The many lies they said about Abacha and i - Al-Mustapha

 

Following the death of Abacha in June 1998 the air of invincibility around Al-Mustapha evaporated and thus began another episode in the story of the famed Al-Mustapha. He was locked up from 1998 and tried for alleged complicity in the murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 elections,
Bashorun Moshood Abiola. His conviction in 2012 was eventually overturned in 2013 by the Court of Appeal setting him in the land of liberty after 14 years.

Al-Mustapha in this interview tells his story, his relationship with Gen. Abacha and his thoughts on Nigeria. Excerpts: How does it feel like being free? Fulfilling! Freedom and incarnation are two different worlds so every single breath of air is priceless. One can see it from the point of view of having freedom and incarceration. When one is incarcerated, you can give him everything but no matter how valuable it is, it is nothing. The most valuable thing in the hands of him that has lost his freedom is freedom. 

When you read all the stories that were published about you, about how powerful you were in office, how your word meant death or freedom, how you fed people to crocodiles and lions, what went through your mind? First of all, extremely disappointed because I knew these were stories that were sponsored by people who were high up. If people who were supposed to be statesmen were sponsoring lies against me, my disappointment first of all has to do with their polluting the environment with lies. Secondly, being a victim of persecution, I knew that it did not start with me but I prayed that it should stop with me. I was destined to go through it and I went through it.

 But their lies were foolish. It was the same presidency that we handed to somebody else and he too handed to another person. The question is where was the pond that contained crocodiles that we fed with living human beings? Where were the lions and who were these individuals that we threw to lions to eat? They must have families. Did the families cry out? When people want to tarnish your image for some fears, they can use anything.