Giwa
The mystery still remains unravelled. The issue around Gloria Okon. Spotted abroad. Originally arrested for drug trafficking turns out that she is cocaine courier with connection and friends in high places.
She is friend to Maryam Babangida. Was she a courier for her or for IBB. Somehow she was pronounced dead in detention.
When in reality she had been smuggled abroad with the help of the friends of IBB. Yes, Vasta, who was himself later shot for what was largely a phantom coup had helped in passaging her out of the country.
The Newswatch team through her correspondence in London Kayode Soyinka had scooped the details of Gloria Okon whereabout, whose real name is *”Chinyere”*, was *”married to Charles “Jeff” Chandler, the fellow who killed Nzeogwu and was killed a day later”* ( Wikki Times)
Somehow the Newswatch team had pictures of the now named Gloria Okon in London, married and celebrating the birth of a new baby, with no less a person than Maryam Babangida in attendance.
So was Dele Giwa and co… Negotiating a trade off to Publish or not to publish? But fact was that he had been invited for an interview by the military led intelligence arm of the SSS led by Togun and Akilu on Oct. 15, four days before the bomb was dispatched.
He was directly rattled and falsely *”accused of various offences including gun-running, plotting a socialist revolution with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigeria Labour Union (NLC) and National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) among other offences.”* (Wikki Times)
Was the accusation an insurance by the military to attempt a counter trade off to ensure he does not publish. Was it becoming clear that Dele Giwa will not play ball?
Dele Giwa aimed for his own insurance by reaching out to Gani Fawehinmi to legally take on the false charges against him, and Gani till his death was on the heels of this case pointing accusing fingers at the IBB regime has having carried out the murder of Dele Giwa.
On this day, October 19, 1986, Dele Giwa had received the pictures of Gloria Okon with Kayode Soyinka in hand. Where they detailing how or what angle to write their story. How will Nigeria take such a story, not with messianic crown IBB still wore. It was early days in the life of the regime.
With the pictures on the table a call had come through requesting for the description of how to get to his house by no one else than from Col. Halilu Akilu, the then Director of the Military intelligence. And so came the bomb 💣 parcelled in a letter.
Buhari who was head of state when Gloria Okon was reported dead had gotten wind of it and was investigating, but did he procrastinate. Cocaine and heroine was not a street-corner to be found pleasure drug, it was past time for the rich and mighty, with roots to the top brass of the military as the case of Glory Okon had indicated.
But yet Buhari had three young men *”Bartholomew Azubike Owoh (26), Lawal Akanni Ojuolape (30), and Bernard Ogedengbe (29)”* arrested, tried and shot. Even when it was clear that they were fronts for the Big Guys. And when, a clear case of Glory Okon came in handy, even Buhari turned out Helpless. So much of the incorruptible Buhari, who made a worse mess of our affairs, with better score at the failure of governance course he had at Aso Rock.
What role did this play in the timing of the IBB coup in August 27, 1985. With the change of guards, those in power could no longer stomach the negotiating antics of a forthright journalist. And interestingly, two comments from Dele Giwa on the said day was that the parcel was from the *”President”*, referring to no other person than IBB himself.
He clearly knew they were after him and with his ghost lingering on the edge with limbs shattered he said with his last breathe *”they have got me”*. He certainly knew they were after him.
This is Nigeria, were power is an instrument with which commit murder and get away with it. The why and how Bola Ige was also cut down is tied to the events not unconnected to the coming 2003 elections with Bola Ige already indicating his interest that he will contest.
What is clear is that under bourgeois rule, the rich will act to protect the crimes of the rich. It is even more worst off, in the neo-colonial setting of Nigeria with are underdeveloped means of production, making nearly all who are super rich criminally relying employing their hold of power to enrich themselves.
With no capitalist direct development taken place, too many of the super rich have smartly engaged in make money by any means necessary without any care for even the bourgeois laws of their class for equality before the law.
For the early generation of military Generals, the salary was not and could not have been enough to feed their need. Especially bearing in mind that the second republic in sense ruined their pockets.
They largely became civil servants, whose salary could not meet extra large life style … Anything short of the working masses, organising political to pose the question of power, and winning it and by so doing transform the country to have our wealth and resources to meet the needs of the working masses.
So long will the desperation to by the rich to get richer making the poor poorer… So long too will more crimes committed by the rich go unpunished. No justice for Dele Giwa if we Nigeria is not transformed.
Aj. Dagga Tolar (c).