By Temitope Muhideen 

Sani Abacha became the 10th head is state in Nigeria on the 17th of November 1993, he was the brain behind the coup that threw Earnest Shonekan out of office, Abacha was a master coup planner and strategist, he had earlier contributed to many successful coups in Nigeria before 1993, after removing Shonekan from power in broad daylight without firing a single bullet, Abacha began his administration, he gave no room for divergent views, zero tolerance for opposing thought,  no law to protect opposition, he rules with strict vigilante and power. 

Abacha was so brutal, that he arrested every Tim and Harry, Gen. Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo was one of the prominent military personnel he arrested, Obasanjo had earlier gone around the country from east to west to north and held meetings with different leaders, communities, and politicians on the way forward for Nigerians, Abacha saw Obasanjo movement as a direct threat to his continued stay in office for a long period of time, Obasanjo alongside others were charged with treason, he was sentenced to death by a military marshal, Abacha reverted the sentence to life imprisonment following intervention by the international communities.

While Obasanjo was still in prison, General Abacha died in office on the 8th of June 1998, he was immediately succeeded by General Abdusalam Abubakar, Abubakar decided to change the face of the government, he began to release those who were sentenced under the regime of Abacha, Obasanjo was one of the few that were released by a stroke of luck and faith and would later become the president of Nigeria in 1999 at the return of democracy in Nigeria.

Obasanjo recounted the story of his life in his book “MY WATCH”, he gave the account of how he escaped being poisoned twice during his time at the prison, it would be recalled that Obasanjo served in Jos prison and Yola prison. On page 441 of volume 1 of his book “My Watch,” he narrates how he escaped the first attempt to silence him by injecting him with poisonous substances. 

He wrote extensively “The magnitude of the flow of visitors to me in Jos prison had caused some anxiety to Abacha, One day I was suddenly told that I was being moved, where to and for what reason? nobody told me, the movement of prisoners is always shrouded in secrecy for security reasons, as they would say. By early afternoon I was moved to a government quarter in the GRA, there, a man whom I later realized was a medical doctor was waiting for me, he started talking to me about the concerns of the government authority for my health, especially for my cholesterol level and said he would want to take my blood for testing, I knew very well that I had no cholesterol problem. I was slightly diabetic and surprisingly my sugar level had been consistently normal.”

“I told the man firmly that I did not need a blood cholesterol test and that the minor medical problem I had was diabetes, I checked my blood sugar level regularly and I was quite satisfied with my results. Obviously, he did not expect the reaction he got from me, he had to put his syringe and needle back and said to me that later they would allow follow-up in my new location. He did not look happy, but there was not much else he could do with me at that juncture. As I came to realize later, Shehu Musa Yaradua went through the same process during which he must have been injected with what eventually killed him. I could only attribute the stand I took to the will and guidance of God. I had no premonition or tip-off, he concluded. 

He continued “With the doctor unable to perform his lethal act of injecting me with a deadly virus or slow poison, I was taken to the airport where an Air Force Dunia Aircraft was waiting to take me to my new prison location. But exactly where I did not know, As I watched the shadow that the aircraft cast as we moved along, I knew we were moving in some easterly direction. We arrived in the evening, and I was kept in the aircraft for two hours while they were preparing my cell in the new location. I was handcuffed for the entire journey by the time I came into what turned out to be the Yola prison and my home for the next three years or so, it was almost 10 at night.”

On page 443 of the book, he narrated as follows “ Yola prison had no fairly modern clinic like Jos prison, the first item on my agenda was to see a doctor so that my medical condition could be put in correct perspectives, I asked the prison superintendent permission to see a doctor. The general practitioner who also was the officer in charge of the Yola General Hospital, was invited to see me. After listening to my medical history, he assured me that had an internal medicine specialist, a physician who would be sent to see me. The specialist came and introduced himself as Dr. Ajuwon, I said to him that sounded like a Yoruba name, and he went on to say he was a a Yoruba man from Oke Ogun in Oyo state. He had studied at the University of Ibadan and specialized as a physician. He was a Christian of the Baptist denomination and he had heard of me both as a Nigerian leader and as a fellow Baptist. Naturally, he made me relax in his company, I told him my medical history, showing my drugs and the medical papers in my possession. I told him the story of the man who wanted to take my blood in Jos to check my Cholesterol levels as he told me. Dr. Anuwon listened patiently and examined me as a doctor normally does for temperature and pressure.”

“ He confirmed the continuation of my drugs, exercise, and diet. We agreed that I should immediately send for him if any doctor, medical personnel, or group from Abuja or anyone else wanted to see me or examine me, a few weeks later, a doctor whom I later discovered to be De. Yakasai came from Abuja wanting to take my blood for a cholesterol check. He came with his syringe and needle, I insisted he would not touch me until I doctor was around. The prison authority sent for Dr. Ajuwon, and when he came, he asked the Abuja doctor what he wanted. Of course, he gave the same story, Ajuwon who had his own syringe and needle there and then, and in the full gaze of everyone, including the prison officials took my blood and gave it to the Abuja man. Ajuwon asked him when he would have the results sent to us. The man replied within 48 hours of getting to Abuja.”

“ I remained in Yola for at least another two years after that visit and no blood test result was ever sent to Dr. Ajuwon or to me. Obviously, he came for a devilish act, but God intervened once again, It was not too long after that visit that we received the news of Shehu Yaradua’s death. Rumor had it that he was poisoned. The way I was taken to a govt quarters with a man ostensibly wanted to take my blood for a cholesterol check was the same way Shehu was taken under the guise of a blood check, a slow poison or virus was injected into his body. It must be mentioned that when I did not die as expected, Dr. Yakasai was accused of gross neglect of duty amounting to a coup and he was sentenced to prison, Yakasai spent his prison term in Kuje.”

Temitope Muhideen is the publisher of Confidence News Nigeria and a member of Greenfield Library Limited, Atlanta Georgia, USA.