Gen. Tunde Idiagbon: A Missing Hero in the Guinness Book of Record
By : Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, Notary Public
AREWA AGENDA – There is no better time to again remember the late General Babatunde Abdulbaki Idiagbon, the most active Second-in-Command in the history of the military rule in Nigeria. The reign of the likes of late Muritala Muhammed, Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso and that of Tunde Idiagbon is one of the reasons why I will never support the involvement of military in politics in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Whenever the military overthrown an elected government that has exhausted its usefulness, the military junta usually came and claimed to be a corrective regime. But the fact of history is that they would never allow the best and brilliant among them to stay in power. The experience in Africa is that when Murtala Muhammed emerged as the Nigeria’s military Head of State in 1975 and began to make positive impact in the lives of Nigerians, he was shot dead by a useless and notorious soldier called Dimka in 1976. Although Tunde Idiagbon was not the Head of State after the civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu Shagari was toppled by the military on the 31st December 1983 but he was made the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarter under Muhammed Buhari, but throughout his stay in that government he was the engine room of that military government even more active and in control than his Head of State unlike under Gowon, Muhammed, Obasanjo, Babangida, Abacha or Abubakar when you hardly heard or known their Second-in-Command. While Muritala Muhammed was in power for only 200 days, Buhari/Idiagbon regime was in power for only 20 months.Those period were historic in the history of Nigeria.
In Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara in 1983 was in control of power setting his country on the part of greatness and righteousness, but his childhood friend, comrade and second-in- Command, Blaise Campoire thought otherwise and killed his boss in a bloody coup in 1987 and took over power from him. Campoire was in power for 27 years but only succeeded in turning his country upside down before his people revolted against and fled out of his country to the Ivory Coast. Recently, the authority in Burkina Faso has passed life term imprisonment on Campoire who now a fugitive after being tried in absentia for the murder of Thomas Sankara. How I wish Campoire is in Bukina Faso to serve his jail term? This is a very big lesson for the dictators in different parts of the world. Those who are very arrogant must remember there is a day of reckoning .
There is this fact of history always misconceived or misconstrued by people when talking about military coup in Nigeria such as that it was Yakubu Gowon that led the coup that overthrown Agunyi Ironsi or that it was Muritala Muhammed that led the coup that toppled Yakubu Gowon or that it was Buhari that led the coup that overthrown Alhaji Shehu Shagari during the Second Republic. This is far from the truth. While Muhammed and Danjuma were among the architects of the coup that ousted Ironsi and picked Gowon to be the Head of State after the deed was done, it was Shehu Yar’adu and Joe Garba among others that sacked Gowon, though Muhammed was earlier consulted and he promised them soft landing in the event the coup failed. When the coup succeeded, Muhammed was made the Head of State.
Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha were among the brains behind the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari during the Second Republic when the Nigerian politicians had gone beyond limit and completely lost direction which made the coup to be welcomed by Nigerians. For the coup to be completely accepted by Nigerians, a military officer to be picked as the Head of State must be a very popular person and the lot fell on Muhammad Buhari who was perceived to be a man of honour and integrity. One of the conditions given by Buhari to accept the responsibility was that he would be allowed to pick his deputy by himself which was accepted by the coup plotters. He then appointed Tunde Idiagbon whom he knew very well and had worked with closely during their military careers. Idiagbon had one time or the other succeeded Buhari as both the Military Governor old Borno State and as well as the Military Secretary in Army.
The reception given to the arrival of military on the 31st December 1983 was very overwhelming. For 20 months things were done differently in Nigeria. The War Against Indiscipline (WAI) brought then by that government did the magic as there was serious fight against economic saboteurs, drug traffickers and barons .The attitude of lateness and laziness to work were not allowed .That leaders must live by example and parents must take the upbringing of their children very serious. Aggressive war was waged against bribery and corruption as well as other vices in the society The corrupt politicians were taught very big lessons as those found guilty of corruption were sent to jail. As an Economist, Idiagbon who had a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the Pakistani Military Academy suddenly changed the colours of the Nigerian currency to checkmate the madness of those who had hidden the currency. As a disciplined military officer, he when about crusading his war against all forms of indiscipline including bribery and corruption which had become the order of the day before the military came. He succeeded in instilling high level of discipline and patriotism in Nigerians to the extent that if someone came to your bedroom to offer you a bribe, you would refuse it on the ground that it might be a set up to nail you. Every Nigerian then became a disciplinarian.
When some Nigerians including military officers became uncomfortable and felt that it was not a business as usual and that the Idiagbon’s crusade of war against indiscipline was hitting very hard on them, they began an underground plan to stage a palace coup. But that coup was not possible when the most active Second-in-Command was in the country? When Tunde Idiagbon travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform the Muslim Pilgrimage in Mecca in 1985 and Ibrahim Babangida, the then Chief of Army Staff saw that the coast was clear ,he in conjunction with Sani Abacha organized some military officers known as IBB’s boys to arrest the Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari who without any resistance was placed under house arrest. That was how Buhari/Idiagbon military regime collapsed. Babaginda unlike Idiagbon came in laughing and declared himself as a military President. From that moment things were never the same again.
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General Tunde Idiagbon having heard that his government had been overthrown proved one thing to the world that he was neither a coward nor an empty barren but a courageous and brave military officer. He decided to return to Nigeria immediately despite the offer made to him by the then King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to continue residing in the Kingdom. He politely turned down the offer and chose to return to Nigeria. On his arrival in Nigeria, he was placed under house arrest but Babangida regime could not charge him or pin anything against him. During Buhari and Idiagbon’s detention by Babangida, the Newswatch Magazine did a cover story titled “Bottom of the Valley” narrating their lives in detention. It was revealed then that Idiagbon was written his own autobiography. But what eventually happened to the scripts of the book is unknown till date. This was a rare occurrence in the history of coup making in the world and particularly in Africa which is the reason why though Idiagbon is dead, but this notwithstanding, he still deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Record.
Babangida having achieved his long time ambition to become the military President, he introduced a prolonged transition programme with many failed promises to hand over power to a civilian regime. Despite being privileged as military President to work with many brilliant professionals from their various professions as Ministers and Heads of various Commissions, he only ended up in annulling the 12 June presidential election of 1993 which has been said to be the most free and fair election in the history of Nigeria. By that he fulfilled the assertion he once made that he did not know those that would succeed him but he knew those that would not succeed him. If IBB had been honest and patriotic with his prolonged transition programme wherein he created two political parties (NRC and SDP) and handed over to the winner of the 12 June election, probably the country would not have been in mess it is in today. IBB’s refusal to do the right thing eventually led to the Sani Abacha’s dictatorship that later dismantled the entire political structure on the ground and the country had to go back to the drawing board to start afresh after the death of Abacha.
It is ironical that having failed to allow true democracy to survive under his regime, IBB is s now seen by some Nigerian politicians as their oracle to be consulted in their political decisions or aspirations. It is astonishing that he has advised many of them to take Nigeria first in their struggle for political power. But the rational questions are that: did IBB himself put Nigeria first when he was the military President and annulled the will of majority Nigerians as demonstrated during the June 12 election of the 1993? Can a person give what he does not have? The eight (8) years of IBB regime was characterised by the opposite of what characterised the twenty (20) months of the military regime under which Idiagbon served as the Second-in-Command. I can say without any fear of contradiction that it was during his 8 years in power that further the development of the country was seriously undermined. The idea of empowering the youths under his regime was about given the motorcycles and tricycles to the youths which has till date turned many youths to “Okada or KeKe Marwa or Napep” commercial riders which policy was embraced by successive Nigerian politicians in governments after him. The high level of corruption and indiscipline became the order of the day unlike during the Buhari/ Idiagbon regime..The reckless spending by the military men in positions of authorities attracted labour union including those in academic circle to be asking for more wages and emoluments and where such demands were not met they resorted to strikes which has been in vogue till date. The rural development that ought to have been enjoyed the government priority in terms of modern agricultural development and industrialisation did not receive serious attention. The price being paid today for such neglect is now seen in bandits and terrorists harmed with dangerous weapons and motorcycles terrorising people in the rural area to by their incessant attacks on villages with killing of innocent people and destruction of properties and the farms.
The hardship most Nigerians experienced under the military regimes of Babangida and Abacha who were not willing to hand over power to the civilian government taught many Nigerians big lesson. Despite the eventual return to full democracy, the politicians have refused to live up to expectations by disappointing Nigerians with unfulfilled promises. The experience under the Buhari/Idiagbon regime and that of Babangida and Abacha regimes clearly showed that in terms patriotism and fight against indiscipline the Buhari/idiagbon regime meant well for the country. It was on that basis that Nigerians in 2015 overwhelming voted for Muhammadu Buhari as executive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the hope that his civilian regime would re-enact the event of his twenty (20) months reign as military leader when Nigerian began to get it right , but unfortunately the situation on the ground today has been a great disappointment to all Nigerians particularly those that voted for Buhari with the hope that the country would be returned to the path of greatness.
The trust and hope invested on Buhari by the Nigerians that as a former military General and Head of State he would be in the position to tackle the insecurity and other problems facing the country but that trust and hope have been dashed. It was one of the promises made by Buhari when campaigning, that as a former military General the problem of insecurity would be a thing of the past if elected as President of the country but the situation on the ground today has proved otherwise. What this has clearly how is that when he was the Military Head of State, it was Tunde Idiagbon as his Second- in- Command that was actually in control, and not Buhari himself. This is more the reason why the late General Tunde Idiagbon who died in 1999 deserves a positive place in the history of Nigeria as a man who came to instil the spirit and sense of discipline and patriotism in Nigerians but unfortunately and unknowingly found himself in the midst of colleagues who were unpatriotic and greedy with their own hidden agenda. His patriotic ideology for the country was not allowed to be. Patriotism and discipline are the foundation of any developed country. Did such personality not deserve a place in the Guinness Book of Record? May Almighty Allah continue to bless the soul of General Babatunde Abdulbaki Idiagbon and forgive all his shortcomings!
NOTE: Anyone is at liberty to disagree with my above submissions as I will surely appreciate a balanced, fair and objective rebuttal.
Abdulrasheed Ibrahim
