By Yinka Odumakin

IT was when Nigeria in its usual waywardness honoured heroes and villains of June 12 same day that I remembered the sacrifices of unsung heroes of that momentous event in the history of Nigeria. And in a special category are Gen. M.C. Alli, Maj-Gen Ishola Williams and Col. Abukakar Umar who at the risk of their commissions stood on the side of the popular movement and spoke bitter truth to their constituency – the Army

People who are 40 years and below may not know the Chief of Army Staff who described the Nigerian Army as one of “anything is possible.” It was Gen. M.C Alli, the Chief of Army Staff (1993-94) under the evil reign of Sani Abacha. It was at the peak of frustration with the misbehaviour of the Nigerian Army in the political space that he uttered those indicting words.

Thanks to my good friend and brother, Dr. Osaweren. I was able to engage the noble and gallant officer in his Lagos home last week and it was an exciting moment for me and my brother who went with me.

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His opening shot as we went into serious discussion was “I am ready to die for the unity of Nigeria for which I fought for three years.” He surmised that we had to fight the last war because the country was led by young officers whose maturity was not sufficient to resolve the issues at stake by other means.

Principled stance

As we forayed into the principled stance he took on the June 12 crisis he looked up for a moment and his gaze came back to me: “I didn’t know M.K.O in any way. I was just doing my job and believed that soldiers should not be in politics and that a man who won an election should be allowed to govern the country.”

Gen Alli was not convinced of the excuses being given for the annulment of June 12. He said: “I heard things like Nigeria was owing Abiola and I asked if he was not entitled to what he was owed if he did not win election. And were people Nigeria did not owe not taking money from the country.”

He was convinced that the involvement of soldiers in politics had destroyed the Army, stressing: “The continued stay of the Army in politics was affecting us negatively. It was no longer well equipped because of fear of coups by those in power. We already became an Army of politicians. It got so bad that the civil populace started throwing stones at soldiers. My convoy was once stoned on my way to the Airport. It was that horrible.”

As the civil populace was fighting for re-validation of June 12, Alli and conscientious officers were putting pressure on Abacha to let Abiola off the hook. He noted: “At a point Abacha set up a committee and made me the Chairman with Gen. Oladipo Diya, Paschal Bafyau and Adams Oshiomhole as members to deliberate on Abiola. The work of the committee was tough as it was not easy to have a consensus. Eventually we agreed Abiola should be released with some conditions and they went to brief Abacha.

“We agreed a plane should go to Benin to bring Abiola who would be taken there. I can’t remember why we agreed on Benin. I was not comfortable that Abiola on whom all the discussions were taking place was not involved in the discussions. And on the appointed day, the plane waited but the detainee was not brought.”

Gen. Alli was played Taqqiya when he went to Aso Rock to ask Abacha why Abiola was not brought. He said: “Abacha told me that the Inspector General of Police and some persons were not ready to release him. I left the Villa that day with a resolve not to be involved in the politics of the country again but to concentrate on training the Army. And I kept to that until they asked me to leave.”

Our discussions moved to other subjects and he was clear on all issues. He talked about the dilemma of the Yoruba at a point on whether to stay within their region or to participate in politics at the centre. He believes all sections of Nigeria should participate at the centre to have an inclusive country. He said Igbo and all other groups must also be part of the centre.

The General frowned at how we destroyed our industrial base during Indigenisation Decree as we chased investors away and discouraged them from coming when our industrial capacity was not that strong without thinking it through.

Raging debate on restructuring

On the raging debate on restructuring of the country, the former COAS said he pointed out in his book in 2001 that anybody who is opposed to restructuring of Nigeria is not understanding the situation of the country. He recalled asking how anyone with good conscience could have treated Ijaws the way Nigeria did despite being the base of the wealth of the country. “I believe what you have is what you hold,” Alli noted.

He believes we should not play politics with serious national issues stressing that Africa would have lost the capacity Nigeria has to defend it if we allowed the country to be destroyed. “Nigeria had shown that we can bear the burden of Africa,” he added.

Talking like a statesman, he said: “We don’t know how to reconcile ourselves We must unite as our regions should be strong links for our national. With right leadership we have the capacity to lead Africa. Every fight must not end in shooting ourselves.”

It was a perfect moment to part with the principled and respected General who reminds it is not a bad thing to be a General.

On February 13, 1976, army plotters assassinated the then head of state, General Murtala Mohammed. Alli was investigated for involvement in the coup attempt, but was exonerated. General Ibrahim Babangida appointed Alli military governor of Plateau State from August 1985 to 1986.

During the attempted coup against General Ibrahim Babangida by Major Gideon Orkar on April 22, 1990, Colonel Alli was commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade in Kano. He instructed several army commanders to make counter-broadcasts, as he did himself. The attempted coup failed.

After the coup in November 1993 when Chief  Ernest Shonekan was ousted by General Sani Abacha, Alli was appointed Chief of the Army Staff. Abacha removed him from this post in August 1994. In May 2004 Plateau State erupted into sectarian violence, which spilled over into Kano State.

It was reported that over 50,000 people had died. President Olusegun Obasanjo declared emergency rule in the state and suspended the governor and the state assembly, appointing Alli as administrator.

Alli  quickly developed the Plateau Peace Programme, involving dialogue between religious, ethnic and community leaders, and a statewide peace conference. He also gave an amnesty to holders of weapons and a reward for their turning in their arms. Alli’s measures were successful in calming the situation, and he handed back to civilian rule in November 2004.

FEEDBACK

Re:@war 50 years after the war

YOUR piece on the above gave us a brief history of our nation in the past fifty plus years. But history teaches nothing as men are condemned to repeat same. In short, to show this disdain for history, we removed history as a subject from our school curriculum.

The situation we found ourselves today as a nation was sown during our march to independence and immediately thereafter. Today we are as divided, as we were before the amalgamation of 1914. We have become so self-defensive of our ethnic nationalities, that people of other nationalities mean nothing to us. In short, those that have the reason to wield guns waste people anyhow to the extent that we as a people have lost our humanity. We have become so intolerant of other nationalities and wasting them means nothing. It is this near state of chaos that must be avoided at all cost.

And you have rightly concluded that “a negotiated settlement that understands our differences is the best way out. Its other name is Federalism.” You rightly also looked at the security architecture of the nation and who controls what. The question is who wants to negotiate when it is apparent to him that he/she occupies a master’s position and the others servants. This thinking is what is inflaming the ethnic intolerance all over the place today.

If we as a people leave it that way, we may not be too far from 1967 to 1970; this time with a dire consequence for this nation, which  have been described as a house that has fallen. No one can claim to win that war not even with foreign imports, for “it would be decisive and fought on different fronts with different goals”.

Amotekun need not be a problem if the national security architecture is up and doing. Why duplicate efforts? No need. More worrisome is why some people are afraid of it. I don’t see the reason, especially as it will secure all of us. May God give our leaders a forthright spirit to lead us. God bless you.

• Joel Avhurhi