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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Monday, July 05, 2004.
1995
C’wealth suspension: Ikimi provoked Mandela, says Malami
By
Ikechukwu Amaechi
Group Politics Editor
Nigeria’s
first High Commissioner to post-apartheid South Africa, Shehu Malami, has
accused former Foreign Affairs Minister in the Sani Abacha military
regime, Tom Ikimi, of provoking Nelson Mandela to back Nigeria’s
suspension from the Commonwealth in 1995.
Malami
faulted Ikimi’s claim that Mandela’s (then South Africa’s President)
support for limited sanction against Nigeria at the Auckland summit of
the Commonwealth was premeditated.
In an
interview with Daily Independent in May, Ikimi, who led Nigeria’s
delegation to the summit, accused Mandela and Emeka Anyaoku, then
Secretary General of the Commonwealth, of spearheading the suspension of
Nigeria.
But
Malami, in an interview at his country home in Sokoto, picked holes in
Ikimi’s account of the events leading to the suspension.
He
alleged that Ikimi snubbed Mandela who sent for him to ascertain the true
position of things in Nigeria; particularly the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa,
the playwright and nine other Ogoni activists.
“When
the news leaked out to Mandela in New Zealand that the Ogoni people were
about to be hanged or that they had been hanged, he made frantic efforts
to speak with Sani Abacha on the telephone to find out what the situation
was but he could not get through to Abacha”, Malami said.
He
added that on failing to reach Abacha, Mandela requested to see Ikimi
who, unfortunately, took too much time to answer his call.
His
words: “When Mandela failed to reach Abacha, he called Alhaji Alhaji, who
was our High Commissioner in England then but who was also in New Zealand
for the conference. He begged Alhaji Alhaji to please contact Abacha ….
Alhaji tried but couldn’t and Mandela told him to go and get me Tom
Ikimi.
“Ikimi
took an inordinately long time to see Mandela who was then under
tremendous pressure to criticise Nigeria. So that was how he lost his
temper and when they went for the conference, he started abusing Nigeria”.
Malami,
the Sarkin Sudan of Wumo in Sokoto State, claimed that though he
was not in Auckland at the time, both Mandela and Thabo Mbeki briefed him
on what transpired.
He
also defended Anyaoku, saying it is unfair for anyone to label him a
quisling. “He (Anyaoku) is dedicated to Nigeria. He is one man who is
very proud of his Nigerian citizenship and he is recognised all over the
world”.
Malami
said despite what many
Nigerians say of the late Abacha, he was not as bad as many people tend
to portray him.
“Abacha
couldn’t have been that inconsiderate. He may have done some wrong things
but there was also something good about him”.
According
to him, Abacha was not only a listening Head of State he was also a kind
one, narrating how he hearkened to his plea for clemency and released
late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua from detention when he was first arrested.
•
See details of the interview on Wednesday.
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