Ex-Head of State Exposes Political Duplicity in Autobiography

Former Head of State, Retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has revealed that several prominent politicians who publicly championed Chief MKO Abiola’s cause during the historic June 12 crisis were covertly collaborating with the military government. In a series of disclosures, the retired general also revealed that multiple political actors collected campaign mobilization funds from both Abiola’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) and his opponent, the late Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC), during the 1993 presidential election.

The details emerged from Chapter 16 of Abubakar’s newly launched 264-page autobiography, *Call of Duty*, which was presented at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. In his assessment, the former leader characterized Nigeria’s political class as an insulated “tribe on their own.” He noted that politicians routinely inflame ethnic and religious animosities among the public while maintaining close, amicable relationships away from the cameras.

To illustrate this systematic duplicity, Abubakar recounted an account shared with him directly by the late Bashir Tofa. Tofa had described giving mobilization funds to a group of politicians who promised to secure votes in their respective wards.

Later that same day, Tofa discovered the exact same individuals at the office of Abiola’s state party chairman, seeking similar financial payments. Tofa subsequently lost those specific wards, including his own home constituency in Kano.

Abubakar also reflected on his time as Chief Instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy during the 1980s, when a bitter political crisis split the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) into warring factions. While regular citizens violently clashed in the streets over the political divide, Abubakar witnessed high-ranking politicians from both opposing factions eating, drinking, and laughing together at a private guest house. Hours later, one of those same individuals appeared on national television hurling fierce insults at the opposing camp.

Applying these historical insights to the June 12 impasse, Abubakar stated that the general public remained entirely unaware of the collaborative dynamics operating behind the scenes. He clarified that during the 1993 election annulment, he was serving as the Chief of Policy and Plans at Army Headquarters. Despite his lifelong childhood friendship with General Ibrahim Babangida, he held no official role in the transition administration and was not a member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC).

Warning the public against ongoing manipulation, the former Head of State concluded that regular citizens continue to serve as mere pawns for a political elite that remains unified in private, regardless of their public disagreements.