Reknowned economist, Professor Sam Aluko, has made startling revalations about two military coups that took place during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha. Aluko was Abacha’s Chief Economic Adviser while it lasted.

•Prof Aluko Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The economist insisted that none of the two coups of 1995 and 1997 was phantom. He said Abacha did tell him emphatically that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was, indeed, involved in 1995 coup that earned him (Obasanjo) a life sentence: "Abacha said that the boys went to Obasanjo when they were planning the coup. What Obasanjo should have done according to the economist, was to report them. He didn’t. and when the boys were caught, they confessed that they had been to Obasanjo. You see, people don’t know this. They just shout phantom coup.

"Abacha even said it was Obasanjo, when he was military Head of State who said if you hear of a coup and do not report it, you are regarded as an accomplice."

To further underscore Obasanjo’s culpability, Aluko said: "These boys went to another military Head of State. But he immediately called Abacha to inform him of the coup. Obasanjo did not do that. Instead, he left for Denmark."

For General Oladipo Diya, Abacha’s Chief of General Staff, Aluko revealed that when he challenged Abacha on Diya’s involvement in the 1997 coup, "he said he (Abacha) believed that it was the last minute that they roped in Diya."

Exerpts of the encounter that took place at Aluko’s Ijapo Housing Estate, Akure, Ondo State home:

Coup in Abacha regime.

I was very unhappy with the idea of the coup. Abacha himself told me that everytime in the military there was a coup planning. That coup was a common thing in the military. I was actually not convinced that General Diya was involved in the coup. I challenged General Abacha, I said look, but for the man that brought me into this government, I did know you, and I didn’t trust anybody. One of the things that my professor at the London School of Economics told me, he said, ‘Sam I know you are a man of strong views, don’t have a policeman as a friend, don’t have a soldier as a friend, because they are very dangerous.’ I told Abacha, I said I have found General Diya to be very pleasant.

They have worked closely together. Every Sunday, they would meet to plan what they would do for the week. So, suddenly there was a coup? So, I went to him, I said tell me, what really happened," and he said Professor, I will tell you. He said, ‘when I learnt about the coup, I called General Adisa, because they were very close. I asked if there was any problem, he said there was no problem. I then called General Diya, if there was problem, he said there was no problem." He said he believed that it was in the last minute that they roped in General Diya.

He said there were people in the north that didn’t like how close General Diya was to him. Our first meeting with Abacha, he was the only one present, so I said General, you can’t be the only one here, where is your deputy? I pointed out that he should beware that we didn’t want to do a futile work. He suspended that meeting and the next meeting, General Diya was present. That was how he started attending the meeting.

So, I think what really happened was that General Diya had a grouse with Abacha on one or two decisions on creation of states. Abacha was the one who assured me that he was going to create Ekiti State because he felt I have really worked for the government. I challenged him. I said don’t create a state because of me. I said what of Ijebu State, he said, yes, that all the Ijebu leaders are in NADECO and that when NADECO government comes into power, let them create Ijebu State. Diya was not NADECO. In fact, he tried to prevent NADECO from worrying government. He did everything possible. He held meetings with Yoruba leaders.

But Abacha assured me, he said, "Professor, I will not do anything…must as when Obasanjo was caught in a coup; they said, we should kill him. But I said, no, we have shed too much blood in the country. I was not going to head a government that would shed more blood. He said that he was going to release Obasanjo before he left government. He said he was very close to Obasanjo that he was the head of the team that said Obasanjo should be head or Security General of the United Nations. That they spent over $40 million to propagate Obasanjo and he (Abacha) was chairman of the committee. He said Obasanjo was one of those people who brought him to government, so he took him like a father.

Abacha even said it was Obasanjo, when he was head of state, that said if you hear of a coup and not report it; you are regarded as an accomplice. Abacha said that the boys went to Obasanjo when they were planning the coup and that what Obasanjo should have done was to report them. But that he didn’t and when the boys were caught, they confessed that they had been to Obasanjo. You see, people don’t know all these. They just shout phantom coup! Phantom coup!! Even right now, you can’t rule out the possibility of a coup. Soldiers also want to be head of state.

Raw deal with Obasanjo?

People don’t know that General Obasanjo and myself are friends. We call each other by our first name. His late wife, Stella and my wife are from the same area in Edo State. The house of her parents is opposite that of my wife’s. When Obasanjo was head of state, I used to go to Ota to participate in seminars. I used to write papers for him. So, when he became head, people were briefing him during the transitional period and he said the only person I trust among all of you is Sam. I said General, don’t talk to these people like that, and he said they are my boys and I can say anything to them. Two days before he was to be sworn as president, he invited me to a dinner in his house.

He said he was highly impressed with work of the economic intelligence committee and that it was the only institution that he was going to keep. And he kept it. He asked why I was leaving then, when I was able to work with Abacha and Abdulsalam. He said, Sam, why are you leaving when I am just coming in. I said, Segun we are friends and I know you very well. You are a man of strong views and I am also of the same mould. You will not take my advice and if you don’t take my advice, I will not give up and we would become enemies. So, let me be in Akure, whatever advice I have to give to you anytime you need it, you can send for me. But I don’t want to work under you. So, we agreed.

When he started his government, I was one of the most determined people to support General Obasanjo. Many others, including soldiers, did not support him. I supported him because he did very well as head of state previously. But after a while, he started listening to the IMF and World Bank, the twin institutions that we kept at a distance during the previous governments. He started talking of downsizing, privatization, free market, in an economy prevailing in Nigerian then. It is like somebody was in Akure, going to Lagos and he follows a path to Benin. No matter how fast he drives, he would still be coming from farther distance.

You see, no matter how hard you work, if you follow the economic policies of World Bank, IMF, the country is going to get poorer and there would be greater crime and you will not achieve the desired goals. He set up an economic team, made up of British and Americans; only four of the members were Nigerians, out of a 12-man team. The governor of CBN, who was also an IMF person, the Minister of Finance, was also tilted towards IMF and the opinion then was, they were working for the IMF and so, they couldn’t advise him well, and, therefore, he was going to fail. That is why today, nobody gives him credit for the work he did. And he worked very hard! He spends 16 to 18 hours a day, working.

Whatever you may say, Obasanjo was a nationalist. But he was on the wrong economic direction. Instead of employing more people, he was privatizing, which system embraced what they called downsizing. He was working with bankers, who used government money to run their own banks. He was saying that government had no business being in business. They told him, hey, don’t listen to Aluko. His economic policies are wrong. Now, are they wrong? I told him that the world economy, the way it was going, it was going to collapse. All the world is doing today is to sell money, rather than build industries, agriculture. America has not built a new refinery since 1976. It is a bubble; you are running a casino economy. And since you are all running a casino economy, the bubble has burst.