ABIOLA’S HOME NOW A MUSEUM

ABIOLA’S HOME NOW A MUSEUM

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU.

It was about some days to Christmas In December ,2014 and this reporter had visited the private residence of the acclaimed winner of the controversial June 12,1993 General Elections ,Late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.

Apart from the deceased personal Assistant and one of or two security aides   the entire compound  was very empty.

The personal Assistant told this reporter that the deceased eldest surviving wife,Mrs Maryam Adebisi Abiola  will not be available to speak to Paedia Express Multimedia as she was very busy en route to travelling abroad to visit her children for family re-union at Christmas .

He however promised to use his good offices to help book another appointment between the wife of the late politician and this reporter .

Then 4 or 5 days to the June 12 anniversary in 2015 ,an impeccable source close to  the family told this reporter that the entire compound of the late politician   was now empty ,save for a handful of family relatives.

According to the source most of the children of the deceased had their homes in various places and only come around if there was an urgent family related issue to be discussed .

The source lamented that the eldest son of the deceased ,Mr Kola Abiola who was supposed to have brought the entire family together irrespective of the polygamous setting had instead elect6ed to play politics after his father’s untimely demise  thus sacrificing unity in the family.

The source once again called on the new regime of President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency push the National Assembly to invoke the legislation that will help validate the Jine 12 elections such that Aare Abiola will be recognized through government gazette documents as a former President of Nigeria as the latetr paid a supreme price for his believes in democratic principles even when he had the choice of backing down despite the obvious threats of the ruthlessness of the military.

The house which has been dubbed a political market in the past as favour seekers waited in turn to see the deceased still wears its beautiful and majestic look from the outside but inside it is virtually empty with no retinue of cars parked like in the past.

However inside the vast compound lies the remains of Late Chief Abiola in his grave.

It would be recalled that the late Abiola  had contested for the nation’s highest position through a ticket given to him  after winning the convention of the then Social Democratic Party[S.D.P.]

Once upon a time ,a high wired $10million Liberian money laundering racket which pitched Late Former President Samuel Doe and General Ibrahim Babangida together  had the former  asking the latter and his Nigerian friend to keep for him as the war raged on in Monrovia,Liberia.

The Minna born General not wanting to be outsmarted by the civil society groups and the press who will bounce on him once it became public knowledge   decided to keep the loot with his then best friend, Moshood Kashimawo Ola wale Abiola .

As the tale went, when General Babangida requested for the loot later Late Abiola was said to have given him a cold shudder  hence when the  election time came the army general decided to serve a bouquet of sour grapes.

This reporter had reported this as a world exclusive over five years ago fater having gotten the scoop from childhood friends of Mr  Kola Abiola who lived in their neighborhood at Toyin Street off Allen Avenue in Ikleja, Lagos, Nigeria.

In a related issue,a Peoples Democratic Party [P.D.P.]woman leader in Lagos has pointed accusing fingers over the death of  Chief Abiola on Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ,self acclaim All Progressives Congress National Leader .

According to her,the APC chieftain was in the habit of visiting a sibling of General Abacha and a neighbor of his at Balarabe Musa Crescent in Victoria Island as at the 1990’s hence knew enough to know that Abacha will arrest and push Abiola to his death  once sighted.

She affirmed that she was aware that the likes of Chief Dapo Sarumi were advising Late Chief Abiola to remain abroad and fight in exile instead of returning to Nigeria as it was suicidal but Tinubu kept telling Late Abiola to return home as the coast was very clear for him to make his declaration at Epetedo.

The rest of course is now history.

on the left and theright is the tomb of Late Chief abiola and his wife,kudirat