By Richard Akinnola
I hate military coups. They have set us back decades in our national progress. Reason l wrote my popular book – “Fellow countrymen: The story of coup d’etats in Nigeria,” first published in the year 2000.
In two of the chapters, l recounted the April 22, 1990 Major Gideon Orkar coup and the alleged coup plot of 1997 led by General Oladipo Diya. Orkar’s coup not only demystified the extensive security network of the General Babangida junta but similarly rattled the General.
When the attempted coup was foiled by loyal forces, some of Major Orkar’s comrades fled but Major Orkar, who announced the attempted coup on radio, refused to flee. He waited to be arrested inside Bonny Camp, even when he knew the consequences of his action.
Few weeks later, when they were arraigned before the military tribunal, l was there to cover the opening of the trial where l saw him at a close range -unruffled and unperturbed. Even after they were condemned to death and executed at the Kirikiri firing range, my sources at the prison told me that Orkar was encouraging his colleagues to brace up with courage to face the execution.
Seven years after this incident, came the alleged attempted coup led by Lt. General Oladipo Diya, Chief of General Staff to General Sani Abacha. Before they were brought before the military tribunal, Major Hamza Al-Mustapher, the powerful Chief Security officer to General Abacha arranged secret cameras to film where Major-General Abdulkarim Adisa, one of those arrested, knelt and begged Mustapher to spare his life. A General kneeling for a Major!
However, when they were all arraigned before the military tribunal, all but one person pleaded not guilty. The shocking odd man out was Major Seun Fadipe, who was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to General Diya. Despite knowing the implication of his action, he looked straight into the eyes of the General Victor Malu-led tribunal members and pleaded guilty to treason. He knew the implication and the punishment, which was death by firing squad. Yet, he was ready to face the consequences of his actions as a bold soldier. The rest is history.
It’s in the same context l view the actions of Dele Farotimi, in writing the controversial book. This is just a philosophical and historical context and not the substance of the cases since the matter is now subject to judicial adjudication. He may be wrong in his assertions in the book, l don’t know. That is left for the courts to decide. However, having studied his persona, l have the impression that Dele knew what he was doing and like Majors Orkar and Fadipe, ready to face the consequences. He doesn’t appear to be a whimp who is easily cowed. Convictions are personal. It may sound like a kamikaze kind of stuff but only the person at the centre of it can understand what drives him and this is not about validating what he had written in the book. The most difficult person to fight is someone who is ready to face the consequences of his actions, including persecution and imprisonment.
Gani Fawehinmi did it when he frontally attacked the Babangida junta and two of its military Chiefs for being behind the letter bomb assassination of Dele Giwa, Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch on Sunday, October 19, 1986. He put his life on the line and suffered physically, financially and series of detention. He was undeterred because it was a matter of conviction.
At the end of the saga which spanned years, there were 38 cases with over 214 court appearances and Fawehinmi appearing before 24 judges from the High Court to Supreme Court. The cases ranged from several applications of Mandamus, libel, slander, seizure of books, assault, criminal defamation to contempt.
At the High Court level, the cases went before Justices Candide-Johnson, Idowu Agoro, Eniola Longe, Samuel Ilori, Adebayo Adeniji, Olu Obadina, Musiliu Ope-Agbe, Olusola- Thomas.
At the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels, some of the justices that heard some of the cases included Francis Awogu, Ephraim Akpata, Ogundare, Mohammed Bello, Andrew Obaseki, Kayode Eso, Augustine Nnamani, Mohammed Uwais, Bashir Wali, Babasanya Craig, Adolphous Karibi-Whyte, Alfa Belgore, Phillip Nnaemeka- Agu.
Regarding Farotimi matter, already, l can count four cases and application before the Legal practitioners Disciplinary Committee to debar him.
I have sat down to interrogate what could have driven DF to the level he made such weighty allegations against senior members of the Bar and the Bench. He alone can answer that but what l can distill is that he was deliberate. Months ago, l heard him saying he had left law practice few years ago. Which means the petition to the legal practitioners disciplinary committee to get him debarred may end up an academic exercise.
Whichever way this saga ends, which is not a 100 meter dash, in psycho-analysing the persona of DF, he seems to be on the same pedestal of Majors Orkar and Fadipe, ready to face the consequences of his action with uncommon courage and equanimity, which includes bringing into focus the justice sector. In the same vein, the persons allegedly defamed reserve the right to protect their integrity, even when one doesn’t agree with some of the routes taken.
Ultimately, at the end of this saga, whether DF goes to jail or not, or whether he is debarred or not, he would have achieved his purpose. It’s like a case of someone who wants to die, meeting the person who wants to kill him. We keep our fingers crossed.