Babangida The Merciful: How IBB Tried to Save Vatsa`s Life (“Judgment day: Dat day na wah”)

General Babangida told me that after considering the matter, he wanted to give Vatsa a reprieve and asked me, a friend of his, a frie...Read the full article.

[Solid]

....Nigerians watch keenly how his own life will end!


Thanks,

SOLID

[emj]

The day they were executed was a very sad day for us...WS and others gave a press statement to the fact that Babangida will do something...we all thought that he will convince the AFRC to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment...bt inaa...hmm.

[Agidimolaja]

In the military, each day is a busy day. You must always sleep with one eye opened.
Be suspicious of every other soldier be he Officer or Other Ranks. Anyone of them can do you harm.
Perform your military duties as best as you can but look after yourself very well.
Love all but trust no one. Always be security conscious especially when you are invited out of your house/quarter,an ambush party may be waiting to recieve you. Military life is not a good life but I did not regret being there for over ten years because it was service to my country.
There are few schools of thought about Vatsa/IBB case. The sad thing is that most of us{the general public} may never know the whole truth and the clique who knew may never tell us until the grave is closed up on them.
I was in the military when the coup of Muritala took place.Everyone of us who were a little closer to the centre scene then knew and still remember the active roles played by Vatsa, starting from his boldly denouncing the coup while it was still going on to hunting down and investigating the plotters.
His roles {although justified} helped so much in the arrest,prosecution and eventual executions of a large number of the arrested plotters.
Most of those executed were from the then Benue/Plateau State including the former Governor. It was a sad period for the people of BP State.Trust me,they never forgot.
It may be true therefore that servicemen from that segment of the country did not forgive Vatsa for his roles which which is a recipe to the fate suffered by their loved ones.
They saw to it that Vatsa suffered the same fate as their homeboys when such opportunity arrived. Looked exactly like "what goes around comes around".
It may be true also that between IBB and Vatsa,it was a case of "Macbeth!Macbeth! beware Macduff!"
In the military you have to keep eye on your best friend{s} too and take no chances.
It was evidenced that there were such rivalries between those two friends.IBB may have founded Vatsa to be too close for comfort.IBB may be fearing the inevitable as a result of which he reduced Vatsa's threat by removing him from command post where several troops were under him to ministerial appointment where he became like a "lone ranger". Such is not an uncommon excercise in the military.
Also,Vatsa as writer was becoming too popular for IBB considering the books he published,awards he recieved and the calibre of folks he is associating with like Chinua Achebe,Wole Soyinka etc. Possibly IBB fell threatened by the giant strides of his friend.
But why was Vatsa executed? Like I said ,we may never know the whole truth except IBB and his loyalists.
The only sad thing was that the man was never linked directly to the plot if in truth there was any.The coup was never allowed to take place neither were they caught red-handed doing the coup. They were executed as what the court of law would call "suspects". It is sad though!
Domkat Bali's heart is beating so fast today because his fingerprint remained forever indelible in the death of people whose involvements in percieved crime was never proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Has he told the whole truth?I don't think so.
Did IBB try to save his friend from execution?I also doubt it much.He probably was happy that his great threat is going away. IBB according to himself concluded that Vatsa was indeed plotting coup hence he{Vatsa} wanted to escape out from air-conditioning hole.
But who wants to believe Maradona? Vatsa would not have made any attempt to escape knowing fully that his residence was surrounded by armed military guards. The rest is history!

[Rodena]

A touching piece indeed. If IBB sanctioned the execution of those men without incontrovertible evidence, then he has erred. Accepted that coup plotting is serious business in the military but any life-and-death situation must be resolved only on fair terms and not on the alter of one man's whims and caprices. Sheer stupidity it is if, indeed its true that Mr. Babangida starved the Airforce of funds because some of them were involved in the coup.It only goes a long way in confirming the barbaric & vindictive nature of the hooligans that have been prowling the corridors of power in Nigeria for years. Today,its our collective shame - i doubt if our armed forces will be able to cope in case of external aggression.

Nigeria cuts a pitiable picture. For her to be brought back on her feet, Babangida and his ilk must pay.Remember what Rawlings did in Ghana?

[Big-K]

Max,

Major Bamidele was, I believe, from Kogi State. Please check.

[Jagunlabi]

,

To believe that in matter of life and death,men would abograte power to themselves not only to decide, but ultimately extinguish such a life reflect sadly on our level of development and value for life. Agreed this happened some years ago, our pyshic and the way we handle life in general has not relected that we value life.

What the these guys(Babaginda, Bali) and other should know is that there is none of us immune from death, What they done is just send some people earlier than themselves. I wrote an article on the day that Ken Saro-Wiwa was murdered, that Abacha had just sent Ken ahead of himself, 3yrs later he headed for the great beyond.

Maybe if we are reflect more on our tenure here on earth, the report other we say of us and the account we would have to give to that who brought here, we might all leave this place, a better place.

[akulaboy]

Good piece, you know what I strongly believe that Nigeria needs to addrss these issues. Having read the story of Vasta and those convicted for that coup, we knew it was another phantom coup. What is important is that their families need to be rehabilitated.

But more importantly, Babangida , Bali and all their cohorts should be brought to justice for the harm they have caused this country. It is never to late. 2 months ago in Argentina, former generals in the 70s and 80s were sent to jail for the atrocities they committed in the early 70s. Same in Chile where Augusto Pinochet was hoarded to death for atrocities during the 1973 coup.

Another remedy to the families is to sue these military leaders in International courts. Pinochet arrest was ordered by a Spanish judge and effected in London by British police.

Let's stop being victim of this rich Cabal and stand up to them through internal law. What's more, if they can't trravel to London & US for fear of arrest , maybe they will improve our country.

[Pa Bj]

Nice article, but I think the stroyline belongs to the history of the "dark days of military rule in Nigeria".

The military have a "peculiar creed" which they live and die by. I am sure Vatsa throughout his stay in the military was aware of the creed.

The unfortunate thing, is that the military (including Vatsa) by taking over Government, roped the rest of Nigerians into what would typically had been - a military story.

[Solid]

Country men & Women:

The main lesson and possibly "ISSUE" here is our collective failure to upheld
our laws beyond "personalities" and "institutions"

When laws are broken in the streets, we send authorities after perpetrators, prosecute them according to the laws of our land but when "institutions" err
we turn our backs and let go of the legal steps necessary to correct things.

The army as a whole [institution] must be subjected to legal redress. It is still not too late to call the institution to order. The sooner we tackle this
reoccurring power crisis the better for the country. Today, we are foolishly
still following a "kitchen" table constitution drafted by General Abubakar & co.

Because we fail to address such errors, we continue to suffer lopesided judgement and other matters of grieve consequences. People like IBB take advantage of such lapses, inflict damage on fellow citizens and get away with crime. Saro-Wiwa, Abiola & his wife, Rewane, Dele Giwa, etc. all suffered
such fate because we fail to enact and defend genuine national laws to protect ourselves.

If laws do not wall a leader, he/she will become power drunk and use the position to revenge old scores with true and 'percieved' enemies. We owe ourselves the duty to make a clear separation between self-interest and our national interests.

Because we failed to do that, today; we cannot hold a true national census, or hold a true and fair election, or throw all treasury looters to jail.

We FAILED ourselves as a people!

SOLID

[Dreams]

Originally Posted by Agidimolaja

!

Thanks you for the above insight.

[Oru-Ama]

Babaginda The annnoying thing is that evil people tend to live so long. Each time I read any piece on Vatsa and Babaginda, I . My people, Vatsa was said to be this man's best man at this wedding to Mariam So many innocent blood on Babaginda's palms. What a way to live

[MrOneNaija]

BABANGIDA IS A BLOODY AND COWARDLY MURDERER

The cold-blooded and criminal assassination of Mamman Vatsa, Col. Iyorshe and a host of other Nigerians on the orders of the ex-dictator, Babangida, must be seen as one of the more dramatic proofs of the murderous and sociopathic character of the poltroon from Minna. Every critical gesture this homicidal vermin has enacted in his miserable existence, either as a soldier or as a pretended politician, has invaribly meant adverse and unpardonable consequences for the Nigerian nation, not to mention his so-called friends. It is pointless tyring to find rationality in the bestial conduct of this Cro-Magnon creature.

After wasting precious and innocent lives with its untold consequences on the polity, this ghastly sadist went on to inflict yet another unpardonable atrocity on the nation and its people - the tyrannical cancellation of the presidential election won by the late Abiola. Nigeria is still grappling with the violent ghosts of June 12, thanks to the coward from Minna who nevertheless wants to be considered a patriot. In Babangida's foul mouth, patriotism does assume sinister significance.

What rational or enlightened reason has the ex-despot advanced to justify the refusal on his part to allow Abiola take power? None, for the simple reason that, like in the Mamman Vatsa case, the schizophrenic, if murderous impulses of the beast were all too overwhelming.

Characters like Babangida and Obasanjo deserve to be bundled up and guillotined on account of their numerous sins and atrocities against the citizenry. Only in Nigeria will homicidal crooks like Babangida and his friend, The Chief Thief, a.k.a. Ali Baba Olusegun Obasanjo, have the guts to show their roguish faces in public. These vicious charlatans warrant eternal damnation.

[Onari]

This is the reason, why I am strongly against any form of death Penalty, no matter the crime. Men should not take what they can not replace period.

Death penalty should never and must not be an option. Just this year alone a sizeable number of convicted murder suspects in USA has been upturned after DNA evidence showed that these men are actually innocent.

Some have served between 7 to 25 years...who knows how many that were exceuted while in actual sense they where innocent of the crime the paid the supreme sacrifice for.

Vasta, may your soul rest in Peace and for your family there is always a blessing in adversity and accept my heart felt sympathy.

[allaccess]

correction:
Hamza Abdullahi was an Air Force AIR Commodore NOT a Commodore like in the Navy.

[Exxcuzme]

Vatsa is no saint, just because he publishes some books does not mean we should mourn for him. They are all agents of death....many Nigerians are still dying from their actions. Soja go, soja come!

[Agidimolaja]

ADDENDUM:

IBB and his cohorts are all evil men. IBB and most of our ex military dictators stood condemned.
IBB and Obj executed more people than any other dictator.
After Muritala's assasination, over fourty people laid dead.Thanks to Obj,Danjuma and other military thugs.We possibly may never know how many people did IBB waste,both openly and secretly.
The main reason for the bloody excercise each time was simply nicknamed "TREASON".
In truth,treason in military law and tradition carried death penalty.
Personally I have great problems with the way this excercises were carried out.
Were all executed people actually guilty of treason? It is a living fact that a lot of people that were executed did not have anything to do with the coup for which they were arrested,charged and then put to death. Allah ya i sa!
It is an open secret that some people were framed up.Some people were implicated simply because his close friend was involved or he visited him recently.Guilty by association is what they nicknamed it.
Despite Obj's closiness with Nzeogwu and despite the fact that he was staying with him until the coup of January 15,1966 was carried out,Obj was never arrested nor prosecuted nor found guilty by associating with Nzeogwu. What would have happened to him in IBB or Abacha era?He would be GUILTY of association because his good friend was a coup leader whereas he was never part of the coup.
Wya was implicated and eventually executed along with Bisalla and others while it was not proved beyond reasonable doubt that he had anything to do with the coup. Obj was expected to set him free for want of evidence but Obj failed to do so and sent an innocent man to an early grave.
No wonder some servicemen were so happy when Abacha finally got the big fish.But as ever, Obj is a lucky man.He outlasted his captor.
If vatsa actually was planning a coup,I did not pity him, for he ought to know better moreso due to his past attitudes toward coup plotters.
Whatever the case may have being,it is still an indisputable fact that there were no credible evidences that could have demanded for such harsh verdict on Vatsa. That is my annoyance. Bamidele too did not deserve to die but the man died anyway thanks to IBB.
Traditionally,Senior Military Officers cannot put up with close rivals.They are always threatened and Vatsa/IBB may not have being an exception.Therefore,Vatsa got to go.
My other annoyance is centred around who is qualified to proclaim death sentence on coup plotters.
In my opinion,the most qualified person must not be someone who himself is guilty of coup plotting/treason.
Is IBB guilty of treason/coup plotting?YES! Was it not through a coup that he overthrew Buhari and forced himself upon Nigerians as their Military President?
Was the coup he carried out different from the one Orkar and his men carried out.
Obj was brought into Muritala's coup and so he became part of the excercise and eventually reaped huge harvest from it. Obj is guilty of coup planning and also guilty of participating in a coup.
But the same Obj{a felon} latter signed the death warrants of over fourty people including some innocent ones who were accused of coup plotting. Till today, Obj was never brought to justice for the role he played in overthrowing Gen. Gowon neither was Gowon himself ever brought to justice for the role he played in murdering completely innocent Gen.Ironsi and Col. Fajuyi.
TY Danjuma is mean to the core.He was really so mean to those who killed Muritala.He was so happy that such a large group of peole got wasted.
Sadly enough, this is the same brutal Danjuma who killed Head of State and a Governor in a coup? Is there any difference from what Danjuma did and what Dimka did? Coup is coup!
My annoyance is that,why are certain coup plotting felons like IBB,Buhari,Danjuma,Obj etc are walking around freely today while hosts of luckless others got wasted?
Worst still,why has a coup plotter turned around to kill another coup plotter whereas both of them are guilty of same offence? Where is justice in this world!
My prayer is that may Divine Providence caught up one day with the likes of IBB and bring them to justice for treason,coup plotting, muder etc.
If Bisalla,Dimka,Vatsa, Orkar etc were executed for coup plotting,it is therefore gross injustice for Danjuma, IBB etc to be walking arounfd freely on the surface of this planet.

[akuluouno]

The Rt Hon Agidi @ below,

"If Bisalla,Dimka,Vatsa, Orkar etc were executed for coup plotting,it is therefore gross injustice for Danjuma, IBB etc to be walking arounfd freely on the surface of this planet."

Because both men and many others like good thieves did not break the 13th Commandment. Reminds of some mischievious men in Spain who mistakenly connected the water mains of a district to a wine celler. When reidents opened their taps, they beheld wine and the foolish men went about proclaiming that they have turned water into wine. Icon showing Aku in "that one Mood"

[Ph3y]

The evil that men do live with them and haunts them till they die.....

[Austin]

Originally Posted by Agidimolaja

ADDENDUM:
My other annoyance is centred around who is qualified to proclaim death sentence on coup plotters.
In my opinion,the most qualified person must not be someone who himself is guilty of coup plotting/treason....
Was the coup he carried out different from the one Orkar and his men carried out....
Is there any difference from what Danjuma did and what Dimka did? Coup is coup!...
My annoyance is that,why are certain coup plotting felons like IBB,Buhari,Danjuma,Obj etc are walking around freely today while hosts of luckless others got wasted?
Worst still,why has a coup plotter turned around to kill another coup plotter whereas both of them are guilty of same offence?...
Where is justice in this world!...

Dear Agidi

THE simple answer to your questions is:

An action taken to if possible forcibly change the government of a country is termed "a coup" only when it does not succeed.

When it succeeds, it becomes "a revolt" or as some will prefer, "a revolution"... or something like that.

Cheers