Abel Alalade, General Victor Malu,  the Nigerian Military and Coup Threats

By

 Zaiyol Karl 

In a season like this in Nigeria, usually there are on the horizon, spin doctors, voodoo analysts, and hypocrites, claiming to have invisible power of clairvoyance to read and analyze things unsaid, and to predict events based on such analyses. These clairvoyants who specialize in cover-ups, are usually, in their opinion, more patriotic and more dedicated to the cause of democracy in Nigeria than those being attacked, notwithstanding the fact that, they have absconded. What is apparently most disingenuous and probably needs to be reconciled first by this group of people before displaying undue disenchantment, is the fact that, they have absconded the very Nigeria that they are most dedicated to. How is patriotism and democratic leadership in Nigeria more effective in absentia (self-exile) than in person?

After reading Mr. Abel Alalade’s veiled threats to General Victor Malu, I came to the conclusion that, he probably did not read General Malu’s Newswatch interview or he must have some highly personal issues with the man. If he read his interview, the focus of his thesis would have been on why and how soldiers invaded Benue state; adduced facts and figures as Malu did to contradict his version of what happened in Benue state, and the Federal Government’s treatment of Nigerian soldiers who died on active duty in Liberia as contrasted with the treatment given to those who died while on an illegal duty in Benue state. He would have contradicted the fact that, unarmed farmers, children, women and the elderly who were in their homes and in market places were suddenly lined up and executed by the Nigerian Army on Mr. Obasanjo’s orders. And he would have contradicted the fact that, no arms were discovered in any of the buildings destroyed or searched by soldiers in the four Local Government areas they destroyed.

Criminally, none of these merited mention in Mr. Alalade’s thesis of false patriotism, but these were the main issues of Malu’s interview. Setting them aside in a mere sinister fashion to focus entirely on inconsequential side issues that have neither direct nor indirect bearing to why Nigerian Soldiers became Jukun Militia, and why Mr. Obasanjo became Commander-in-Chief of that Militia is not good enough to divert the topic to Malu’s personality. Rather, the attempt defines Mr. Alalade as a sadducean hypocrite, fronting as a voodoo analyst to cover-up Mr. Obasanjo’s savagism. Contrary to his intent, this rejoinder seeks to refocus the attention of the chattering class of Nigeria to the person of Mr. Obasanjo rather than Mr. Malu.

The facts as posited by Malu, both at the Panel of Investigation and the Newswatch interview, with respect to human rights violations and government terrorism in Benue state were completely in sync with the report submitted by the Human Rights Watch on the same situation. (MILITARY REVENGE IN BENUE: A Population Under Attack , Report, April 2002). General Malu did not solicit Human Rights Watch to arrive at this conclusion, neither did he play any peripheral roles in their investigation of the situation. Mr. Alalade may not again have read that report, but being a self acclaimed clairvoyant, he knows what was there, and knows that, when Obasanjo attempted to dismiss that report, ( Nigeria: President Ignoring Gravity of Military Massacre HRW Press Release, April 19, 2002), he was warned by the Executive Director of the Human Rights Watch and ordered to recant his treacherous outbursts, (Letter to Obasanjo April 18, 2002).

Since then, he has recoiled his tail between his legs and withdrawn from making any further mad comments about the situation. Were Mr. Alalade an honest and patriotic Nigerian as suggested by his submission, wouldn’t he be more concerned with the fact that, due to his poor temperament, abuse of power, gross human rights violations, and terrorist inclinations, the Nigerian President has become a subject of ridicule and rebuke by international organizations around the world, rather than present speculative rhetoric about General Malu?

Alalade may be hired to do what Human Rights Watch has forbade Mr. Obasanjo from doing, but he should be told that, democracy in Nigeria cannot be sponsored with the blood of Tiv people, neither can it be achieved by primitive attempts by Yorubas to silence Tiv leaders with baseless claims that, they are planning coups. If there was anything in Malu’s interview that suggests he was planning a coup, and Mr. Alalade is convinced that a coup is underway, then as a citizen of Nigeria, he has a constitutional right to take legal action against Malu to press his point rather than resort to verbose attacks on Tiv people, Northerners, and the Military establishment. Such attacks, Mr. Alalade can be assured will only lead to more furious discussions with the intent of further diminishing Mr. Obasanjo’s already diminishing credibility by way of introducing more facts about the man.

Malu was asked a pointed question, whether he thought it was possible to plan and carry out a coup in Nigeria? His answer was yes, and he explained why he thought it was possible. Does that mean he was planning a coup? Could he have lied to enhance Mr. Alalde’s delusion that a terrorist government disguised in democracy is save in Nigeria? This is the man who claims to be a democrat, and wishes Nigeria to be a democratic society, now persecuting General Malu for exercising his democratic rights by expressing his views on national issues. Is freedom of speech not a democratic tenet in New York where Mr. Abel Alalade is a volunteered refugee?

In another question regarding coup, Malu was asked whether he and the other sacked Military Chiefs had ever considered plotting a coup to overthrow this administration, and his answer was no; that, they never even considered it, but it would have been easy if they had wanted. Alalade is aggrieved by that answer. He wants General Malu to lie to Nigerians that, it is now impossible to overthrow a Government in Nigeria nor matter how authoritarian and terrorist it might be; if he does not lie, then he will be accused of plotting a coup. Contrary to his claim of being a more patriotic Nigerian than Malu, his preference to live in delusion, with respect to the existing political situation in Nigeria suggests otherwise, unless he is radically psychogenic.

Speaking of patriotism and coups, public records attest that, General Malu spent 32 years in the Army at the time when coups were most rampant in Nigeria, and never participated in any coups, and was never accused of any wrongdoings. The same records attest that, Obasanjo was a consummate coup plotter, who violently killed when others plotted against him, and he continued to plot coups even after he had left the Military, and was consequently jailed for such behavior. Investigative journalists have time after time linked Mr. Obasanjo to the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, the man to whom he was second in command in Government. Charges he has never refuted. He has constantly been accused of being a CIA agent, and of working in concert with foreign agents to sterilize Nigerian women for the purpose of population control, in order to limit Nigeria’s ability from becoming a regional power. Charges he has again never denied. ( http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/mar1999/nig-m17.shtml ).

Who killed Chief Bola Ige? This question was to be answered with “immediate effect”, and rewards for information leading to the arrest of his killers were offered when Mr. Fryo, the government acclaimed chief accused was in hiding, (Nigerian justice minister assassinated), but since Fryo emerged and implicated Mr. Obasanjo and his administration, the manhunt has radically stalled, (Ige: Fryo fingers Omisore, Gov Akande, Presidency). Instead, Mr. Fryo has become a protected witness, and Festus Keyamo, his lawyer, the accused, ([Image]Ige Murder: Police Arrest Keyamo) Is this what you call democracy?

One would wish Mr. Abel Alalade to once again, wizardly read the situation and tell Nigerians what was Obasanjo’s role in the assassination of Chief Bola Ige, and how Mr. Keyamo has incredibly become a defendant in a case he was originally a lawyer to the accused. While spin doctors may easily distract people from discussing human rights violations and terrorist activities of Mr. Obasanjo’s administration, they cannot suppress public records. Assassinations, jail and coup records, and membership in accredited foreign secret agencies plotting to limit Nigerian population do not make anyone a more patriotic citizen than the rest of us. Alalade should better be advised to start with his own man if he wants to write any books or articles about coups; he is the only Nigerian, dead or alive, with experiences of both failed and successful coups.

Getting back to Tiv/Jukun crisis, Mr. Alalade noted that, “What stood out in that interview was his mention of how easy it is for the military to come back to power whenever they want to, and this makes me conflict between the Tiv and Jukun in Benue and Taraba States to the fate of our precious democracy in the entire country.”

Obviously, this is nothing short of a comprehension problem. Where did Malu suggest that, the military might come back in the context of Tiv/Jukun crisis? And why is the OPC violence against non-Yorubas in the West, which started the very month Obasanjo came to power, and has been ongoing since then, not a threat to Mr. Alalade’s nascent democracy as the Tiv/Jukun crisis? (Democracy, Law and Order), or is it another display of hypocrisy?

Mr. Alalade continued that, “Whatever quarrel might be going on between the two communities in Benue and Taraba (or anywhere else in the country for that matter) is the problem of the parties involved and should be dealt with by the various warring parties without drawing members of the Nigerian armed forces into the mess”.

Was it Malu who criminally got soldiers involved in the Tiv/Jukun crisis or Alalade’s very icon, Mr. Obasanjo? First his government denied the covert involvement of Nigerian soldiers in the conflict, then when the 19 soldiers were caught in the company of Jukun Militia, he pathologically back-paddled, claiming they were there to clear road blocks. After the massacre, he again denied soldiers were responsible for the killings and insisted on that position even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, ( Nigerian soldiers carry out massacres), (AfricaOnline.com - Nigeria: Troops kill at least 200). Under serious pressure from international press to acknowledge the obvious, he again lied, that, soldiers were deployed on the request of the Benue State Government. But since Benue State Government refuted his bogus claims on Nov. 4, 2001, Mr. Obasanjo has not countered.TIV REPRISAL KILLINGS: Security report faults FG's claim • ...

 What a dishonest President! Why can he not tender to the general public, evidence of communication attesting that, Benue State Government had requested for deployment of soldiers in the State? Even if there were no communication protocol and an archival system in the Nigerian Government, and Mr. Obasanjo were claiming that, the request was made by phone, NITEL should have a phone log of such a communication, to show that, Benue State Government had indeed contacted the Federal Government at the time of the said request. If I were Mr. Alalade, I would rather expend my energy in educating Mr. President on how to be a better Liar than lecture Mr. Malu on how to be a better retired General.

According to Mr. Alalade, “that is a matter for the indigenes of Benue and Taraba or any other communities that shamelessly delight in killing their neighbors within the same country to solve, and not the problem for the generality of Nigeria”.

Quite sadducean, in my opinion. When Yorubas introduced OPC, the first ever Militia in Nigeria, and launched a deadly assault on Northerners in the West in the early days of this administration, I did not hear any wisdom from Mr. Alalade, ( USAfricaonline), (ReliefWeb: Nigeria: Deaths rise in Lagos clashes, thousands flee). Where has he gotten his newly found wisdom, or does it mean that, the Yorubas are naturally a people who “delight in shamelessly killing their neighbors within the same country“? Interestingly, one would wish Mr. Alalade to expatiate on this monopolistic theory of barbarism relating Yorubas.

That, “If Victor Malu wants to spend his retirement years in his local village fighting communal wars alongside his tribesmen as their local champion and Ultimate Warrior, instead of using his influence and wealth of experience and exposure to bring the warring factions together to seek communal peace instead of war, that is his prerogative”.

Nonsense. General Malu does not even live in Benue state, and when his village house was searched by Nigerian soldiers no arms were discovered, and no arms were discovered in the entire Local Government Area, so where is the basis for the contention that, he is an ultimate warrior who fights alongside tribesmen? Obasanjo was elected as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, why did he suddenly become Commander-in-Chief of the Jukun Militia? Does the democratic constitution in New York where Mr. Alalade is on self-exile suggest, a democratically elected President become Commander-in-Chief of a Tribal Militia to fight against other tribes in his own country? If anyone is an ultimate warrior, a coup plotter, and a war criminal in Nigeria, then that person is Mr. Obasanjo. The United Nations, Human Rights Organizations and Amnesty International, are all fully aware of his terrorist propensity as exhibited in Odi, Benue villages and elsewhere in Nigeria, (Nigeria: Time for justice and accountability).

That, “The General talks about the Obasanjo government's neglect of the military establishment as the cause of his disagreement with the president as if Obasanjo is the only leader that ever neglected the military“.

Nowhere was that suggestion made in Malu’s interview with the Newswatch Magazine. Again, Mr. Alalade’s problem is comprehension. Malu clearly stated that, his problem with Mr. Obasanjo and his administration was, training of the Nigerian Armed Forces by Americans, especially when they were given access by the administration to all military formations in country. He believed they would use the opportunity to gather intelligence about Nigeria. And he did not believe that, the Americans who failed in several peace keeping efforts, the last been in Somolia, were sufficiently qualified to train Nigerians on how to keep peace in Africa.

 The introduction of a junior Defense Minister, a naivety, was another problem. Which of Malu’s interviews has Abel read? On the Defense budget, he theorized that, “Defense and military budgets no longer take precedence over education and health care allocations. The problem is the Nigerian military establishment is not used to playing a back-seat role to any other agent of the government. This is why when the approved defense budget was justifiably less than what the Service Chiefs had asked for, Victor Malu thought it was suicidal for Obasanjo to have reduced the vote for defense”.

It is quite possible to digress from the main issues for various reasons, but it is quite impossible to suppress public records. Malu is aware that Mr. Obasanjo does not approve budgets. Budgets are approved by the Nigerian Congress. So Malu would never have picked up any problems with Mr. Obasanjo over budget approval. Malu categorically stated that, the administration refused to release the budgeted money approved by the Congress. And he is not the only one complaining. Congress has just instituted impeachment proceedings against Mr. Obasanjo over non-implementation of the 1999, 2000, and 2001 budgets, (BBC News | BUSINESS | Nigerian public spending under ...)

Malu did not solicit Congress to take this action. How does Mr. Alalade reconcile this budget brouhaha with Mr. Obasanjo’s frequent flier mileage, and a chain of mansions overseas? If money budgeted over the years has not been expended to implement those budgets but is no longer in the treasury, then where has it gone? Your Guess is good!

On the Defense Ministry, Alalade pontificated that, “But the fact is Nigeria has a bloated military that is so mundane and ill equipped that it is impossible to justify its composition. Even nations at war have far less military personnel than Nigeria. The military presence and size need to be pruned as quickly as possible to free the nation of the burden of such a sluggish force, by reducing its size and make it more manageable. The military does not have to be attractive in any way. In fact, it should be made very uninviting to eradicate its misplaced priority and wean the nation of its residual military addictions. Doing so will also prevent those whose only interest in joining the armed forces is to one day stage their own coup like the Buharis and Babangidas before them, from finding the armed forces as a safe haven”.

But Defense is a Ministry just like the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, et al., so if we are to prune Ministry of Defense because it is “bloated” and we cannot “justify its composition and size”, then are we similarly going to prune Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, et al., because we cannot “justify” their “composition” and “size” or have we already done that? If not, which statistical data have shown who’s who in other ministries, attesting to justification of their compositions? Ministry of Education with its Headquarters in Lagos has been a fraud since its inception, (AfricaOnline.com - Nigerian school group marches against exam ... ), why is Mr. Alalade not pontificating that, it be pruned to eliminate academic fraud and hoodlums who have for decades prevented inland Nigerians from having access to Federal scholarships and foreign aid education programs? Why does he not pontificate that, WAEC and JAMB be pruned to enhance efficiency by eliminating rampant examination leakages in the West? (allAfrica.com: Jamb's Onslaught Against Syndicates ), (THISDAYonline), Or does the act of pruning enhance efficiency only in the Ministry where the North has an edge over the West?

“The military leaders who are calling for coups or are attempting to threaten Nigerians with talks of coups are grossly underestimating the resolve of the Nigerian people. They need to be told in no uncertain terms that any attempt by any demented group of soldiers to parade themselves as military coupists would be met with stiff resistance by our people”……Alalade

Who are those “military leaders planning for a coup“? It’s a ruse. Why would a man who writes a 5-page article, full of polemics and accusations of treason, with no single reference to support his assertions be believed? He should provide supporting documentation to his coup thesis, and name names of those allegedly involved. By crying coup, when there is none, is simply a frustrated move in the election year by Mr. Alalade to whip up public sentiment to boost Mr, Obasanjo’s hopeless reelection campaign.

 Alalade should be invited by SSS to explain what he knows, how he knows and when he knows about any upcoming coups. Failure to satisfactorily explain his advanced knowledge of impending coups, he should be charged with dishonorary conduct, disinformation and premeditation to cause public fear. If Mr. Alalade has a personal problem with General Malu as his article suggests, he should tackle such a problem on a personal level with Mr. Malu.

To make it a public issue, he must justify why his personal distaste for a given individual must become a public problem. No amount of unsubstantiated treasonable allegation is enough reason to divert Mr. Alalade’s highly private and personal issues with people to public domain.

June 2002