Buhari became head of state on December 31, 1983 after the military overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari. But on August 27, 1985, Buhari himself was overthrown by Babangida, his chief of army staff and key actor in the 1983 coup.Buhari, a retired major general and presidential aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), told TheCable: “It is true that I learnt he was planning a coup against me. And I sat and discussed it with him in my office.
“He brought the news that he went to Kano and people complained that I pulled a pistol during a council meeting. I said Ibro ─ I called him Ibro because I was just senior to him by a few months ─ I said whoever wants to sit on this chair let him come and sit here. And he decided to do it.”
Reminded that the punishment for coup making was death and he could have put Babangida on trial, Buhari replied: “Yes. Remember how many people he killed subsequently for trying to overthrow him? But when I came in, there was no bloodshed. I think a couple of policemen were killed and [Brigadier Ibrahim] Bako also died in an ambush.
“But deliberately, nobody was killed. I was in the front, the real front in the Nigerian civil war. I had seen enough of death and I know what God means by human life. Any human being, God values their life. And anybody who hopes to meet God, he should be careful about killing…
“When there is law and due process of law took place, the question is clear. Like the cocaine convicts that were executed, the decision was taken in supreme military council.”
Below is the concluding part of the interview:
TheCable: People say that you were not really involved in the coup that overthrew Shehu Shagari but you only happened to have been made head of state. But we also heard that Alhaji Umaru Dikko, then minister of transport, felt you were a threat and asked that you be watched. How true are these reports?
Buhari: General David Jemibewon is still alive. He was the adjutant-general of the army at that time. When I came back from the War College in the United States, I was posted to Ikeja and I was made the GOC of the fourth division. I think I lasted for about four to six months there because some people in Shagari’s government said I was too dangerous to be kept around. So I was sent to Ibadan to command second division. I lasted about six months there. Again, I was posted to Jos to command the third armoured division. Then Jemibewon said to me, Buhari, the way they are moving you, your next posting will be to Daura (Buhari’s home town in Katsina state). I had a good laugh. I will never forget. It was during the chief of army staff conference.
TheCable: How much did you know about the 1983 coup?
Buhari: I am working on my memoirs… (But) I have something to say now about the way we treat our military officers who really served this country. Along the line we have gone through so much, those of us in my generation. We served under people like Generals Shuwa, Adekunle, Murtala, Danjuma. I think these people have sacrificed so much. I think Nigeria should really honour them. When I went to greet the family of (Benjamin) Adekunle after his death, and I saw that he was living in a glorified boys quarters, I was very sorry for this country. I felt sorry for this country. What type of people are we? For him to finish up like that, I was very sorry for this country. Unless people believe in God, I think they will forsake this country.
TheCable: Alhaji Umaru Dikko is dead now. There was an attempt to smuggle him into the country from the UK to Nigeria. Your government was suspected as the brain behind it but you denied it then. Can the information be declassified now?
Buhari: No. (General laughter). I’m surprised that I am making you laugh. It is classified and it remains so.
TheCable: Were you really aware that Babangida was planning a coup against you in 1985?
Buhari: Yes, it is true that I learnt he was planning a coup against me. And I sat and discussed it with him in my office. He was the chief of army staff and I was the head of state. He brought the news that he went to Kano and people complained that I pulled a pistol during a council meeting. I had never heard that before, except a newspaper cartoon I saw many, many years ago about Mengistu Haile Mariam (former Ethiopian head of state). They were just making up stories. I said Ibro ─ I called him Ibro because I was just senior to him by a few months ─ I said whoever wants to sit on this chair let him come and sit here. And he decided to do it.
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