Daughter of the late military dictator,
Gen. Sani Abacha, Gumsu, says she is still mourning the death of her
father, 15 years after his demise.
Gumsu, who may have cut short her sleep
early Saturday morning, took to Twitter at 3:16 am to pay tribute to her
father, saying, “I miss you so much.”
Abacha became the 10th military Head of State of Nigeria on November 17, 1993 but died in office on June 8, 1998.
“May Allah grant my father Aljanna Firdaus. I miss you so much. Fifteen years already. Allah ya jikan ka da rhama ‘Baba,’” she stated in a tweet.
A few hours Gumsu posted the tweet,
former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, replied her, saying,
“Ameen.” However, Fani-Kayode’s move to share in her grief on the 15th
anniversary of the death of Abacha made a handful of his followers on
Twitter to raise an eyebrow.
When Fani-Kayode’s gesture was noticed
by Gumsu, she replied his tweet, saying, “Thank you,’’ while
Fani-Kayode responded, “My pleasure, dear.’’
But Fani-Kayode’s followers on the
social service wondered if he was one of the Nigerians who subtly
benefited from the Abacha regime.
“Fani-Kayode, sir, were you pro-Abacha?”
one of his followers, Dolapo Bello, queried in a tweet. But realising
what damage that could do to his reputation online, Fani-Kayode
responded swiftly by dissociating himself from the Abacha regime.
He stated, “Of course not. I was not pro-Abacha government. I was one of those who fought his government.”
But as the day broke on Saturday, the
Nigerian Twitter space was soon turned into a podium for debate with
some arguing that Abacha was a hero, while others vehemently disagreed
on the social network.
A Nigerian with the name, Ikhide, who
tweets via @ikhide argued, “Nigeria’s democracy has seen more
extrajudicial murders, state-sponsored looting, incompetence and
insecurity than two reigns of Gen. Abacha. If I had to choose among
Goodluck Jonathan, Olusegun Obasanjo and Abacha, I would choose Oga
Jonathan, followed by Abacha, before OBJ. My father Papalolo was
happier, safer and more prosperous under Abacha.’’
Segun Bamidele said, “With due respect
‘Mr. & Mrs. Death’ you have been unfair to Nigeria. You took Abacha
and Abiola 15 years ago and left us with more wicked charlatans.’’
Meanwhile, some Nigerians used the
picture of the late President as their Display Picture on their
BlackBerry Messenger. One of such persons, who is a contact on our
correspondent’s BBM, with the name Engr L.G. Adinoyi, wrote on his
BBM, “Nigeria needs another Gen. Abacha.’’
Reacting to the way Gumsu mourned the
death of her father on Twitter, a prolific user of the social service,
Tolu Ogunlesi, said, “That’s the lesson: That even the cruellest of
dictators have families. And are often loving and caring daddies.’’
Though Ogunlesi was silent on the
“Abacha hero debate” he painstakingly equated the Abacha regime with
that of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. He explained that some of
the achievements the Jonathan administration was laying claim to were
also there during the Abacha regime.
He said, “Truth is, many ‘achievements’
Jonathan Government is claiming, Abacha too claimed. African Cup of
Nations win; Petroleum Trust Fund (for Abacha) – Subsidy Reinvestment
and Empowerment Programme (for Jonathan); Failed Banks Tribunal (for
Abacha) and Fuel Subsidy trial (Jonathan).
“Give Abacha’s list of achievements to
Doyin Okupe (presidential assistant on public affairs) and Labaran Maku
(minister of information), you won’t recognise the dictator again o.
Bottomline is that there are no heroes anywhere, are there? Only
varying degrees of non-heroism. Nigerians celebrated Abacha’s death.
There were parties in Britain celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s Death.
Therefore, the summary of the matter is this: All leaders are evil but
some are (much) less evil than others.”
For Adelola Edema, many Nigerians
praising Abacha as a hero on social media are youths who need to take
some history lessons. “It’s really sad to see young Nigerians praise
Abacha. It makes me fear for this country. Should the youths not be our
hope for a better tomorrow,” Edema noted.
One Kunle, tweeting via @kunledee,
laments, “June 4, you celebrated Kudirat Abiola as a fighter for
democracy. June 8, you now wake up to hail Abacha? Seriously? See the
disconnect?”
Nedu, tweeting via @nedunaija,
lamented, “If you tell me Nigeria was better under Abacha than it is
now, that’ll be because you don’t know about the time value of
corruption.
“Our inability to think is our real
problem. How Abacha became a hero overnight beats me! I remember
vividly, by this time 15 years ago, our street in Ijeshatedo (Lagos)
erupted in jubilation, with people shouting Abacha ti ku o (Abacha has
died o!”
When one Abiodun, tweeting via
@biodunonline, confronted Gumsu, saying, “You and your family, return
stolen wealth of the nation,” she replied, “That’s your opinion. Allah kareem.”
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Even the worst leader have some people who will definitely benefit from his government, it doesn't make him a good leader.
ReplyDeleteThe daughter should look for something else to get fame, and stop reminding us of a tyrant.
my his soul rest in peace
ReplyDeleteFormer Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode is a very CONFUSED MAN unwisely seeking personal interests via this means ! I never respect his opinions anymore.
ReplyDelete@emex:u beta hurried up nd cure dat stupit disease of hypocrise dat has sealed up ur heart nd eyes 4rm seeing anytin gud in ppl,it‘s unfortunte how u intentionally decide to distance urself 4rm d truth for some stupid reasons of urs .Anywaysha,nemesis wll soon catch up wit up.
ReplyDelete0Allah forgive sani abacha and rest his rank amoung the righty Guide and be are successor to whom has letf behide and with all our deceased
ReplyDeleteMay d jentle soul of Abacha rest in perfect peasce Ameen. We all missed u so much.
ReplyDeleteAbacha remains the best as far as m concerned, his problem was with the west and the press, the press can make or mar u, abuja us how Abacha left it and nija is worst dan he left it.
ReplyDeleteRest in peace General
Stop praying for the dead..it has been appointed unto men to die once and after that comes judgement,bible has said.
ReplyDeleteO death! Where you from self? May God forgive General Abatcha.
ReplyDeleteBetween Abacha, Obasanjo and Jonathan, Abacha is the clear choice for me.
ReplyDelete