Immediate past president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari again avoided physical contact with former Nigeria’s military president, Ibrahim Babangida, otherwise called IBB, during the public presentation of his memoir, ‘A Journey In Service.’.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The autobiography of the former military president took place at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and was attended by President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, ex-Military Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar, Yemi Osinbajo and Namadi Sambo among others.
Buhari was, however, absent but sent a message of goodwill. His absence, however, highlighted old grievances between the two top military generals from the North following the military coup that was led by IBB, then Major General, who overthrew him in 1985.
The coup that occurred on 27 August 1985 led to the detention of Buhari in Benin City until 1988, well after his mother’s death.
The two generals have not attended an event together or crossed paths since the coup, which many said is due to Buhari’s unwillingness to forget the past.
During all the presidential campaigns in Minna, Niger State, in the lead-up to the 2015 and 2019 elections, which Buhari won, he did not pay IBB the customary courtesy homage that Nigerian politicians are wont to do during such occasions.
As if to confirm the reported deep-seated malice between them, Buhari opened a can of worms in the December 2015 edition of The Interview magazine when he became president, saying, “… I found out that some officers were spending money. I asked, ‘Where did they get the money from?’ They said it was from the Military Intelligence fund…
“Later, I learnt that General Aliyu Gusau, who was in charge of intelligence, took an import licence from the Ministry of Commerce, which was in charge of supplies, and gave it to Alhaji Mai Deribe. It was worth N100,000, a lot of money then.
“When I discovered this, I confronted them and took the case (to) the army council… I said if I didn’t punish Aliyu Gusau, it would create a problem for us…
“So I said General Aliyu Gusau had to go. He was the chief of intelligence. That was why Babangida got some officers to remove me,” Buhari said during the tell-it-all interview.
IBB had earlier dismissed the notion that there was an ulterior motive other than high-handedness and bad leadership read by Brigadier Nimyel Dogonyaro in the dawn broadcast announcing Buhari’s ouster.
But Buhari did not just dismiss IBB’s allegation, he dared Babangida and Gusau to contradict him. He dared, “Let him (General Babangida) repeat his own story. Aliyu Gusau is still alive.”
That pointed to the pain, anger and disappointment that the former president had been harbouring, such that he was accused of vendetta when he ordered the prosecution of Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who seized and hauled him to prison in 1985.
Despite time being the greatest healer, that has not worked in the case of Buhari, such that several alleged attempts by top northern leaders to reconcile the pair have failed.
Buhari’s deep hurt is not only blamed on losing power and the trauma of his subsequent ordeal in custody but losing his mother while in detention.
IBB was said to have refused to allow him one last opportunity, even if on compassionate grounds, to see his mother’s remains before burial.
Also, another account blamed the collapse of Buhari’s first marriage to Safinatu on how she chose to conduct herself around his enemies while he was languishing in solitary detention in Benin.
Tellingly, it fits into the narrative that while all former heads of state, presidents and other top leaders in the country gathered to honour one of Nigeria’s enigmatic military heads of state and generals, Buhari was physically absent thus keeping up with his personal conviction.