Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has revealed how late military ruler General Sani Abacha drew him into the 1993 coup that toppled the Interim National Government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Abdulsalami made the disclosure in Chapter 17 of his 264-page autobiography, Call of Duty, where he recounted the events leading to the November 1993 military takeover.
According to the former military leader, he had been serving as Commandant of the National War College amid the political turmoil that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He disclosed that following the coup, Abacha offered him the position of Chief of Army Staff on two occasions, but he declined both offers, insisting that he did not want to become a tool in the hands of civilians seeking to manipulate the military.
Abdulsalami explained that Abacha, who served as Minister of Defence under the Interim National Government, remained the most senior military officer in active service after the exit of General Ibrahim Babangida and was left behind to stabilise the armed forces.
Recounting the first indication of the impending coup, Abdulsalami said then Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Suleiman Saidu, visited him at home on a Monday evening in November 1993 with an urgent message.
According to him, Saidu informed him that Abacha and General Aliyu Gusau had travelled to Abuja and warned that some Army officers were planning a coup, stressing that the Navy would not participate.
“I immediately told him to count me out, as I was not in the know,” Abdulsalami wrote, adding that it was the first time he had heard any rumour of a planned takeover.
He further revealed that on November 17, 1993, late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua called him to inquire about reports that military officers were plotting to remove Chief Ernest Shonekan.
“I replied, ‘Like what?’ He said, ‘You people are trying to remove Chief Ernest Shonekan.’ I said I had no idea, but that he should let me find out. That was the second time I was hearing the rumour,” he stated.
The former Head of State’s account offers fresh insight into the behind-the-scenes events that culminated in one of Nigeria’s most significant political transitions.
