For Kudirat Abiola, a commemorative elegy! KAYODE KETEFE Thirteen years is a long time in human reckoning if the soul thirsts for that sublime quality we call justice. The trite aphorism that justice delayed is justice denied is an apt reflection of the pride of place accorded to the concept by humanity. Thus, one of the major indices of whether or not a nation is civilised and advanced is to measure the effectiveness of her justice disposal system. Some fifteen years ago, a tragedy of horrendous proportion was unleashed on the country with gruesome murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, the charismatic wife of the late business mogul and politician. Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Thirteen years ago, the quest for justice began in earnest with the arraignment of Al-Mustapha, Shofolan and other co-accused charged for their alleged complicity in the killing. There was press hype spawning great public interest and expectations. People expected Judiciary to unravel the case and avenge the cold blooded murder of the illustrious citizen with dispatch. The interest was sustained by blood-chilling revelations as the court started taking evidence of weird characters like Barnabas Jabila, aka, Sergeant Rogers and Mohammed Abdul, aka Katako. But then, the worst phase of Nigerian justice system manifested itself via the illimitable technical hitches of slow procedure, moribund forensic strategies and anachronistic courtroom facilities- which collectively culminated in prolonged delay of the case and frustration. The hyper-expectation soon diffused into anti-climax, the hope turned into hope forlorn. As the years began to roll upon years, and the trial of the accused persons kept moving back and forth like yoyo, some people were already despairing whether the justice would ever come. This disenchantment with the judicial process was poignantly captured by the first daughter of Kudirat, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, in a way that faithfully reflected the general mood of many Nigerians, when she said "The story had many twists and turns such that my six siblings and I often wondered if those that executed the assassination of our dear mother might not simply get away with it.". But at last, the slow-grinding mill of justice eventually completed its circuitous round last Monday when a Lagos High Court judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, sentenced Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and a co-accomplice, Lateef Shofolahan, to death by hanging for their role in the brutal assassination of the late martyr of social justice. The trial turned out to be one of the longest criminal cases ever decided in the country, spanning a whopping 13 years and shuttled among five judges of the Lagos State Judiciary before it was finally disposed. But, nothing reflects palpably the saddening aspect of our administration of justice than the fact that after 13 years of the trial, the matter is still at the court of first instance. Even after this judgment, the denouement of this entire saga is far from being here as the case is still amenable to further exploration at both the appellate and the Supreme Court. As this judgment re-awakens in us the plaintive tunes of bereavement, we do take solace in the fact that Kudirat's short sojourn on earth was purposeful and service-oriented. She touched many lives within that short time through many charitable projects she floated when alive. A woman of infectious, peerless courage and irrepressible spirit, she showed the stuff she was made of when she refused to cow before the military might of Abacha. Born in 1951, Kudirat met untimely death in 1996 at the youthful age of 45. Her murder on June 4, 1996 became national calamity at one of the darkest eras of Nigerian political history; a time when the somber cloud of horrors hovered on the national landscape; when angels of death prowled the land with sadistic ferocity, and an unprecedented, barely-veiled but efficiently coordinated state-sponsored terrorism rocked the country to its foundations. The Yoruba-phobic mentality of the then maximum ruler ensured that the leading lights in the South-West became the primary focus for elimination by the undercover agent of the states, especially the members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) that stoutly withstood Abacha's tyranny, not minding the perils to their own lives. Kudirat who married Chief Abiola as a delectable young lady in 1972, stood through thick and thin with her husband at a time when Abiola, himself was far from being the legend that he later became. The nuptial knot the couple tied so early in their life was destined to be life-long; it produced seven children, countless happy moments and a lasting legacy of exemplary lives- the couple paid the supreme sacrifice for the cause they believed in. Kudirat was killed for demanding the release of her husband from malicious incarceration and for championing Nigeria's pro-democracy project for the reclamation of the purloined mandate of her illustrious husband. Known for charitable commitments but hardly identified with radicalism before the June 1993 political fiasco, Kudirat later became something of a phenomenon with her vociferous agitation for justice, she kept busy organising major marches, strikes, protests and fraternising with leaders of thoughts, civil society groups and other radicals who all united against broadside of military cruelty. She eventually paid the supreme sacrifice for these ideals. Adieu, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. |
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment