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Radio Kudirat knew MKO’d be killed
sakibu olokojobi
Asssistant Editor, Politics
The
plot to poison the acclaimed winner
of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, in 1998 was
revealed to Radio Kudirat long before his death.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the
man behind the pirate radio station exploited by pro-democracy Nigerians at
home and in exile to fight the government of General Sani Abacha, made this
disclosure in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Lagos.
Also disclosing that
some members of the State Security Service and the National Intelligence Agency
(NIA) worked for Radio Kudirat in the area of providing intelligence information, said the
information was, however withheld pending when further investigation would be
conducted on the matter in view of its sensitive nature.
Fayemi, who is at
present writing a book on the Radio Kudirat experience, said before the
investigation could be concluded, however, Abiola had already been killed in
detention.
His words: “We
had advance information that Chief Abiola was going to be poisoned. This
information we didn’t use. We really agonised over it because we wanted
to check the veracity, even when it came from a very reliable source.
“We weighed it,
discussed it and asked if it was what we should use or investigate a little
further. I think in the end, we opted to hold back on it, and we didn’t
use it”.
Fayemi said he and
others in the movement for democracy, however regretted not using the
information as it could perhaps have prevented the action.
“We agonised
over that. We blamed ourselves for not using it. I take full
responsiblility,” he said.
Pointing out that the
information about Abiola was not the only one they got, Fayemi said the pirate
radio station got wind of the plot to assassinate the leader of the National
Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Senator Abraham Adesanya, too.
This, he said, they
broadcast before the attempt was carried out on him.
Attributing the
success of the radio station partially to the support of the security
operatives, he said, “One of the things that used to happen to us was
that there were people, ironically, in the intelligence services who did not
have enough confidence in the local media or felt they might be caught if the
information was misused. So, they sent us stuffs via all kinds of means. We got
some information even before the signals got to their stated copies. We got
signals on how they were monitoring bulldog or monitoring antelopes.
Fayemi who is at
present the Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, said the decision
to set up a private radio station was suggested by some human rights activists
at home and abroad during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who thought it
was necessary to inform the public about the true situation.
He said following the
decision, and having been assigned the duty, he embarked on the initial
research alongside Olaokun, son of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The pro-democracy
activist added that his job was made easy as he made contact with some people
who also had a pirate radio station project in the area he was residing in
London then.
“I was the
leader of the residents in the part of London where I was living, and this
brought me in contact with a range of interesting characters including those
who used to run what we called, in the U.K, pirate radio stations.
“Through my
contact with those groups, some of them living on the estate where I was
resident at the time, I found at how to put together, a radio station at a
minimal cost and in a mobile way”.
He said with the
initial work completed, he contacted Wole Soyinka who lent his support to get
some countries to sponsor the project.
Disclosing that he and
some of those involved risked their lives at different times, Fayemi said they
were confronted at a neighbouring country to Nigeria by some SSS and NIA men
from Nigeria.
“He said they
were however successful in shaking off the security men.
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