Nigeria's Whitewashed Head of State: Abacha
When Abacha died in the early hours of Monday, June 8, 1998, many Nigerians did not know that their Head of State (HOS) had been partying all night till about 3:30 am
When Abacha died in the early hours of Monday, June 8, 1998, many Nigerians did not know that their Head of State (HOS) had been partying all night till about 3:30 am when his friend of 30 years Lt-General Useni left him alone to sleep. Abacha died before dawn from a heart attack. Nigerians’ limited knowledge of Abacha was not restricted to his constant partying; Nigerians just did not know Abacha.
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha was born on September 20, 1943, in the town of Kano, Northern Nigeria. Abacha attended the Gidan Makama Primary School, Kano, before proceeding to the Provincial Secondary School (Rumfa College), Kano. Abacha joined the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, in 1962 alongside Babangida, moving onwards to have a prolific military education in Aldershot and Warminster both in the UK, and a stint at Monterey, USA. Abacha was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as Second Lieutenant in 1964, going on to become the first Officer to achieve a 4-star-general Rank without skipping any rank and before becoming Head of State. He married Mariam Jidah, whom he met when he was in Rumfa College; they had ten children together.
In January 1966, a group of Nigerian soldiers within the rank of Major eliminated top politicians and military chiefs in a coup. Northerners felt disgruntled because most of those assassinated were from the region. While civilian Northerners tabled their discontent before political leaders, soldiers also did in the barracks. Civilian and Military leaders took diplomatic steps to call for justice, but young soldiers were not as patient as their civilian counterparts. The soldiers, including Abacha, went to meet Murtala Muhammed, who mutinied and eliminated the HOS — a Southerner, then killed over 30,000 people. When the Nigerian Civil War broke out, Abacha fought in Murtala’s 2nd division where he was promoted twice, before travelling out of Nigeria in 1972 for further training. The mutinous act of July 1966 went unpunished, otherwise, that may have been the end of Abacha.
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