Thread by @RealOlaudah

Bashar, the 20th Emir of Gwandu who was known in military circles as Major-General Muhammadu Dan Ma’aji Jega, (MD Jega) revealed that “Buhari claimed that he had evidences that Aliyu Gusau generated money to the tune of one million naira, which was equivalent to one and half...

million dollars at that time. But unknown to Buhari, the money generated by Aliyu Gusau through the selling of import license was the same money used in financing Shagari’s coup. For that reason, many people were disturbed with the stance taken by Buhari against Aliyu Gusau.

Details are contained in the book “Major General Muhammadu Ilyasu Bashar, CFR (MD Jega), the 20th Emir of Gwandu” written by Usman Dalhatu, Executive Director, Woodpecker Communications based in Zaria, Kaduna State.

However, Jokolo took exception to some of the details contained in the book, faulting them one after the other beginning from what Jokolo said were lies told about his father and the selection process which threw him up as the 19th emir of Gwandu.

It is a crossfire, a gun fire from different directions of the Gwandu emirate. He has this to say about the funding of the coup that brought Buhari into power in 1983.

“Honestly speaking, that’s why sometimes my heart bleeds because what is happening to Sambo Dasuki now I worry a lot. It is an irony. If I had not brought him in this thing (1983 coup plot), it could not have happened with Buhari being Head of State.

It was Sambo Dasuki who facilitated it not me. I only suggested it. He was the one who convinced these people. I swear to God, Almighty. He was the one. He did a lot, honestly speaking…So I connected them with Sambo Dasuki and wallahi Sambo…even when we were planning the coup..

that saw Buhari as Head of State, Sambo Dasuki was the one who was getting money for us from Aliyu Gusau and Chief of Army Staff votes to help the coup plot because not a single Kobo did we get from Buhari.

Not only that, he used his father’s money to sponsor some Mallams to go to Saudi Arabia to help pray for the success of the coup.”

Web of schemes

According to the book, the Buhari regime started well by addressing the issue of what he described as endemic corruption which came to the point of highest development with the conviction and lengthy prison sentences for various corruption charges, but that...

the tide of opinion about the military junta changed in 1985 when matters began to take a new level of consciousness.
“What happened was that Buhari discovered a lot of irregularities in the import license during the civilian era of Shehu Shagari.

Buhari was much disturbed and therefore ordered the Director of the National Security Organisation (NSO), Muhammadu Lawal Rafindadi to thoroughly investigate the matter. Already, Rafindadi had a hint that Colonel Mohammed Aliyu Gusau was involved in the import license scandal.

And there were accumulated grievances between Rafindai, the Director General of the NSO and Aliyu Gusau, the Director of Military Intelligence. In fact, it was because of this face-off that Colonel Aliyu Gusau was forcefully sent abroad to the Royal College of Defense Studies...

to attend a course.
“Therefore, the issue of investigating irregularities on import license gave Rafindadi the opportunity he patiently waited for to hammer Aliyu Gusau.

During investigations, Rafindadi established facts that Gusau was deeply involved in the import license squabble. Rafindadi was happy with the discovery. He went and exposed the matter to Buhari who became angry to hear that Aliyu Gusau was involved in the import license scandal.

Buhari insisted that Colonel Aliyu Gusau must be punished and sacked from the army.”
However, there were officers who stood behind Aliyu Gusau. Such people were said to have met and advised Buhari that “it was wrong to sack Aliyu Gusau from the army due to the crucial role he...

played in overthrowing his kinsman, Shehu Shagari and installing him (Buhari) to power.” There was a major disagreement as Buhari insisted that Aliyu Gusau must be punished. Meanwhile, Gusau was outside the country on a course.

“This nagging situation created tension and hostility within the senior army officers in the regime. This forced some army officers and civilians to request General MD Jega to intervene and solve the problem. Jega deeply thought about the issue.

First of all, he didn’t want to be seen meddling in the powers of the Head of State or Supreme Military Council (SMC). And secondly, the issue of Aliyu Gusau was very critical at the moment. Consequently, the Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, took the matter officially to the SMC

for final decision. Heated arguments ensued among members of the SMC. Some members kicked against the decision to punish Aliyu Gusau, contending that Buhari was the eventual beneficiary of the money realised through the sale of import license.

But Buhari, Idiagbon and a few others rejected this argument, saying there could be no sacred cows or extenuating circumstances. Eventually, Buhari fired Aliyu Gusau out of the army when he returned to the country and started the setting up of Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The sacking was done by the Military Secretary which was under Col Rabi’u Aliyu. At that moment, Colonel Rabi’u Aliyu was on vacation and therefore one of his assistants, the Deputy Military Secretary 11, Lt Col Bashir Salihi Magashi was ordered to officially complete the task.

“This development seriously irritated many senior army officers who risked their lives in plotting the coup that brought Buhari into power. Consequently, the sacking of Aliyu Gusau created a division among members of the SMC.

One group which was few in number was vehemently supporting the position taken by the Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, while the others supported the Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida who was the moving spirit of the 1983 coup that brought Buhari to power.”

According to the book, opinions of uncertain reliability that Buhari was likely to remove the Chief of Army Staff, Babangida and some members of the SMC made the feeling of resentment within the ranks of officers of the new rulers after the coup to be worse.

It was an idle speculation based on the unverified information that Babangida was to be replaced either by Muhammadu Magoro or Gado Nasko that created so much tension to the extent that some key officers were said to have stopped attending SMC meetings.

“At this time, many army officers sympathetic to Babangida started to distance themselves from Buhari.
Such officers precisely knew that Buhari’s ascendancy to power was due to Babangida’s lack of interest in the job.

In fact, after the successful overthrow of Shagari, Babangida appeared totally uninterested to move into political leadership.” But in spite of such wrangling, it was reported that Jega remained neutral but that he tried his possible best to provide a link to the emptiness caused

by his colleagues as a result of strong opposition. Jega failed to achieve that aim.
Jega was said to have expressed regret, saying what kept disturbing him (Jega) was the “complex military politics which placed him in a difficult situation.”

Jega was said to have revealed that whenever he reached out to the incompatible and dissenting groups, they repeatedly denied the existence of any problem among them. But while this was on, Buhari was said to have raised another charge based on financial dealings at the Ministry

of Defense against the Chief of Army Staff, Babangida. Jega, according to the book, heard this and personally contacted Babangida who said he had also been hearing such rumour.
However, Buhari denied making such an accusation and said such rumours were the work of his detractors.

Babangida was nevertheless said to have asked Buhari to go ahead with the investigations since he was the Chief of Army Staff and not the Minister of Defense. Jega then reportedly advised Buhari to imbibe the concept of diplomacy in solving crucial problems.

Next:
The Plot Against Buhari.
To be continued.

The plot against Buhari

According to the book, plot to overthrow Buhari actually began immediately after the Shagari coup of 1983 and that the ringleader of the coup, Major General Babangida was fairly sure of some problems within the category of officers that overthrew Shagari.

“Therefore, Babangida tactfully tried and positioned selected officers in strategic military positions when he became the Chief of Army Staff in 1984. Such were too loyal to him and appeared not only willing but ready to do what he wanted at any given time.

This made it easier for Babangida to formulate a plan for the coup against Buhari. What remained was the opportunity to strike at any given time.
“The opportunity came when Aliyu Gusau was disgraced out of the Army.

And the next target of the regime was nobody other than Babangida himself, probably because of the crucial role he played with Aliyu Gusau in putting Buhari into power.

And immediately after the sacking of Aliyu Gusau, Babangida clearly noticed that he was placed under surveillance by the security operatives of the NSO headed by Lawal Rafindadi. Babangida’s telephone lines and that of Aliyu Gusau were both tapped by the NSO.”

This emotionally distressed Babangida and other senior army officers who felt the regime was expressing hostile intentions towards them.
Aliyu Gusau was close to Babangida because he served as an officer with a compensatory effect to Rafindadi, the Director General of NSO as a...

secret agent in the intelligence community. When therefore, Aliyu Gusau was sacked from the army, Babangida, without any attempt to offend any officer of the Buhari regime added Lieutenant Colonel Haliru Akilu, a Grade 1 Staff Officer into the Directorate of the Military...

Intelligence when Lieutenant M.C. Alli was sent to Britain and USA to officially establish joint efforts by other officers with other Military Intelligence groups.

“With this situation on ground, Babangida, Abacha and other senior army officers started to hold secret meetings, planning to overthrow the Buhari regime. Such meetings were held in Lagos, Minna and London.

In London, some groups of coup plotters were seen milling in and out of London, particularly around a certain apartment in Kensington.”
“And in Minna, the hometown of Babangida, some locations served as the venue for the coup planning.

The Military Governor of Niger State, Lieutenant Colonel David Mark, allegedly provided cover for the coup plotters at the State’s Guest Houses in Minna. David Mark further provided the necessary resources to the coup plotters to facilitate the planning stage of the coup.

The ring leaders of the coup also recruited the Brigade Commander in Minna, Lt. Colonel Tunji Olurin, into the coup plotting. During the planning stage, the principal ringleader of the coup, Ibrahim Babangida, extended his contacts to civilians, particularly businessmen,...

media, civil service, academicians and religious leaders in different circles. All these groups were negatively affected directly or indirectly by the Buhari’s regime.”

“Some of those affected were prominent businessmen like Alhassan Dantata, Kano, Isiyaku Rabi’u, Kano, Ahmed Maidaribe, Maiduguri, Bako Kontagora in Niger, Tsoho Dan Amale, Sokoto, Haruna Danja, Zaria and others who were arrested by the regime on charges of economic sabotage.

Buhari’s regime purportedly humiliated several important personalities like Abubakar Gumi and Obafemi Awolowo.”
“For instance, Abubakar Gumi was allegedly removed from his Chairmanship of the Pilgrims Board and his salary terminated. His official car was impounded.

Gumi had a problem with the regime over his disagreement on the execution of cocaine traffickers and armed robbers. And in the case of Awolowo, a team of soldiers was sent to his residence located at Park Lane in Apapa, Lagos where the premises was thoroughly ransacked by...

soldiers, allegedly sent by Buhari.”
“These harassments were highly controversial. It was not known whether, Buhari and Idiagbon or the SMC directed the soldiers to carry out such harassments or it was carried out by some army officers, specifically to undermine the regime or...

discredit the leadership of Buhari. All these might be an in-house plot to tarnish the image of the regime. But as the Head of State, Buhari was supposed to know these illicit happenings and take immediate action to stop it, if he didn’t sanction such harassments.”

“However, Buhari seemed to have ignored the fact that he was in a political arena and as such must play politics, rather than militarization. And under these circumstances, the Head of State did not realize that he was gradually isolated from the military by Babangida, a process

which began immediately after Buhari came to power in January 1984. Nonetheless, the ringleaders of the coup took advantage of this situation and extended their invitation to businessmen.”

“For instance, M.K.O Abiola, who allegedly helped in financing the 1983 coup was said to have succumbed to the plot against Buhari. Abiola was actually worried about Buhari’s regime over decision to seize and auction his large consignment of newsprint smuggled into the country.

More disturbing to him was the setting up of an enquiry into the possible role of one of his close relatives connected with drug trafficking.”
“These reasons allegedly motivated Abiola to finance the removal of Buhari from power.

And by the end of April 1985, the ringleaders of the coup had successfully recruited many army officers and non-commissioned officers into the coup. However, like every coup, the rank and file that would participate at the implementation stage were mostly brought into the picture

of the happenings some few hours before the commencement of the operation. Such soldiers were often misled as to the real motive of what was actually taking place.”

The book explained how the ringleaders of the coup worked out a perfect plan to break off emotional relations from Buhari and the chain of command on the D-Day. They followed with a plan to render the Head of State ineffective by removing his ability to act as a threat within and

outside the army on the D-Day. According to the book, the ring leaders also hatched a third plan which was the arrest of the Head of State shortly before the commencement of what it described as the H-Hour which was normally after midnight.”

“It was a well hatched plot as the ringleaders also took into cognisance orchestrated resistance by officers within and outside Lagos that would be hostile to the putsch or be sympathetic to the regime. Such officers were labeled as potentially dangerous officers...

who should be arrested before the H-Hour by the conspirators. What to do with officers believed to be supporting Buhari but were not in command of the army was considered even though they were regarded as less hostile.

To be continued.