Jamiu Abiola, one of the sons of the late Chief MKO Abiola, is a member of the Tinubu/Shettima APC Media Committee. In this interview, the businessman cum politician whose mother, the late Kudirat, was at the forefront of the struggle to free her husband, speaks on the struggles that led to her death and other issues.
It is 27 years since the death of your mother, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, who would have turned 71 years old on the 27th of this month. How has it been with you and your siblings? Was her struggle worth it?
It has been nightmares. I know that people die all the time, but her death was so unusual. Even though I feared she would be killed because of the way she was boldly criticising the government and funding the opposition. Something deep inside me kept saying that she would be left off the hook; that a miracle would save her life. Then when she was killed, the drama that kept unfolding continued to reopen my wounds. That I was able to survive the tragedy serves as further evidence that the Qur’an is the word of God, because He has said in it that He would not put a person through more than what he or she cannot bear.
My siblings and I could survive this and that was why God allowed it to happen to us. But was it worth it? Well, her death and that of my father, along with many others, in the struggle pricked the conscience of the military and made it hand over to a Yoruba man. It is also their deaths that has made it impossible for the military to ever think of scuttling democracy in Nigeria. There will be no more military coups in Nigeria.
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There were speculations that a family feud led to her death. Can you shed light on that?
Yes, there was a family feud, but it wasn’t the cause of her death, although it paved the way for her to be killed. You see, my dad’s trial had been ongoing for over one year, with a prominent lawyer, G. O. K. Ajayi, defending him. However, my father’s first son, Kola, from his late wife, Simbiat (May her soul rest in peace), decided that another lawyer, Chief Rotimi Williams, should be allowed to take over the case. My mother had her reservations about Rotimi Williams because she felt he was too close to the federal government against which my father was in court.
The ideal thing for Kola was to wait for my father to decide on his own about who he wanted to represent him, but he went public with criticism against my mother and the federal government got wind of the rift. Things got tenser when the government decided to keep my father in solitary confinement so that he would not choose a lawyer, which worsened the feud.
It was at the height of all of this that the government sent a killer squad to assassinate my mother. The next thing was for Kola and some of my uncles to be arrested to give the public the impression that they were responsible for her death. The whole thing was a conspiracy, but my siblings and I have accepted it as her destiny.
Did you attend her burial?
I did not attend the burial because I was in the United States, and I thank God for that. It would have been too much for me to handle. To date, I pity my two younger brothers: Abdul and Hadi, who were eight and nine then, for being at the burial of a mother they had just said goodbye to hours earlier that day on their way to school. She was buried in the family house, and that too became a subject of controversy. My step brother was trying to stop that from happening and wanted her buried in another place, but my uncles prevented him from having his way. Once again, this serves as evidence of the authenticity of the Qur’an, because God has told us in it that we will have enemies from members of our own family.
I returned home right on time for her 40th day prayers. By then my brother, Lekan, and I were calm and we received huge moral support from our stepmothers: Mrs Adebisi Abiola and Mrs Doyin Abiola. We needed all the support we could get and found a lot of it from my mother’s siblings too, as well as a very good friend of hers, Alhaja Somade. We stayed in Nigeria for three months and tried to see our dad but were not allowed to. That was a period in my life which bitterness I will never forget.
She was at the forefront of the political struggle to free your father and many of his associates. Are they reaching out to you and your siblings?
Many of them have passed away. People like Chief Bola Ige, Chief Anthony Enahoro and Pa Ajasin. But some are alive, like the current President, Bola Tinubu. He has been reaching out to us and was the first to immortalise my mother in Nigeria. Even back then during the struggle when the chances of success were bleak, he was a pillar of support. It is during hard times that you know those who really care. I remember what a friend told me when we were in exile in the US. His father had lost so much money and businesses because of the struggle and had been forced to relocate to America like us. My friend told me that he wished his dad had betrayed my father so that things would not be so hard for them. Senator Tinubu never had such regrets, and I believe that this is partly why God has allowed him to become president. People do reap what they sow.
Tell us more about your late mother?
My mother grew up in Zaria. Her father was the Sarkin Yoruba in Sabon Gari, Zaria. Just like her, he looked like a Northerner, so people used to tease him that he was not a Yoruba man. Her mother was a big trader, so my mother would manage her shop when she was not in school. That was how she started learning about business and became one of the biggest pharmaceutical importers by the age of 35. It was because she was born and raised in Zaria that I launched the Kudirat Abiola Sabon Gari Foundation there in 2021. At one point, she was working in a company in Lagos called Adebowale Electronics, where my father had a friend. That was how he met her there on a visit to his friend.
What are the things you miss about her?
I miss everything, especially her sense of humour. There is a lot to gain when you grow up under different cultures. She was Yoruba in tribe and Hausa in attitude. She taught us a lot of Hausa songs and narrated many stories about Zaria. She tried her very best to teach her children a lot about her upbringing, and when she noticed that I was obsessed with languages, she taught me Hausa and spoke it to me more than Yoruba. She was one of a kind.
Did she work with President Tinubu in the struggle for the realisation of June 12?
She knew the current president very well and they worked together along with the likes of Dr Beko Ransome Kuti. According to the current president, she was one of the few people who knew the exact time he escaped from the country. They were both coordinating the struggle from different parts of the world. If I were older then, I would have come home to take her place in the struggle. I don’t believe that a 42-year- old woman should ever have risked her life like that, particularly after the same Abacha regime had just executed Ken Saro Wiwa. Indeed, she was fighting against a kleptocratic regime with weapons and billions of dollars at its disposal.
Are you saying she shouldn’t have gotten involved in the struggle?
Yes! I wish she was never involved in the struggle. It is tragic because many of those who eventually benefitted from the struggle were the same people dining with Abacha to destroy democracy; the same people giving Abacha legitimacy. Maybe that is why God has not blessed Nigeria through democracy. It is so strange that we have even seen people like Mohammed Abacha and Major Al- Mustapha vying to be governor and president respectively. This is why I am happy that we now have President Tinubu who was on the right side of history when it mattered the most. I pray that God rewards him with a successful tenure as compensation for his positive role in those dark days.
Just a few weeks prior to the presidential election, so many powerful forces tried to stop him the same way they moved against my dad, but God did not allow them to succeed this time.
Is it true that the Nigerian government tried to frustrate efforts to immortalise her when the City of New York named the corner of the Nigerian Consulate after her?
Yes! It was terrible! It is true that a leopard can never change its spots. During her burial, General Abacha sent a delegation along with a speech in which he described her as a dedicated wife and a good Muslim. But once the American government was about to honour her, his government began calling her all sorts of names like terrorist. They funded rallies against the initiative and even took the City of New York to court with the case going all the way up to the New York Supreme Court before the corner was named after my mother. Even in death they were still fighting her.
How did you feel when the Buhari administration honoured June 12?
I was very happy when it happened. I had written books years before and had given away thousands of copies to ensure that this was done. I am grateful to the Buhari administration for honouring my father, just like the current president and other AD governors like Chief Segun Osoba and Chief Bisi Akande had been honouring both my parents as far back as the last millennium in 1999.
Did the Buhari administration meet your expectations?
The Buhari government tried its best. It is not fair to criticise someone who has tried his best. I commend the road infrastructure achievements and pray that God blesses the former Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, for this amazing accomplishment. I also believe that a lot was achieved in agriculture, but sadly that has been overshadowed by bandits who have been unleashing terror on farmers.
However, I was very upset about the naira redesign policy and its timing. I am still trying to figure out why that administration acted that way.
The Tinubu administration is almost three months in office. How would you evaluate his performance?
Any administration destined for greatness is dynamic from the outset. From day one this government has been taking tough decisions that past administrations failed to take. President Tinubu is doing this because he is a visionary leader and he knows that the path to the best destination is never the easiest path. Most politicians lack his courage. Among commendable steps taken by him so far include judicial reform, student loans, introduction of palliatives, as well as tax reforms. To me, the tax reforms are the most critical. By bringing more eligible tax-paying Nigerians into the tax bracket as President Tinubu is trying to do, our tax to GDP ratio would raise from its current paltry rate of 10 per cent. With the additional revenue the government would be able to close a very dangerous infrastructural gap. Such ambitious goals can only be high on the agenda of a Tinubu/Shettima administration because none of the duo has failure in their DNA.
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