Why my regime was toppled in 1985, by Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari as military head of state of Nigeria before his regime was truncated. PHOTO: William Campbell/Sygma/Corbis
• Says Babangida, Gusau were arrowheads of the coup
President Muhammadu Buhari may have stirred the hornets nest when yesterday, he declared he was removed from office on August 27, 1985 because he was planning to purge the military hierarchy of corruption.
He specifically pointed a finger at two of his top subordinates in the army then, former Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida and two-time National Security Adviser (NSA), General Aliyu Gusau, as arrowheads who toppled his military government in August 1985 to save themselves from his wrath.
Buhari in the ongoing anti-corruption battle, seems to have finally taken on the military, 31 years after.In an interview published in the current edition of The Interview magazine, Buhari challenged Babangida and Gusau to tell the truth as to why they carried out the coup against him.
In a statement on www.theinterview.com.ng, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, said: “This is one edition that won’t let sleeping dogs lie.”
Azu was part of the top editors of national dailies, who were at the State House to interview the President on the heels of his first anniversary in office.The President was quoted in the statement as having said: “I learnt that Aliyu Gusau, who was in charge of intelligence, took import licence from the Ministry of Commerce which was in charge of supplies and gave it to Alhaji Mai Deribe, a Maiduguri-based businessman, who has since passed on.
“It was worth N100,000, a lot of money at that time. I confronted them and took the case to the Army Council in a memo. I wanted Gusau punished.”Azu’s statement had quoted Babangida as having told The Interview in its December edition that there was nothing in the memo, which, Buhari said he submitted to the Army council.
“Don’t forget that I was one of Buhari’s closest aides. I was the Chief of Army Staff. So, I had an important position, an important role to play within that administration. I don’t think it had to do with a memo,” Babangida said.
But throwing a challenge which revealed that the past may neither have been forgotten nor forgiven, Buhari dares Babangida and Gusau to come clean on why they removed him, asking The Interview to choose whose story to believe.
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30 Comments
Muhammadu Buhari, you unrepentant treason criminal that should be serving a life sentence imprisonment or have been executed like Dimka and Orka. You led your cohort miscreants to topple a democratic government in criminal violation of the Fedearal constitution.
It is tragic indeed that Nigerian electorates are either ignorant or forgetful to have even voted for your TREASON CRIMINAL self. You should be in prison because you are nothing but a criminal.
Global
you are a very useless person how dear speak to the Nigeria president that way,the only one that has ever fight corruption in Nigeria,i will vote for Buhari over and over again,as long he fight Corruption i will do the same to any one who is truthful enough to fight corruption THANK YOU
Young man, I feel you but Buhari is NOT fighting corruption. Do not be deceived. Buhari is simply harassing perceived political enemies.
what he(Global) said is true if you care to know, insulting him will only makes you not to see facts as they stand.
NNow you know that a president should not be spoken to carelessly?when Buhari and APC stalwart were running their mouth against GEJ like a china gun with falsehood,did you know that in this year alone 2016 894 Nigeria soldiers have been killed by boko haram? and APC is still covering up and arresting and unlawfully detaining them trying to expose the video and information,it seems that you are a very irresponsible fellow for abusing Global in an arrant mannerthis was your style to abuse anybody now your turn buhari`s on the receiving end you are complaining ?,buhari refused to probe APC members,rather he appoint them into vital post,bahuri is not a messiah,he is a BOKO HARAM supporter and a pretender
THIS IS ‘A FOOD FOR THOUGHT’ for all those who no know, to begin to know!
Here we are Nigerians may yet be treated with the ‘unforeseens’; i. e. regarding all those matters swept/ hidden under the carpet ‘course we need to if the canker-warm corruption has got to be dealt with properly in Nigeria! And behold you heard or read from me say – no, harp is the right word – those things I talked about going wrongly administratively back stage in Nigeria, folks! Oyaoo ‘9ja!’ Yo waa mutami Nijeria geskyia ne mu ke so hari yanzu! For EBIMO JOHN – I don’t know how old you’re or experienced, you tend to have forgotten the case of Dr. Umaru Dikko and the other malpractices (improprieties) going on with President Shehu Shagari’s administration and of course the quest for Dr. Alex. Ekwueme’s possibility to go for the Presidency after him – all that to be now revealed not forgetting also about the 2003 what Chief Falae said of Obasanjo not wanting the same Dr. Alex. Ekwueme to be fielded by PDP according to the agreement – all to be revealed, by which means I can just say here that, ‘A DANIEL’ appears to have come to Judgement in Nigeria, folks!
Whilst waiting to read more about the new expose’s, I’ll want the Presidency to call for that my correspondence I kept referring to dated 4th June 2015 and to read again section containing Mr. Jonnie Carson/Buhari/IBB & Shehu Shagari/ Buhari/Jonathan; and tell me what you see vis-a-vis when I talk or say (claim) that I solved Nigeria’s political problem that early! Or look up Vanguard issued 20th Nov./ Dec. 2010 and 24th, 27th Jan 2011 and tell me what you see !
Like that child crying profoundly and pointing its finger in a direction – Write the truth clearly so that when they read it they’ll be filled with wonderment – be marveled indeed!
And I gave the solution you need for Nigeria on corruption to Rev. Gen. Y. Gowon at the Jesus House Brent Cross London on 12th Sept. 2008 and to Dr. Bamanga Tukur at the Holliday Inn Edgeware Rd. London on 24th May 2008 and we are s still talking about corruption – how to deal with the cankerwarm, folks! Nigeria good people – Big Country! Sorry if my comments is hurting in parts but then going by my earlier observations about hard hearing problems in Nigeria and about public matters, I have to be more specific from now particularly with this new exposure by the Presidency – suggests to me that we could well be in for something more exacting/ exerting coming, folks!
Smokescreen for hiding his incompetence and failure. What a shame.
Respect the authority and the nation will be respected by others. Some comments here are not worth giving any space in this forum. Can any of us commenting here point to any regime without blame since independence. Blame and insulting others are all we have to offer, no solutions!
you blame too, no solution offered..
I did not blame. I pointed out a bare-faced fact and truth. As to solutions, articulate your points and circulate.
mr. president, you’re not helping issues at all nor yourself….why all this fanning stories of the past that has nothing to do with putting food on anybody’s table, you got job to do….can’t you see it, you’ve really disappointed me
I think Buhari just has nothing to offer Nigerians. He is rather the biggest criminal Nigerians urgently need to get rid off. What does he intend to achieve by opening a wound that had been long healed instead of focusing on how to turn things around in Nigeria. I think Buhari also needed to be reminded that he too committed a most heinous crime of treasonable felony by illegally toppling a democratically elected civilian government of Shehu Shagari and Alex Ekwueme. Buhari’s support of evil is monumental. As head of Boko Haram, he announced to the world that a fight against Boko Haram was (is) a fight against the North, indicating that the entire Northern Nigeria, nay Muslims, are in support of Boko Haram activities. No wonder he used them very effectively in making President Jonathan’s Government ungovernable. Why do we forget too soon? Buhari again traveled all the way from his base then to Ibadan to warn the people against a fight back on his pet organization, the Fulani Herdsmen whose leader/patron he was and currently is. This people/organization has continued to cause havoc, killing and maiming people within communities in Nigeria. As head of PTDF, he ensured development of only the Northern part of the country, leaving the Niger Delta, the South East who are the owners of the oil to suffer degradation till date. Buhari does not mean well for this country. What corruption is he even fighting when most of those surrounding him are rogues who looted the treasury of their states and previous organizations, etc. All he is interested in doing now is to crush the Biafran agitators and Niger Delta groups fighting for the restoration and control of their God given rights. A Minister of Petroleum whose only interest is to control resources that belongs to other people. This is thievery!
just don`t mind buuhaaaaaaaariri,he will fail
Do you know that it was during his time that Nigerian start having overnight Billionaires. Absolute nobody, taxi drivers all of them are Billionaire today. Let us face the truth Is it ok in a country of 170 Million and about 20 Million are Billionaires? Is that fair in Nigeria? Just think about it.
I feel you pains.Election is over.Get over it.You savages messed up the country when GEJ was there.GEJ was so foolish to have allowed the Ibo savages to ruin his government.
Do you have brains?
Do not forget that Buhari has at least two and a half years to go. It would be too early to judge his achievements at this early stage in his administration. Jonathan had the opportunity to develop your so called south east, he wasted his God given opportunity. Do not blame Buhari even if he as PTDF head remembered his people. After all that is what politics “is all about”, he was there to “represent” his people. Do not forget, Buhari is not from your so called “South East”. Did Jonathan and all our elected politicians go there to “represent” their people who elected them? I would ask you to give this man a chance to curb our Nigerian endemic problem “corruption”. I believe in this singular job, he is “representing” the majority of Nigerians and surely they are strongly behind him.
Buhari was sacked and jailed 18months by IBB and his gangs easily due to incompetence,now that he is in power,what stops him from arresting Gusua and IBB?Buhari openly supported Boko harams and advocated amnesty for them?please Buhari cover up and APC lies are very open,only this year 2016 as at june ending,894 Nigeria soldiers have been killed,several of them are missing right now,just yesterday a TV station MITV reported that six officers among the missing soldiers have been rescued,the hunger and not just poverty is ravaging the nation now,workers sleeps in oficces due lack of transport fares now,naira is now377/$1 ,Naira is 495/GBP 1 and N408 to a euro,what a trouble we find ourselves
Buhari is humane…i support his person and government but do not support the idea of opening old wounds….If Nigerians were to consider that,he would not be in that position as the President today….We should all please ensure not to be abusive ….comments is just a function of opinion….
Let EFCC go for Babangida and Gusau now that you have got another opportunity as C-I-C. The world will stand still for you, dear President.
Mr. President, why your military junta was toppled in 1985, would be better revealed if Babagida’s & all his accomplices loots are prosecuted & recovered.
Coup De Tart & Counter Coups was primitive politics of Nigeria pioneered by [Sierra Leona Fathered & Igbo Mother} J T U Aguyi Ironsi until Abdusalam Ababaka’s military junta.
All the regimes should be probed & our looted funds recovered. Nigerians will remember you & be grateful to you for fighting corruption.
We must thank goodness that Tunde Idiagbon is not with us to watch the ‘Titans’ at war; we hear that OBJ has stopped over at Asso Rock for his usual talks! It is not unlikely that the cumulative causes of Nigeria’s financial predicament that stem from that 1985 after the coup could well be muttered to be part of the possible probes in Nigeria – the devaluation and worse, the debasement of ‘Naira’ in the manner it is now hovering is a very serious mater and until you do something with the ‘International Monetary’ agreement to rectify the effects of the latter encumbrance – i.e. the ‘debasement’, Internationally because it touches even in your DOMESTIC financial activities, you’re not going anywhere folks! Sorry until they tell us what it is all coming, we shall be guessing but let OBJ not disturb the administration – he has had his turn let President M. Buhari stir the ship now and we see if we can arrive safely, folks!
If J.J Rawlings were here, there will be no Babagida. There is absolute nothing good that l can think of during his time. It was during his time that Nigeria became refugee around the world. This IBB is an evil .
JJ Rawlings tried to but did not really sanitize Ghana. Besides, there are people there who hate him and what he represents.
Memo or no memoirs one aspect that remains sad and unfortunate is that Nigerian leaders simply do not memoirs after office. Had this been the case, Nigerians would have heard from the heads of the DMI the NSO then, and all his would have contributed in building a better Nigeria for us all. Now as things stand, we are just living on gossips and hearsay since what many believed the principal causes of the Buhari administration is really more to do with the devaluation of the Naira. Now the Naira is floating down the drain and the entire nation -at least those trusted to keep it somehow steady and are heavily paid from the public Treasury- is going with it and we seem unable or unwilling to stop the decline.
We are tired of this history. We suffered under his previous regime. He has not reflected on the stupid mistakes he made then. God has given him a second chance. Se what he doing this time : incompetence , nepotism and religious bigotry. Exactly why he was overthrown before.
Wikipedia: Herold Smith said it all. We do what the Ogas want us to do.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Buhari tried to remove them, and they therefore tried to remove him.
Your illegal military government was toppled by another power hungry northerners because your government was illegal, un-constitutional. no one voted for you— All coupe plotters in Nigeria should be in prison for taking up arms against their father land. There’s no justification for greedily taking over government, be you who evil is evil
[Buhari in the ongoing anti-corruption battle, seems to have finally taken on the military, 31 years after.In an interview published in the current edition of The Interview magazine, Buhari challenged Babangida and Gusau to tell the truth as to why they carried out the coup against him.
In a statement on http://www.theinterview.com.ng, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, said: “This is one edition that won’t let sleeping dogs lie.”]
And we are talking about Sani Abacha’s loots and Sani Abacha set up the Dr. Pius Okigbo’s Panel to probe the ‘Oil Wind fall’; why not APC government track down the ‘Report’ and let us see what the contents and recommendations are – that in simple terms will settle the matter in this new debate! How we wished Tunde Idiagbon were still with us to watch the battle of the ‘Titans’, folks!
We will review and take appropriate action.