Al-Mustapha Prepares To Join PDP

When Major Hamza al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late
Head of State, General Sani Abacha was recently discharged and
acquitted of change of murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of
presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Bashorun
M.K.O Abiola, by an Appeal Court in Lagos, it felt like somebody
messing in ones mouth and putting salt as well, as the Yoruba would
say.
[image]The mess, one can't swallow, the salt one cannot spit out,
ifyou understand what that means. It was a sweet/bitter verdict that
could be described as both victory and defeat for justice at the same
time. To al-Mustapha and family, it was victory for justice while the
Abiola family naturally felt otherwise. I guess most Nigerians felt
the same way as the Abiolas but because the appellate court had
spoken, are resigned to leaving everything in the hands of God, the
ultimate judge.
But the Lagos state government (the prosecutor in this case) I guess,
might not be inclined to handing over to God yet, as there is still
one window of appeal to the Supreme Court left and might be willing to
explore that, if only to be seen to have tried everything legally
possible to get what the majority (at least in the South west)
believes to be justice in this celebrated murder case. I deliberately
refused to join the bandwagon in condemning or praisingal-Mustapha's
acquittal for obvious reasons even though I smelt rat in the whole
thing.
I could see politics at play here even though one could not point at
any particular politician as being behind it. But with speculations in
the air that al-Mustapha is about to pitch his tent with the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), coupled with the reception he got when he
visited the Government House in Kano shortly after his release,one
needs no soothsayer to conclude that the former CSO had the support of
the ruling party while his trial lasted.
It might not be out of place to also conclude that the powers that be
in the north were sympathetic towards al-Mustapha's cause as could be
seen not only in the enthusiastic welcome he had received so far from
his home region, but also in the shocking silenceof that class on how
to get justice for the Abiolas, after all somebody shot and killed
Kudirat and the person was acting under somebody's order.
So, who did it and who gave the order?Until that person or those
people are found and punished, al-Mustapha remains guilty in the minds
of the people here, the show of shame by Dr Fredrick Faseun of the
Oodua People's Congress (OPC) hailing his acquittal notwithstanding.
In spite of the court'sverdict, if al-Mustapha and his co-accused as
they were then, had a hand in Kudirat's murder or any of the numerous
unresolved murders of the Abacha era, definitely they will not go
unpunished, both here and in the hereafter.
My concern here is not even about their punishment if they were indeed
involved in the murder, but the red carpet being given to al-Mustapha
in particular as if (the murder case apart) he was a honourable, just
and competent officer while he held court as the unseen number two in
the administration of the late maximum ruler. Don't forget that
al-Mustapha, a mere Major in the Nigerian Army was more powerful than
most of his seniors, Major Generals et al including the official
second in command in that regime, a three-star General, Lt. General
Oladipo Diya. After Abacha, no other person was most feared than
al-Mustapha.
Have we suddenly forgotten all those revelations made at the Oputa
panel about the activities of the death squad of that regime that were
answerable only to al-Mustapha? Has anybody been punished? If
al-Mustapha had no hand in the killing of Kudirat what of the other
crimes committed under his watch as CSO? Are we sweeping such under
the carpet or has he been cleared? Until we are told that the manis
free of all the baggage attached to him as Abacha's CSO, it would be
wrongto parade him as a kind of a hero or victim of vendetta as he
wants us to believe.
It would even be worse if any political party should roll out the red
carpet for him and admit him into its fold. It is unfortunate that the
PDP already smells opportunities for electoral gains in the release of
al-Mustapha, and the young man himself seems to wants to make
political capital of it. Apart from visiting the Government House,
Kano, controlled by the PDP, shortly after his release, he had been
making some political comments and visitations as well.
He was at the Abuja home of the leaderof the Niger Delta Peoples
Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahideen Asari-Dokubo at the weekend
where he was beating his chest as being the one whose actions shortly
after Abacha's death gave birth to this democracy. Can you imagine
that, coming from an al-Mustapha? He wants us to praise him for not
taking over power then, which he could have easily done according to
him if he wanted to.What an insult? I think the young man is better
advised to take it easy and lie low for some time and not reopen
healing wounds. His choice of words and association tend to portray a
man with an exaggerated view of his value. The Asari-Dokubo that he
visited would either be in detention or a deadman under the Abacha
administration that he served. We have not forgotten who killed Ken
Saro Wiwa. In any case politics they say is all about interest.
So, an Asari-Dokubo can hobnob with an al-Mustapha? Wonders shall
never cease. All for a Jonathan presidency again in 2015? So all those
derogatory things Asari-Dokubo has been saying about the north, what
E. K Clark, the Ijaw leader has been saying against the Hausa/Fulani
no longer hold water as long as al-Mustapha can help win the northern
votes for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015? Nigeria we hail thee.
Since al-Mustapha's release, different Ijaw groups and leaders have
been failing over each other to outdo one another in hailing his
acquittal, nothing wrong in that if only they are genuine and sincere,
but we all know why; 2015. But al-Mustapha should remember the party
story of the Biafran leader late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegu Ojukwu, who
because he was granted pardon by the NPN government of President Shehu
Shagari in the second republic, quickly joined the on his return from
exile andtook Ndigbo to NPN, thinking that the interest of his people,
who had followed Dr Nnamdi Azikwe to NPP that time would be better
protected inthe ruling party, he was wrong.
The rest is history. Nothing personal against al-Mustapha, but he
should tread softly and realise that the murder of Alhaja Kudirat
Abiola is still fresh and hurting in our memory, beating his chest all
over the place or jumping into the political arena would do nothing to
heal the wounds, he needs to show remorse and seek ALLAH's forgiveness
for the pains he inflicted on so many Nigerians as Abacha's CSO. This
is more honourable than joining the political fray. A word for
President Jonathan and his group as well, Nigerians are no fools
again; our mumu don do.