Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
Challenges Obasanjo to public debate …Says Yoruba leaders, except Oba Tejuosho, deceived MKO By Ikenna Asomba LAGOS—Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday, said he would soon reveal how his boss and the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Bashorun MKO Abiola, died. Disclosing that Abacha and Abiola’s deaths were from same source, Al-Mustapha said he would make the comprehensive revelation in his new book, Mustapha’s Memoirs, which, according to him, is still in the works. Al-Mustapha, who addressed journalists in Lagos yesterday, on a number of issues relating to his 15-year travails in detention, said Abiola and Abacha were very good friends before some fifth columnists caused disaffection between them. He said: “For instance, when Chief MKO Abiola was in prison, many notable Nigerians visited him. They will visit him in the morning, and when they come back to the Villa in the evening to see Abacha, they would say a different thing entirely. On video “Unknown to these notable Nigerians, particularly notable Yoruba personalities, who visited Abiola, their visits were recorded on video. I did the video recording without their knowledge. “These people would visit Abiola and come back to tell government a different thing about him. Major Hamza Al-Mustapha “These same people would still go and tell Abiola a different thing about government. They are on video. The agencies of government have these videos evidence. “These same people told MKO Abiola never to accept any compromise or negotiations. They advised him never to come back home without his mandate. All these things are on video. “Of all the Yoruba leaders, only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola the truth: to accept the conditional bail and go home. “Only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola that Abacha was his friend, urging him to reconcile with Abacha who was ready for reconciliation. It was Oba Tejuosho who told MKO Abiola that he still had the goodwill and would win if he re-contests after Abacha. “What killed Abacha is what killed MKO Abiola. But I would reveal that after my court case, still at the Supreme Court. I would publish a book which has three volumes— the Mustapha’s Memoirs, which will tell what happened under Abacha and how he died.” On Abacha loot still being returned to the country from abroad, 18 years after his death, Al-Mustapha said he was shocked the first time he heard of Abacha’s loot. He added that most of what was today known in the media as Abacha’s loot were mere media campaigns aimed at smearing the late Sani Abacha’s image by local and international persons he stepped on their toes while he was Head of State. … killer squad Also, Al-Mustapha reiterated his call for a public debate, where former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, would come to substantiate claims in his infamous 18-page letter that he (Al-Mustapha) was contracted to head a killer squad of 1,000 snipers for former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2015 general elections. Al-Mustapha debunked insinuations that the ex-President, Jonathan, interfered with court process to facilitate his release from prisons, to enable him (Al-Mustapha) help train the ‘killer squad’ or procure Jonathan’s success in the North during the last election. Al-Mustapha said, ab initio, he had no case to answer but for the plots of his persecutors to see him eliminated because he stepped on their toes while he served as the Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, adding that the appellate court acquitted him when it determined that he had no case to answer on all the charges levelled against him. ‘Obasanjo’s had his day’ He said: “Nobody contracted me to catch 1,000 mosquitoes under the Jonathan administration, let alone human beings. I am Al-Mustapha. I have my background away from the propaganda peddled by the likes of Obasanjo. “Obasanjo has had his day. I am doing my investigation and I have discovered so many things as to what made him (Obasanjo) make such allegation. I have it. I will release it very soon and that is why I have challenged him to an open debate. “Obasanjo is my senior in the force; he was a former Military Head of State, but when issues of law and rights of man are being discussed, definitely equality comes to the fore. “You cannot put an allegation against your junior because you are a senior, and you believe the junior would keep quiet. No, I would not. That would amount to ignorance. I am not ignorant about our laws. “I challenge Obasanjo to an open debate so that he can substantiate his allegations before the whole world; but he is yet to oblige the challenge. “Thank God a new government is here today, where he (Obasanjo) can bring up the issue, requesting it to investigate and, if there is any contract between Jonathan and I to catch one single mosquito, I want to say that I am guilty and want to be tried.”
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/ill-soon-reveal-abacha-abiola-died-al-mustapha/
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