Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has revealed that he advised former President Olusegun Obasanjo to abandon the idea of contesting the 1999 presidential election after his release from prison in 1998.
Abdulsalami said he told Obasanjo to return home, thank God for surviving his ordeal and forget about becoming President.
He also disclosed that he persuaded Obasanjo not to sue the Federal Government over his imprisonment, warning that the court process could be prolonged and uncertain.
The revelations are contained in Chapter 22 of Abdulsalami’s 264-page autobiography, Call of Duty, presented at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, to mark his 84th birthday.
President Bola Tinubu was represented at the event by Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
Abdulsalami said Obasanjo came to him after his release with two issues, his plan to sue the government and the invitation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the presidency.
He wrote, “I was forthright with him. One, I advised him that he should not take the government to court because it might not augur well.
“For one, he would not know how long it would take the court to give judgment. I told him that, as a government, we would try to see what could be done about his business in the form of compensation.
“The court process was uncertain, I told him. I tried to dissuade him from pursuing the litigation option, and he agreed with me.”
On Obasanjo’s presidential ambition, Abdulsalami said he advised him against joining the race.
Abdulsalami further stated, “On the invitation by the PDP that he should run in the presidential race, I advised him to return home and thank God that he was still alive after all he had gone through in four years. I told him point-blank that he should forget about contesting to be President.
“He took a deep sigh and said he was going to think about it and revert. He never got back to me. He can confirm this encounter.”
‘We Did Not Endorse Obasanjo’
The former Head of State said Obasanjo’s eventual emergence as President should not be interpreted to mean that his administration backed his candidacy.
“I tell people till today that my administration had nothing to do with the presidential ambition of General Obasanjo.
“It may be hard to believe, but we did not endorse him, and we did not work for him. It was a conjecture.
“As I have said several times, as a government, we decided to release all political prisoners. We did not pick and choose. We did not single any individual out for favour. General Obasanjo was one of those prisoners who regained freedom,” he stated.
Abdulsalami added that many other political prisoners were also released and pardoned.
He stated, “Some said because we granted him a pardon, which allowed him to run for office, that meant we were working for him.
“But we released and pardoned scores of political prisoners. It was because General Obasanjo ended up as the President that people overlooked the other prisoners that were pardoned as well.”
Abdulsalami acknowledged reports that some retired generals worked behind the scenes to persuade Obasanjo to contest, believing he could unite the country.
He, however, distanced himself and his government from the efforts.
“There were reports that some retired Generals worked behind the scenes to persuade General Obasanjo to run because they believed he was the one who could unite Nigerians at that critical time, given his experience, network and knowledge.
“I read the reports, too. I was also aware of efforts made by some people to ensure that somebody who was nationally acceptable was elected as President.
“Those were private initiatives and had nothing to do with our government or me,” he wrote.
How AD Was Registered
In the book, Abdulsalami also explained how his administration adjusted the electoral rules to allow the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to be registered as a political party.
He said the party, formed by NADECO and the Afenifere Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, initially failed to meet the criteria set by the government.
According to him, the criteria required parties to have a presence in two-thirds of the 36 states, legal registration, offices in the Federal Capital Territory and state capitals, and a constitution.
He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Peoples Party (APP) clearly met the criteria, while the AD was largely strong only in the South-West.
Abdulsalami added, “We had to apply some wisdom and flexibility. As projected, the AD eventually didn’t meet the criteria for the registration of political parties. We tinkered with the rules and said any party that came third would be registered. That was how AD scaled through.
“We did not want to create a system in which the South-West would feel marginalised. Whatever decision we took was for the peace and progress of the country. If tinkering with the rule we made ourselves would give respite to Nigerians, why not?
“The rules were made by humans and for humans. The idea was to give peace a chance and to ensure that there was equity and justice.”
Why Handover Held In May 1999
Abdulsalami also explained why Nigeria returned to civilian rule in May 1999 instead of October 1998, the date earlier announced by the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
He said the October date was not feasible because his administration scrapped Abacha’s transition programme, which he said lacked credibility.
According to him, the May 1999 handover date was influenced by a request from the judiciary.
Abdulsalami said, “My first suggestion was that we should draw up a six-month transition plan. That would have seen us hand over to a democratically elected President by March 1999.
“However, when I called for a meeting with the military echelon and the judiciary, Justice Muhammadu Uwais, then Chief Justice of Nigeria, said he would need at least sixty days after the elections to ensure that all the judicial matters brought to the courts were dispensed with before inauguration.
“That was how we arrived at May 1999. It was a function of a judicial request and my desire to make the transition process as short as possible. Six months was the fastest we could do to organise elections and give the political parties the time to set up and prepare.”
The former Head of State said he faced pressure from several quarters not to hand over power as scheduled.
He said the pressure came from some military colleagues, some West African leaders, sections of the international community and even some NADECO members.
“Initially, there was intense pressure from some of my colleagues, some Heads of State in the West African sub-region and some in the international community that it was too soon to transition to democracy.
“Surprisingly, there were pressures from some NADECO members too. Two to three months into my administration, some NADECO members realised that I was sincere about the handover date, and they saw themselves as short-changed because they were not politicking as they should have done.
“They felt they had missed the train and wanted to come on board, which made them request more time to get their act together,” he wrote.
Abdulsalami said when NADECO members requested an extension, he asked them to put it in writing and publicly announce their support for the extension.
“I promised that if they did that, I would grant an extension. But they never did. I knew they wouldn’t. We went ahead with our programme,” he wrote.
‘Nigeria Was At Breaking Point’
Abdulsalami said some of his military colleagues opposed the handover to civilians, but he was not tempted to remain in office.
“For me, I was not in any way tempted to stay longer in office. I had made up my mind. By the time I took over the reins of power, the country was on the edge.
“There was extreme pressure from NADECO, G-34, and other political players for the military to go.
“Nigeria was at a breaking point. The military needed to relinquish power,” he wrote.
On the eve of the May 29, 1999, handover, Abdulsalami said he had no anxiety about leaving office.
“I slept well that night. I always slept well, apart from the day I assumed power when I didn’t sleep a wink for days.
“Thereafter, I always slept well, even though I worked round the clock at times. But that was a choice. I had no anxieties whatsoever on the eve of the handover. I had made up my mind to relinquish power within the shortest possible time, and I didn’t have any issues that I was about to leave power.
“Rather, I was happy that as much as possible, we had brought peace to the country and stabilised the military too,” he wrote.
He added that on the morning of May 29, 1999, he took Obasanjo on a familiarisation tour of the Presidential Villa and introduced him to staff.
After the handover ceremony, Abdulsalami said he drove back to Minna, having moved his personal belongings out of the Villa a week earlier.
“As we drove through towns and villages, people gathered by the roadside to wave to us. It was quite a sight. I was a very happy man,” he wrote.
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