June 12 crisis: Politicians played both sides, collected money from Abiola, Tofa, says Abdulsalami

Former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has disclosed that many politicians involved in the 1993 June 12 crisis engaged in significant duplicity. In his autobiography, 'Call to Duty,' Abubakar reveals that some individuals who publicly championed Chief MKO Abiola's cause were simultaneously working with the government or accepting funds from both Abiola's camp and his opponent, Bashir Tofa.

Abubakar characterized Nigerian politicians as belonging to "a tribe on their own." He observed that they often publicly inflame ethnic and religious divisions to mobilize support, yet privately maintain relationships, dining and socializing together. He recounted a story shared by the late Bashir Tofa, who discovered that politicians seeking funds for his campaign had also solicited and received money from Abiola's party, the SDP. Tofa was reportedly stunned to see these same individuals with Abiola's party chairman, which Abubakar noted contributed to Tofa losing Kano and even his own ward to Abiola.

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The late Alhaji Bashir Tofa told me a story to illustrate this. He said some politicians had visited him requesting for some money for the mobilisation of supporters. They assured him that they would deliver the votes in their respective wards to him. He gave them what they demanded. Tofa later visited the state chairman of Abiola’s party, the SDP, and was dumbfounded to see the same set of people there.

The former Head of State also shared a personal experience from the 1980s when he was Chief Instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy. He witnessed politicians from opposing factions of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – those loyal to Mallam Aminu Kano and Alhaji Abubakar Rimi – socializing together in a guest house. This occurred during a period of intense public conflict that led to the impeachment of Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa in 1981. Abubakar found it shocking that politicians who publicly presented themselves as bitter rivals were privately sharing meals and conversation.

This encounter significantly shaped Abubakar's view of Nigeria's political class. He recalled watching a politician from the Aminu Kano faction vehemently criticize Rimi on national television, only to recognize him hours later as one of the men he had seen dining with members of the opposing camp. A politician from the First Republic reportedly told Abubakar that regardless of party affiliations, most Northern politicians used to visit the Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, where they would meet, eat, drink, and receive tokens.

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I was shocked. These were politicians who, in public, were pretending not to have any point of connection, and the masses were fighting each other because of them. Here, they were hobnobbing, away from public view.