Why Abacha Couldn’t Kill Tinubu’s Mother, MKO Abiola’s Son Speaks

• Jamiu Abiola revealed that Abacha could not assassinate Tinubu’s mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, during the June 12 crisis due to her immense public influence and reverence
• Abiola dismissed claims that she backed the annulment of the 1993 election, stating she publicly opposed it and even pleaded emotionally with Babangida to reverse the decision
• Abiola praised Tinubu’s early resistance, recalling that as a senator in 1993, he boldly condemned the annulment on the Senate floor, describing it as a coup d’état

Jamiu Abiola, son of the late Chief MKO Abiola, has said the reason General Sani Abacha could not assassinate Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mother of President Bola Tinubu, during Nigeria’s June 12 political crisis was because she was too influential, too revered, and too hard to touch.

This was revealed by Jamiu Abiola, son of the late Chief MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election, in a fresh interview.

Speaking during an interview with Punch, he noted that Abacha targeted only those who were isolated or lacked wide public support, unlike Tinubu’s mother who was a widely respected leader of market women in Lagos and beyond.

Alhaja Mogaji never backed June 12 annulment, says Abiola's son

Jamiu also dismissed claims made by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, that Tinubu and his mother supported the annulment of the 1993 election.

“That claim is not only false but insulting to Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji’s legacy,. Had she supported the annulment, she would have lost the respect and trust of the traders, the majority of whom backed my father, MKO Abiola,' he said.

He revealed that Mogaji took symbolic steps to oppose the annulment, including removing her headscarf in public while pleading with then military ruler Ibrahim Babangida to reverse the decision.

“It was an emotional appeal remembered by many in Abuja at the time,” he added.

Tinubu’s early defiance of the annulment remembered

The presidential aide also defended Bola Tinubu’s personal role during the June 12 crisis.

According to him, Tinubu was one of the few senators who condemned the annulment publicly in 1993.

“As a senator, he stood up on the Senate floor on August 19, 1993, and called the annulment a coup d’état. That kind of boldness was rare, and the records are there to verify it," Jamiu said.

While recalling the cost paid by his own family, including the eventual death of his parents, Jamiu noted that Abacha only targeted individuals who were vulnerable and isolated.

“The only reason my mother was an easy target was because she and a very few others were lone rangers. But people like the president’s mother were hard to find. She had visibility, influence, and public backing," he said

Jamiu Abiola concluded by noting that Nigeria’s democracy owes much to the courage shown by individuals like Tinubu and his mother during one of the country’s most critical historical moments.

Obasanjo speaks on how Abacha planned to kill him, Yar'Adua, others

Previously, Legit.ng reported that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has recounted how he survived an alleged plan by former head of state General Sani Abacha to eliminate him, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and Chief M.K.O. Abiola after their arrest.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Assemblies of God Church known as “The Noah’s Ark” in Ogbor Uvuru, Aboh Mbaise, Imo state, Obasanjo described the ordeal as a matter of divine grace.

Source: Legit.ng