Sani Kukasheka Usman, former army spokesperson, says
Abdulrahman Dambazau (pictured), former chief of army staff, was “lobbied” to
seize power after the death of former President Musa Yar’Adua.
Yar’Adua was president from 2007 until his passing in May 2010.
Usman spoke on Tuesday at the 2022 Blueprint Newspapers
annual public lectures and impact series award in Abuja.
According to the former army spokesman, Dambazau rejected
the temptation because he prioritised the interest of the nation.
Usman said he asked Dambazau to include the names of the
people who told him to seize power in the memoir he is writing.
“One thing Nigerians do not know is that if we are counting
champions of democracy in this country, there is no way you will not mention
Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau. I will tell you why,” he said.
“Way back in the days when President Umar Yar’Adua was sick,
he was the chief of army staff and I had the privilege of being public
relations officer in the office of the army chief. I had the privilege of
moving with him; we always moved together and I knew.
“Even though he is a
prolific writer, he is yet to come out with his memoir and part of that memoir
should be an exposé of those people that undermined democracy in this country.
“I am saying this with every sense of responsibility because
at that time the same group of politicians were the ones lobbying him to take
over government unconstitutionally. We have the records and when he started
writing the memoir, with due respect to him, I told him that he had to mention
the names of the individuals so that posterity will remember them for who they
are.
“Up till now we are still contending with that issue and I
know that the international community showed concern to the extent that they
had to meet with him where he promised that he will not take over the
government.
“We still live with the flak where in some parts of the
country they call us women because an opportunity came and we did not take
advantage of it to take over the government. Now, what am I driving at? All
these issues that we are talking about lack focus on critical issues. They are
threatening the very corporate existence of this nation.
“When we visited 44 Reference Hospital, Kaduna, people were
asking when is the announcement going to be made about taking over the
government. I’m so happy General Akinyemi, the GOC 3rd armoured division (Jos)
is still alive. You can ask him.
“A simple phone call to him to roll out the tanks and
General Dambazau would have been head of state, but he resisted that temptation
simply because he had the interest of this nation at heart and he knows that
democracy is the best form of government for this country.”
Dambazau was removed as chief of army staff and retired as a
lieutenant-general in 2010 by Jonathan. He was later appointed by President
Muhammadu Buhari as minister of interior in 2015.
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