Excerpts from Buhari’s biography shows
he was apparently bribed by Babangida
with a lump-sum as he left prison custody
to enable him kick-start his life again.
Controversies over the contents of President
Muhammadu Buhari’s authorized biography
are not going to be over soon.
Allegations of money exchanging hands
between the president and the man who
toppled him in 1985, General Ibrahim
Babangida, are in the book titled
“Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of
Leadership in Nigeria.”
According to accounts on page 35 of the
book, after General Buhari was released
from detention in 1988, IBB sent him “a bag
of money” which he (Buhari) “distributed to
the poor.”
“Buhari had married Safinatu Yusuf in 1971,
and they had five children, a son and four
daughters. In the end, Buhari and Safinatu
would be divorced in 1988. He would marry
Aisha Halilu in 1989, after his release from
detention. They would also have five
children.
“After the death of his mother in December
1988, Buhari was released and travelled to
Daura for the mourning. When he arrived in
Daura, he found his farm much as he had
left it. His senior brother (the father of
Mamman Daura), along with the Barden
Daura, had managed the cattle, sheep, and
horses in his absence, although a number of
cattle had been sold off to pay for feed
during the drought.
“Buhari was still in debt to the bank for
building his home. Yet now he had no
income. At that time there was no program
to provide retirement funds for former
heads of state. Babangida agreed to a policy
to pay Buhari his military pension, a modest
1,643 naira per month for ten years.
“Babangida had originally sent Buhari “a
bag of money,” but Buhari refused it and
had it distributed to the poor. Buhari had
negotiated his pension funds with Air Vice
Marshal (rtd) Hamza Abdullahi, a military
governor of Kano, who acted on behalf of
Babangida,” the biographer wrote.
The book also contained details of how
Buhari was arrested by two soldiers in his
bedroom in consummation of the August
27, 1985 coup.
“By late spring of 1985, the number of “big
men” going to jail had increased. The
tribunals were open and transparent. Buhari
was insistent that the courts do their duty
without fear or favor. Two-thirds of those
arrested and charged came from the north,
that is, from the NPN base.
“As noted above, by the summer of 1985,
splits were beginning to appear within the
top military circle. Babangida had been part
of every coup in Nigeria since 1967 and
began to consider his options. He was very
close to General Aliyu Gusau, who was in
charge of security. As the summer unfolded,
Buhari became aware that Gusau was
trading in import licenses on the side. Gusau
was retired by Buhari, a move that
apparently upset Babangida.
“Buhari confronted Babangida and asked
what he would have done in the matter of
Gusau’s retirement. Babangida agreed that
Gusau had to have been retired. A few days
later, however, there was a knock on
Buhari’s bedroom door. He opened the door
and was met by two soldiers, who told him,
“General Buhari, sir, you are under arrest.”
Buhari would spend the next three years in
detention in Benin. But at least he was alive.
“The question has arisen subsequently as to
whether Buhari knew about the
countercoup in advance. Given his
“appreciation” of complex situation, it is
argued by some, how could he not have
known?
Life in Detention
“Buhari was housed in a well-guarded small
bungalow in Benin City. He was not
harassed by soldiers or cut off from all
communication. He was given a small
television set that could pick up one or two
channels, plus daily newspapers and he was
provided three meals a day. He was allowed
visitors, but only on the specific
authorization of Babangida In most cases,
his visitors were members of his family,
although because they lived in the north of
the country, and Benin was in Edo State in
the south, travel was a problem.
“Buhari’s daily routine was much the same
every day. He would get up around 5a.m. for
Muslim prayers, and then go back to bed;
get up again around 8 or 9a.m. and have
breakfast; read; have lunch; rest; exercise;
pray; eat dinner; read; and sleep. The only
exercise he could get was to jog around
outside the house.
“He read not only newspapers, but also
novels, history books and the Qur’an. His
chief uncertainty in detention was when he
would be released. If Babangida had
wanted to kill him, he realized, he would be
dead by now. Hence, he had to endure not
so much anxiety as a continual sense of
boredom.
