, some say he had
his own plans for power, but that unknown to him the “Lagos Group” that backed
Abacha’s take-over had identified him for retirement. He
allegedly heard of the original plan to confront Shonekan – without him – and
reportedly confronted Abacha about it. Abacha and Diya then invited
him along for the show, some say, by some sort of subterfuge. I have
not been able to confirm the authenticity of the rumor that he was falsely
promised that he would become the Head of State after Shonekan if he cooperated
in the scheme.
With
Shonekan’s “resignation letter” in hand, General Abacha invoked a version of
the legally moribund Decree No. 61 of 1993 as the basis for his assumption of
power as the “most senior” Minister. [Less than 24 hours later he
would abrogate this same decree No. 61 that he claimed brought him into
office]. Generals Abacha and Diya called a meeting of the Interim
National Government to apprise them of developments and promise that he would
work with them to find a solution to Nigeria’s problems. They also
met with the National Assembly and pledged collaboration. Once this
was done they returned to Lagos to meet with the “Lagos group” of military
officers for the usual post-coup horse trading in order to distribute
appointments and chart the way forward.
Within
twenty-four hours after Shonekan’s removal, Lt. Gen. Gusau was baited into open
disagreement with his colleagues over the issue of a Sovereign National
Conference. He found himself in an untenable position and submitted his letter
of retirement - as Abacha wanted him to do. Major General Mohammed
Chris Alli took his place as Army Chief, as had been intended all along by the
so-called Lagos group of military conspirators. Lt. Gen. Oladipo
Diya became Chief of General Staff; Maj. Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief of
Defence Staff; Rear Admiral Allison Madueke, Chief of Naval Staff; Air Vice
Marshall Femi John Femi remained Chief of Air Staff; and Alhaji Ibrahim
Coomasie became Inspector General of Police. The relationship
between Aliyu Gusau and Sani Abacha was not a good one until Abacha died in
June 1998. At various times Gusau was under security watch, had his passport
impounded and was prevented from traveling.
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| Gen Aliyu Gusau Rtd. |
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| Abacha & Useni |
Once
Gusau was on his way out, Abacha moved forward with his broadcast to the Nation
on November 18, 1993, in which he went for the jugular:
“Fellow
Nigerians,
Sequel to
the resignation of the former Head of the Interim National Government and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief Ernest Shonekan and my subsequent
appointment as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief, I have had extensive
consultations within the armed forces hierarchy and other well meaning
Nigerians in a bid to find solutions to the various political, economic and
social problems which have engulfed our beloved country, and which have made
life most difficult to the ordinary citizen of this nation.
Chief
Ernest Shonekan took over as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the
Nigerian Armed Forces at a most trying time in the history of the
country. Politically, economically, and socially, there were lots of
uncertainties. Things appeared bleak and the atmosphere was heavy
with uncertainties. However, driven by a belief in himself, his
countrymen, and love for his country, he accepted to face the challenges of our
time. I will, therefore, like to take this opportunity to pay
tribute to him for his selfless service to the nation. He showed
great courage at taking on the daunting task of heading the Interim National
Government and even greater courage to know when to leave.
Many have
expressed fears about the apparent return of the military. Many have
talked about the concern of the international community. However,
under the present circumstances the survival of our beloved country is far
above any other consideration. Nigeria is the only country we have.
We must, therefore, solve our problems ourselves. We must lay a very
solid foundation for the growth of democracy. We should avoid
any adhoc or temporary solutions. The problems must be addressed
firmly, objectively, decisively and with all sincerity of purpose.
Consequently,
the following decisions come into immediate effect:
(a) The
Interim National Government is hereby dissolved.
(b) The
National and State Assemblies are also dissolved.
(c) The
State Executive Councils are dissolved. The Brigade Commanders
are to take over from the Governors in their States until Administrators are
appointed. Where there are no Brigade Commanders, the Commissioners
of Police in the State are to take over.
(d) All
Local Governments stand dissolved. The Directors of Personnel are to
take over the administration of the Local Governments until Administrators are
appointed.
(e) All
former Secretaries to Federal Ministries are to hand over to their
Directors-General until Ministers are appointed.
(f) The
two political parties are hereby dissolved.
(g) All
processions, political meetings and associations of any type in any part of the
country are hereby banned.
(h) Any
consultative committee by whatever name called is hereby proscribed.
(i) Decree
61 of 1993 is hereby abrogated.
A
Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), is hereby established. It will
comprise:
(a) The
Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the federal Republic
of Nigeria as Chairman.
(b) The
Chief of General Staff as Vice-Chairman
(c) The
Honourable Minister of Defence
(d) The
Chief of Defence Staff
(e) The
Service Chiefs
(f) The
Inspector General of Police
(g) The
Attorney General and Minister of Justice
(h) The
Internal Affairs Minister
(i) The
Foreign Affairs Minister
Also, a
Federal Executive Council will be put in place.
Our
security system will be enhanced to ensure that lives of citizens, property of
individuals are protected and preserved. Drug trafficking and other
economic crimes such as 419 must be tackled and eliminated.
On the
current strike throughout the nation following the increase in the price of
fuel, I appeal to all the trade unions to return to work
immediately. We cannot afford further dislocation and destruction of
our economy.
On the
closed media houses, government is hereby lifting the order of proscription
with immediate effect. We, however, appeal to the media houses that
in this spirit of national reconciliation, we should show more restraint and
build a united and peaceful Nigeria.
Fellow
Nigerians, the events of the past months, starting from the annulment of the
June 12 presidential election, culminating in the appointment of the former
Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, who unfortunately resigned yesterday, are
well known to you. The economic downturn has undoubtedly been aggravated by the
ongoing political crisis.
We
require well thought-out and permanent solutions to these problems if we are to
emerge stronger for them. Consequently, a constitutional conference
with full constituent powers will be established soon to determine the future
constitutional structure of Nigeria. The constitutional conference
will also recommend the method of forming parties, which will lead to the
ultimate recognition of political parties formed by the people. While the
conference is on, the reorganisation and reform of the following major
institutions will be carried out:
(a) The
Military
(b) The
Police
(c) The
Customs
(d) The
Judiciary
(e) NITEL
(f) NNPC
(g) NEPA
(h) The
Banking Industry
(i) Higher
Educational Institutions
This
regime will be firm, humane, and decisive. We will not condone nor
tolerate any act of indiscipline. Any attempt to test our will be
decisively dealt with. For the International Community, we ask that
you suspend judgement while we grapple with the onerous task of nation
building, reconciliation and repairs.
This
government is a child of necessity with a strong determination to restore peace
and stability to our country and on these foundations, enthrone a lasting and
true democracy. Give us the chance to solve our problems in our own ways.
Long Live
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
By
Nowa Omoigui
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