By Reno Omokri
My attention has been drawn to recent comments by former Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, who alleged that he was sacked by ex President Goodluck Jonathan because he refused to rig elections in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party during the gubernatorial elections in Osun State.
Speaking to Daily Trust on Sunday August 26, 2018, Mr. Abba had said “One of the leading stalwarts in the PDP then said to me: ‘IG (you know I was acting then) deliver Osun to us and we will confirm you quickly.’ I was shocked! That was when I knew that I may not last long in the office.”
The former Inspector General of Police then blamed his failure to influence that election for his sack by then President Jonathan.
We don’t know the motivation for this fallacious outburst, at this point in time. We are surprised that the former IGP who had maintained a dignified silence until now, would submit himself to utter such cheap outrage. No wonder, it is normally said that for some people, it is better to keep quiet, lest their foul breath blow away the veil covering their nakedness.
Former IGP Suleiman Abba is proof of the fact that liars need a very good memory otherwise they would contradict themselves with their lies.
In the first place most Nigerians who have become accustomed to former President Jonathan’s methods, disposition and records in office can vouch that ‘deliver for me or my party’ as claimed by the former IGP is never the language of the former President. If it were, President Jonathan wouldn’t have been able to organize the 2011 and 2015 general elections that were adjudged credible and transparent by both local and international observers. The fact that he organised many key elections in which his party lost to the opposition also knocks the bottom out of the former IGP’s needless naked lie.
Let us examine some facts. The Osun State gubernatorial election held on Saturday August 9, 2014. The results of that election was declared the next day on Sunday, August 10, 2014.
Mr Suleiman Abba claims to have been sacked because he failed to rig that election for the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, Suleiman Abba was appointed acting Inspector General of Police on Friday August 1, 2014 and sacked from office on Monday April 20, 2015.
If it was true that Mr Abba was sacked for refusing to rig the Osun State election, which held on August 9, 2014, why would former President Jonathan wait for seven and a half months before sacking him?
If it was true that Mr Abba was sacked for refusing to rig the Osun State election, which held on August 9, 2014, why would former President Jonathan keep him in office to preside over the Nigerian Police Force during the more important 2015 Presidential election which was even more crucial to the then President and the PDP?
When juxtaposed with these facts, the accusation of the former IGP of Police makes no sense to reasonable men and women.
Former President Jonathan is known as a man who is not desperate for power. He has a reputation for providing the enabling environment for free and fair elections.
As a matter of fact, when the current chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, was re-elected after the June 2012 gubernatorial election in Edo State, the then Edo State Governor said on July 15, 2012 as follows:
“President Jonathan has demonstrated statesmanship. I think there is hope for Nigeria. What the Edo election has confirmed is that when the President and Commander-in-Chief puts the country first and conducts himself as a statesman, not just as a party leader, credible elections are possible.”
This testimony, from an opposition governor, who was opposed to the re-election of then President Jonathan and who is now the chairman of the APC, completely rubbishes Mr. Abba’s statements.
I believe the former IG will have a lot to say about why he was sacked whenever he decides to tell Nigerians the truth.
Let him start by explaining to Nigerians why in 2015, the Kano State resident electoral commissioner (REC), his entire family and security guards were murdered under his watch, and the police didn’t even investigate the matter.
I therefore urge Mr. Abba to find other ways to ingratiate himself to the current powers that be and leave former President Jonathan out of his lying schemes and plans.
▪Omokri, former aide to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is the bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years and Leah Sharibu: The Girl That Boko Haram Left Behind.