There were riots everywhere. A guy told this writer: They said we could only buy two plates, that others too needed to buy food. And he dropped an empty plate in anger, let it roll on the floor of the roadside where we rented bicycles out to dangerous-riding youths.On June 20, 1993, some young men in procession round town sang this homily: Ye olumale o, nehin irunje won gogo, Babangida, o ti da lu ru. (O gods, food is so expensive. Babangida, he has scattered the town). The scattered town was Nigeria. It was, indeed, a trying time.My sister, a food vendor, went to a building under construction, boldly removed some planks recently used in decking the house, and dared anyone to talk. Gbasemo, Ikorodu. No one restrained her. Some women at Ejina market, fried akara, and passers-by had their fill. They were mourning the funeral of General Ibrahim Babangida, the despot of the time, who following the rabble rousing of Arthur Nzeribes Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) and the lunacy of the courts, annulled the fairest election in history. Some men also carried a coffin about, asking the gods to put Babangida in it. But Babangida banged the gods, refused to budge. It was said that a prominent traditional ruler in Yorubaland had cooked him properly in herbs. Rumours, but he could live to be a hundred years.Nigerians could be ingenious, as Milo and other beverages tins became stoves. People would hollow out a space on a side of the tin and pour sawdust in. And then your rice was done, or amala, if you preferred that.But Babangida really meant to give the nation a hell of a time: He handed over technically, to a power-crazed lunatic, a goggled general, who would pray in a mosque, surrounded by soldiers armed to their blood. The body guards were nine during the Babangida era, but Abacha had 250. He also invented the office of Chief Security Officer, a title previously alien to military life. Now, there are CSOs everywhere, even in church.A roving lunatic who hired marabouts from across the continent to maintain his hold on power and imported prostitutes from the Arab world, Abacha was also a victim of his CSO: Al Mustapha would reportedly planted a bomb in a place, then told Abacha to leave the spot. A mere major, Al Mustapha had our general for his slave. By the way, Mustaphas trial should be brought to a conclusion, for a girl once alleged that he raped her mother to death, then raped her. In any case, Barnabas Msheila (Seargeant Rogers) and his team went everywhere, gunning down the Kudirats, Rewanes, Adedejis, etc, of this world, then Abacha would send a delegation led By Ishaiya Bamaiyi to condole with the bereaved.One day, a girl was reportedly caught in Abuja. She was thrown into a bus full of soldiers. She pleaded with all her might, and Rogers was moved. But the general needed live female breasts for another ritual. The breasts were detached with a knife, and blood flowed like water. Had Abacha not suddenly dropped dead on June 8, 1993, where would Nigeria be todayWhere would the newspaper columnists who now demonise a Goodluck Jonathan be When currency threatens to subvert conscience (the alleged N1,000,000 per article is a lot of money), perhaps memories should be called upon to caution the footsteps of those who are weak of heart.Another day in Abuja. Al Mustapha was addressing a crowd of petrified vendors. The government particularly hated the TELL magazine, the greatest thorn in the flesh of the maniacal regime. Okay, put down your names, the major ordered.Then he asked all those who were hausa/fulani to leave. The others were to have their names written on their backs with a blade. A vendor from Ondo fainted. His surname was 15 letters.We now have a president who can apologise. We ought to give thanks as a nation, or we shall go into oblivion. In the good old days, we hardly even saw our president at all. When, at the PDP presidential rally in Osogbo, Osun State, I saw Goodluck Jonathan move round the stadium, acknowledging cheers from the people, I marvelled greatly. This same NigeriaSo then, for now, its Goodluck. Shekarau is an excellent man, a darling, but the configurations are in a different direction now. His time will come. Ribadu is a chronic jester, and I have no time for him. As for Buhari, we do not need another northern fanatic so soon. He and his deputy-designate, Bakare, could start a bakery. We will buy the bread, if its as good as Butterfield.Configurations apart, you just cannot help liking this guy from Bayelsa. Hes a Ph.d holder, a genius who got a distinction in his M.A. His critics, those who say he was afraid of a debate, should make their credentials public. I suspect that even Ribadu will vote for him. Sure, Babangida will.Awolaja is on the staff of the Nigerian Tribune.
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