Former First Lady Maryam Abacha rose yesterday in defence of her late husband, one-time head of state Gen Sani Abacha.
She refuted widespread allegations that the former military leader looted billions of dollars from Nigeria’s treasury during his tenure as military leader between November 1993 and 2008 when he died in office.
Gen. Abacha was part of three successive military administrations. On December 31, 1983, he announced the coup that sacked the second republic and the installation of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as head of state on January 1, 1984.
He was Chief of Army Staff in the succeeding administration of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, which took over on August 27, 1985 during whose tenure the presidential election won by Chief Moshood Abiola was cancelled.
Gen. Babangida left office hastily on August 27, 1993 following pressures on him locally and international over the annulment of Abiola’s victory.
Gen. Abacha, who was Chief of Defence Staff in the interim national government led by Chief Ernest Sonekan, put togather by Gen. Babangida, sacked the government 93 days after and declared himself head of state.
Mariam distanced Gen. Abacha from the controversial cancellation of the June 12, 1983 president poll results.
According to her, the funds attributed to him as stolen were deliberately mischaracterised and later disappeared under suspicious circumstances after his demise on June 8, 1998.
Abacha-linked loots running into millions of dollars had been recovered by the Federal Government from the United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (UK), France and Switzerland, among other countries.
As of 2023, more than $3.8 billion had been repatriated from foreign jurisdictions to the Federal Government as funds illegally siphoned from the public till.
Mrs. Abacha spoke yesterday during an interview on Television Continental (TVC) in commemoration of the 27th anniversary of Abacha’s death.
She claimed that the late military ruler never stole public funds but rather saved money for the country, alleging that the saved funds mysteriously vanished shortly after his demise in 1998.
“Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed away?” she asked.
“Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad? And the monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months, the monies vanished. People are not talking about that.”
In the years following his death, multiple tranches of what has become globally known as “Abacha loot” have been recovered by successive Nigerian administrations.
The notable recoveries include: $23 million from the UK in 2022; $20 million from the U.S. in the same year and $150 million from France in 2023.
These funds have been deployed for various government programmes, including social investments and road infrastructure.
But Maryam challenged the credibility of those claims and berated Nigerians for believing the official narrative. “And because Nigerians are fools, they listen to everything,” she said bluntly.
She argued that the consistent vilification of her late husband was rooted in prejudice and political scape-goating.
“Why are you blaming somebody? Is that tribalism or a religious problem or what is the problem with Nigerians?” she asked.
“I pray for Nigerians. I pray for all of us. I pray that we should have goodness in our hearts. We should stop telling lies and blaming people.”
She further called on the media to uphold its responsibility to educate and inform the public rather than propagate damaging narratives.
Mrs. Abacha said: “I think the press should try, the press, you, the press, should try to educate the people. You are here to help the country.
“You are not here to bastardise people. People are not that bad. Twenty-seven years ago and you are still talking about Abacha. He must be very powerful and loved by Nigerians. We thank God for that.”
She also addressed the long-debated annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, widely believed to have been won by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) standard bearer, the late Chief Abiola.
“All I know is that the annulment was not done by my husband,” she said.
“If it was him, that means he was very powerful, even more powerful than the president. If the president was there and somebody else is calling the shots, that means Abacha was the greatest.”
Responding to observations that Nigeria’s economy was relatively stable under her late husband and that there was higher foreign reserves and lower external debt, she questioned the logic behind the looting narrative.
“So, where did he steal the money from? So, where would he have stolen the money from?” she asked.
Mrs. Abacha also made a philosophical appeal for national unity and tolerance, saying: “Even the single man on the street is very important. We are all human beings, for goodness’ sake. All these wahala should stop. Babangida cannot make things or unmake things.
“Babangida doesn’t make Nigeria alone. Abacha did not make Nigeria alone. Abiola and everybody, nobody is big enough for Nigeria. We are all very important,” she added.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
