Deposed Emir of Gwandu and former Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), Major Al-Mustapha Jokolo (retd), has sensationally revealed how the current Emir of Gwandu, General Mohammed Ilyasu Bashar (retd), known in the army then as General Jega, almost sent himself, Generals Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), Buhari and others to the grave over 1983 coup.
Alhaji Shehu Shagari, then Nigeria’s president, was toppled in the military coup that brought Buhari to power in 1983.
But for Providence, Jokolo said in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun from his Birnin-Kebbi base, that he would not have been alive today.
The deposed emir was trying to justify his claim that contrary to the alarm raised recently by his cousin, the Emir of Gwandu, that he (Jokolo) threatened to kill him, it was the Emir who had allegedly been making plans to eliminate him right from their days in the army.
How? “You know in the army, once you are caught planning a coup, it is instant justice, death is the only way to answer for your sins. And that was exactly what General Jega wished me and others in 1983, when against advice from my superiors, I confided in him about our plans to overthrow Shagari.”
According to Jokolo, he had to go this far to make this revelation, just to let Nigerians and the good people of Kebbi know that all along, he had always treated his cousin kindly, but what he (Jokolo) gets in return is treachery.
Hear him: “There is this group of Generals in Lagos, which included IBB, who were all part of the 1983 coup plot. Then, Jega was also in Lagos, as the director, Army Training and Operations, IBB was the director, Army Staff Duties and Plans, Gusau, a Colonel then, was the director, Military Intelligence, while Buhari was the G.O.C in Jos.
“Now, initially, Jega was to be informed about the plot, but it was later agreed that if he was told, he would inform General Jallo, who was the Chief of Defence Staff then, who would in turn inform Shagari, the president. You can verify my claim, these people are all alive. Those of us, young officers involved in the plot include Col. Gwadabe, Sambo and Aminu.
“But being my first cousin, and coupled with the fact that he was the one who gave me the form, with which I was enrolled in the army, and he is even married to my first sister, I felt I will be destroying that relationship, if I didn’t inform him (Jega).
“So I went straight to the army headquarters and asked him to tell his PA to hold all his calls and that nobody should come in as I intend discussing something vital with him. He did as I requested, and I asked him: ‘Are you aware of the moves to change the government?’ He said no. I told him that those involved felt if he was told, he would leak it. He asked who and who were involved, I told him I wouldn’t disclose that. He then said ‘since they don’t trust us, we should not get involved.’ He used the word ‘us’ to refer to himself and I.
“At the end of the day, we both swore that nobody will hear about my discussion with him. He swore in his office and agreed that nobody will hear it. At that time, I was a senior instructor in Basawa Barracks, Zaria, while Col. Sambo Dasuki was the MA (Military Assistant) to General Wushishi, the then Chief of Army Staff. I was to travel to Sokoto to see Brigadier Bako the next morning to brief him, because we were monitoring Shagari’s movement in Lagos, Abuja and Sokoto, and Bako was our contact man there.
“But the night before I travelled, my instinct told me something was wrong. So, I called Sambo and asked to let’s go on a drive. At that point, I had not told Sambo anything about my discussion with Jega, so we drove straight to Ikoyi, to ask for Jega, and the guards told me he went out. I asked for the direction he went, and they pointed at it.
“Incidentally, the direction turns out to be where Alhaji Alhaji, the then permanent secretary, ministry of finance, lives. On getting there, I saw Jega. And the next thing Alhaji told me was: ‘I am about to call you, Jega just told me you people are plotting a coup.’ It was very embarrassing to me. So, I sat next to Alhaji, and said ‘yes, and no Jupiter can stop us.’ It was then Alhaji said: ‘If you people don’t do it, somebody else will do it, because our account is red.’
“We drove back with Sambo in silence; no one said anything to one another. The next morning, I flew to Sokoto to brief Bako. As I was boarding an aircraft to return to Lagos, Bako told me I should not speak to anyone until I see Sambo. He said there was a leak and so for now there was electronic silence (that is the army code to stop further communication on any matter).
“When I flew back to Lagos, I drove to Sambo’s office. And there I was told that, after Jega left Alhaji’s place the previous day, he went to see the late Vasta, who was then the Quarter Master-General, and that the two of them went to see Jallo and from there they all converged at Wushishi’s office, on the morning I arrived from Sokoto. They then sent for IBB and accosted him on the coup issue. IBB asked Wushishi who told him, he (Wushishi) said it was Jega.
“And IBB asked Jega ‘who and who are involved?’ Jega kept quiet. IBB asked the question again and there was no response. IBB now insulted him (Jega) and called him a bastard, and stormed out of the place and slammed the door at them. And even at that, Jega still went and told President Shagari himself, a situation that probably earned him a promotion to the position of the G.O.C 2 Div., Ibadan, probably to checkmate our moves, because Ibadan was responsible for all the guards in Lagos.
“Don’t also forget that all the people providing security for Shagari are people from the old Sokoto State, from DG, NSO, Shinkafi, Col. Bello Kaliel, Brigade Commander, Brigade of Guards and Mamman Nasarawa, who was the Police Commissioner in charge of Lagos then. So, of all these guys, only Kaliel knew about it. But Col. Kaliel later fought us back.
“So, you can see that if at that time Shagari had made any counter move, all of us would have been arrested and probably shot. And Jega did it with the intention of destroying me. If he had succeeded, I won’t be alive today to talk to you.
“I want to further let you know that I was the reason he was not retired from the army after the coup. Because on the night of the coup, December 31, 1983, Jega got wind of it and called Wushishi. Unknown to Jega, IBB and Gusau had moved to Wushishi’s house to inform him. And by that time, Wushishi’s house had been surrounded by our soldiers, but he did not know. So he told Jega on phone that IBB and Gusau were already in his house.
“In the morning after the coup, all the states where we made provisions for our own communications, Kaduna, Jos, Ibadan, Enugu and the control station in Lagos, joined except Ibadan, where Jega was in charge.
“So Ali Akilu and I were dispatched to Ibadan to see him. I took the risk because as I told you, we have the same grand-father and the wife is my sister. The moment the wife saw us, she started crying and asked if we had come to kill the husband. I told her how on earth will I be party to killing the husband. I told her I will never do that, that I will never be party to making her a widow and the children orphans.
“We told Jega he was the only one that has not joined us and that he should do so immediately and ask the radio station to tune to our marshal music. And we asked him to meet us in Lagos the next day.
“In Lagos, while the senior officers were meeting, Gusau came out of the meeting, in the presence of Col. Dangiwa Umar and told me that ‘Al-Mustapha, because of you, we are not going to retire Jega.’ And that was how he was posted to the old Gongola, as Military Administrator. And he remained in the army until he voluntarily retired, so you can see that all along, I have always protected our relationship. If I did not eliminate him then, when there was ample opportunity to do so, on what basis will I now want to kill him as he is alleging?” Jokolo asked rhetorically.
Asked why Kaliel had to put up a fight against them during the coup, when he knew about it, Jokolo said: “Honestly, I don’t know. But two things may have accounted for his action, because Kaliel is an honest person and I respect him much. Aliyu Gusau is Kaliel’s bosom friend. Gusau was the one funding us from the Military Intelligence vault. So, Kaliel knew that if he reported, Gusau and IBB would be rounded up, how can he live with that, that is one. Two, here President Shagari, who entrusted his life to him (Kaliel), and he felt he would be betraying the confidence, if he joined us. I think that was why he decided to sit on the fence, pretending to be with us. You know, he was on leave during the coup, but he left Birnin Kebbi, and tried to stop us. That was why he was arrested and put in the guardroom. ”
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