Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote, "One of the major points of criticism against Muhammadu Buhari, APC Presidential candidate for the 2015 Nigerian elections, is his declaration that late Nigerian military dictator, Sani Abacha, in whose government Buhari had worked, did not loot public funds while in office." Buhari was actually appointed as the head of Petroleum Trust Fund by Sani Abacha after seizing power in Nigeria in 1993. Buhari was never Minister of Finance, Minister of Economic Development, Governor of Central Bank, Accountant General of the Federation or Auditor General of the Federation. Consequently, Buhari was not in a position to testify if Sani Abacha looted/stole public fund while in office or not and he could not have usurped the right to speak on something he never knew anything about. In order to buttress his assertion that Buhari made the declaration on Abacha's non looting era, Oluwatoyin Adepoju fraudulently (or is it dishonestly) wrote, "SANI ABACHA BECAME NIGERIA'S HEAD OF STATE THROUGH A COUP RULING FROM 1983 TO 1985."
Oluwatoyin Adepoju should get it into his skull once and for all that the government of President Shehu Shagari was overthrown on December 31, 1983, whereby a military government headed by Mohammadu Buhari was installed. Therefore, it is a deliberate lie to write that Sani Abacha was head of State from 1983-1985. However, I hereby endeavour to update the political knowledge of Oluwatoyin Adepoju about when Abacha became Head of State in Nigeria. General Muhammadu Buhari was overthrown on the 27th of August 1985 and was thereafter succeeded by General Ibrahim Babangida who *stepped aside* in 1993, following the controversy after the annulled June 12, 1993, Presidential election. Babangida was succeeded by an unelected civilian,Ernest Shonekan, who was overthrown before the end of year 1993 by Sani Abacha that became Head of State.
In his macabre act of wilful misrepresentation, Oluwatoyin Adepoju regaled us in paragraph 6 of his diatribe against Buhari thus, "BUHARI MADE THIS DECLARATION ON THE 5TH OF JUNE 2008, AT THE 10TH YEAR COMMEMORATION IN KANO OF THE DEATH OF SANI ABACHA, as reported among other resources by Ibrahim Shuaibu in his article *Abacha Never Stole, say Buhari, Babangida,* in This Day news magazine on the 9th of June 2008 and republished in AllAfrica.com." Buhari could not have made the statement credited to him on the 5th of June 2008 since Abacha died on June 8, 1998 and the tenth anniversary of Abacha's death was June 8, 2008. At best, the article of Ibrahim Shuaibu in This Day news magazine of 9th June 2008, could be treated as Sensational journalism concocted as partisan propaganda for Abacha. If Buhari and Babangida made the alleged statement about Abacha on the 5th of June 2008, why did Shuaibu wait until June 9, 2008, before publishing it? While crediting the purported declaration to Buhari and Babangida, Ibrahim Shaibu must have calculated coldly that the two Generals would not care since they did not suffer any defamation of character by the publication. From experience, we know that Nigerian journalists and some intellectual prostitutes are fund of inventing stories and statements which they attribute to anyone they want to blackmail. A typical example was an article authored by Rueben Abati and published on page 51 of the Nigerian Guardian of April 22, 2011, where General Mohammadu Buhari was accused of inciting violence after losing election in keeping with his promise to make Nigeria ungovernable for Jonathan. AFTER ABATI HAD WRITTEN THE ARTICLE, HE WAS APPOINTED SPOKESMAN MEDIA FOR THE PRESIDENCY BY PRESIDENT JONATHAN. General Buhari filed a lawsuit against Abati and the Guardian claiming N100 million damages for character assassination. The Guardian and Abati sent emissaries to beg Buhari to accept out of court settlement. Buhari who has always been projected as vengeful agreed to a settlement out of court. Thus, on Thursday, 11 July 2013, The Guardian apologised through its editorial in the following words: Sir, on April 22, 2011, The Guardian Newspaper published an article on page 51 titled *For the Attention of General Buhari,* WHEREIN CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS WERE MADE AGAINST GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI'S ALLEGED ROLE IN THE VIOLENCE EMANATING FROM THE ELECTIONS. THE PUBLICATION WAS BASED ON INFORMATION WHICH WE BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE AT THAT TIME. SINCE THE PUBLICATION, HOWEVER, WE NOW HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT CERTAIN PARTS OF THE STORY WERE NOT VERIFIED TO BE CORRECT BEFORE THE PUBLICATION.
WE ASSURE GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI (rtd) GCFR OF OUR HIGHEST ESTEEM AND REGRET ANY DISTRESS OR EMBARASSMENT WHICH THE SAID PUBLICATION MAY HAVE CAUSED HIM." In spite of this retraction, many still tout, today, Abati's Guardian publication of April 22, 2011 that Buhari had instigated the after election violence in 2011 for the purpose of making Nigeria ungovernable for Jonathan. The main mission of Oluwatoyin Adepoju in his diatribe against Buhari is to prove that since Buhari allegedly exonerated Abacha from stealing state's fund between 1993 and 1998, he Buhari will not be able to battle corruption if elected as President in 2015. That is a gross speculation. Taking a departure from Oluwatoyin Adepoju's *Hypocrisy of Muhammadu Buhari and APC*, one can also speculate that, since Oluwatoyin Adepoju lied that Abacha ruled Nigeria as a military Head of State between 1983 and 1985, and fraudulently placed the anniversary of Abacha's death to 5th of June instead of 8th June, Oluwatoyin Adepoju, will engage only in lies and historical distortions in 2015. Such speculation will not be fair to Adepoju just as his own speculation about Buhari.
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 11:01:15 +0000
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Hypocrisy of Muhammadu Buhari and APC : Buhari's Claim that Dictatorial Nigerian Head of State Sani Abacha Did Not Steal Public Funds [Nigerian Presidential Elections 2015]
From: oluifayantra@gmail.com
To: naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com; nigerianID@yahoogroups.com; NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com; talkhard@yahoogroups.com; Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com; edo-nationality@yahoogroups.com; Esan_Community@yahoogroups.com; afenmai@yahoogroups.com; OmoOdua@yahoogroups.com; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
APC Presidential Candidate Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari's Declaration that Dictatorial Nigerian Military Head of State Sani Abacha Did Not Steal Public Funds
One of the major points of criticism against Muhammadu Buhari, APC Presidential candidate for the 2015 Nigerian elections, is his declaration that late Nigerian military dictator Sani Abacha, in whose government Buhari had worked, did not loot public funds while in office.
Sani Abacha became Nigeria's head of state through a coup, ruling from 1983 to 1985.
Yet huge amounts of Abacha's loot were being recovered from different parts of the world, even as Buhari made that declaration which he has never revised.
This development casts Buhari's integrity in a very doubtful light, particularly in relation to his much touted anti-corruption credentials and claims of ethnic bigotry directed against him.
Buhari made this declaration on the 5th of June 2008, at the 10th year commemoration in Kano of the death of Sani Abacha, as reported, among other sources, by Ibrahim Shuaibu in his article "Abacha Never Stole, Say Buhari, Babangida" in This Day news magazine on the 9th of June 2008, and republished in AllAfrica.com.
The Return of Part of Abacha's Loot to Nigeria Shortly Before Buhari's Shocking Declaration
This declaration by Muhammadu Buhari is particularly shocking because the week before he made that assertion that Abacha did not steal public funds, the Swiss government had returned to Nigeria some of Abacha's huge loot which he had siphoned from the Nigerian treasury, as reported by Adekunle Jimoh in his article of 2008-06-10, "Buhari, Abdulsalami, IBB Under Fire Over Abacha Loot" in The Nation, in the context of presenting the amazing declaration of Muhammadu Buhari :
"Only last week, the government of Switzerland said it had returned all of the $505million (N59.05billion) looted funds stashed in its banks by the late Gen. Abacha. The repatriated money is part of an estimated $3billion of public funds believed to have been stored up by the late Head of State in banks in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Britain and Luxembourg, besides Switzerland."
The Challenge of the AC to Muhammadu Buhari's Attempt to Distort History
The gravity of Muhammadu Buhari's determination to distort reality by exonerating Abacha of the greatest theft of Nigeria's resources in the country's history, stealing half of the country's foreign reserve, is underscored by theresponse of the political party the Action Congress, through its publicity secretary Lai Muhammed, describing the statements of Buhari as
"a disgusting case of revisionism" , particularly as Buhari had also declared
"that past administrations should not be probed" a position the AC described as demonstrating " self-preservation rather than patriotism" warning that heeding such advice would thwart all efforts to enthrone the rule of law, due process, probity and good governance."
In addition, the news report states :
"The Lagos State chapter of the AC described the former Heads of State's comment as "a desperate attempt by former despots to buy the reprieve of history for one of their ilk, together with whom they ruined Nigeria."
Pius Adesanmi's Analysis of Buhari's Pronouncement as an Effort to Whitewash His Own Sins
Pius Adesanmi's analysis of this evil pronouncement by Buhari,a few months after the declaration by the former military man, in his essay of 24 June 2008, at the Nigeria Village Square " 'On Professors' Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari and Abdulsalami Abubakar" describes this effort at distorting history by Buhari as a determination to make sure history does not remember the evils Buhari perpetrated while in office.
The Metamorphosis of the AC and Other Parties into the APC and Making Buhari its Presidential Candidate
As of today, the AC, the Action Congress, the very party that described Buhari's behaviour in this incident as "a disgusting case of revisionism" and his declaration that past administrations should not be probed as demonstrating "self-preservation rather than patriotism" is one of the parties at the centre of the alliance that formed the APC, whose Presidential candidate Buhari is.
What does this tell us about Buhari and his party the APC?
Does it suggest we are dealing with figures of principle or with political opportunists, soldiers of fortune, seekers of power at any cost, even at the price of their souls?
Buhari is presented by his party as a person who will clean up corruption in Nigeria.
How can a man who denied the monumental corruption of his boss, his fellow soldier and Northern Nigerian Muslim, Sani Abacha, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, clean up corruption anywhere?
Tragedy.
How can a political party that excoriated the same character for trying to distort history about the most destructive regime in Nigerian history put forward as their Presidential candidate the same man who tried to whiten a filthy sepulchre by telling a monumental lie in board daylight?
Is that not horror?
May God deliver us from evil.
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