Brigadier-General Fred Chijuka (Retd), former Army spokesman from 1993 to 1996 and first Director of Information for the Armed Forces, worked with two former military leaders, General Ibrahim Babangida and late General Sani Abacha. He recently broke his silence years after retiring from the Army in this interview with Sylvester Okoruwa as he marks his 72nd birthday. Excerpts.

You worked closely with former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida. How would you analyse his administration?
General Babangida  was able to bring stability to the army, because all the boys he brought up that were loyal to him were all brought into his regime. So, all the coups planned against him failed. To me, Babangida did very well in improving infrastructure like the Third Mainland Bridge, the military barracks in Abuja, Aso Rock and others. But, he failed economically with his Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP); the gulf oil windfall. Though, during his regime, there was instability in the value of the naira. In politics, he did many re-engineering. He introduced  the United States of America-style two-party system. He created Social Democratic Party (SDP) and  National Republican Convention (NRC) and introduced the Option A4 which produced Nigeria’s fairest election till date and the June 12, 1993 election that produced Chief MKO Abiola. But he annulled  the election. If he had not annulled the election, today he could have been a hero in the country and his name written in gold.

Did he solely take the decision to annulled the election?
He told Nigerians that all the military leaders agreed to the annulment. That was a pure lie, because you cannot get all the generals to agree on an issue. This (the issue) caused a lot of problems then in the military as it divided the military top echelon then in power. But Nigerians don’t expect to see them come out in the open to criticise him as that could lead to treason. But, we thank God that he later owned up and admitted to solely taking that decision. The annulment of June 12, 1993 election  is part of the problems the country is presently facing politically, but as time goes on; I pray that our political system will be stable.

So, it will be appropriate to say Babangida regime was a part of the country’s problems?
Well, when he got to power, he relaxed so much in punishing law breakers because his friends were working with him. It was not like the Buhari regime, which disciplined those who broke the law and many Nigerians liked him (General Muhammadu Buhari) for his War Against Indiscipline (WAI). But Babangida gave public office holders opportunity to help themselves with Nigerian money

But would you support IBB  going back into politics?
Well, as for me, he has the right to contest for any political office, but I know that his friends, who don’t like him tend to encourage him to go into politics. That is the problem most of our leaders are going through. Even when I was in government, people tried to advise me wrongly, but I normally stuck to what I thought was right. Nigerians are the problems of our leaders, as they will always tell them what they want to hear instead  of telling them the truth. This set of people is always close to government, and its officials, encouraging them not to do the right thing for their selfish interest. These are the people I call evil men. IBB was a very nice man; he was  the only man who would call you by your name, whether junior or senior to him. I know, on his own, he could not have got back to politics.  He could have remained a kingmaker, as  politicians still go to him for political advice but more could have gone to him if he had not gone back to politics.

What  about General Abacha’s government?
Abacha was a good man. He was a very honest man. He truly loved  this country. He was the only Nigerian that was detribalised. I worked with him and I am an Igbo man. He would leave his house for me and I will leave at any time I liked. If he said he would do something, he would surely do it at any cost, if it will be in the good interest of Nigerians. He brought stability to the naira for two years, economists were able to plan for a year or two. Abacha brought honour to the military as he increased military personnel’s salary to a living wage. He gave the Igbo in the military the opportunity to rise (in the army) because before his coming, Igbo officers were not allowed to get to the rank of Major General due to the fear that they would take over government and break up the nation. But, Abacha was human. He was so much flattered by evil men.

The only mistake he made was surrounding himself with people who were not telling him the truth because when he was in Lagos as the Chief of Army Staff, he was doing well but when he became Head of State, the evil advisers were telling him not to worry, that nothing wiould happen. How will something not happen in a big country like Nigeria? They misled him to commit all the atrocities leveled against him. We saw how things ended with him.

You served IBB and Abacha; which one performed better?
What people don’t understand is that the friendship between IBB and Abacha was cordial. What Nigerians don’t understand is that they were very close,  IBB  is a very intelligent military officer, but for Abacha, he gave the army its present  respected status and also  stabilised the naira.

However, in the area of  politics, both did badly as regards their ambition to become life presidents. Both tried their best but Nigerians are bad, they tend to mislead their leaders.  I will advise our leaders to always do the right thing at all times for posterity sake.

You worked with Major Hamzat Al- Mustapha. What do you know about him?
Major Hamzat Al- Mustapha was a committed and dedicated army officer. We were always in Abacha’s house together. The only problem is that he went too far. He could have committed himself with his Chief Security Officer’s job; maybe, he wouldn’t have been in this mess. I feel pity for him,  I pray God to see him through. It is a lesson to those in power on the need to be careful because the country is bigger than any individual.

What is your take on the sudden death of General Tunde Idiagbon and General Abacha.?
As for General Idiagbon, I don’t know much about his sudden death in Abuja. There were many interpretations to the story, he could have known that as second in command to Buhari he stepped on many toes, so he shouldn’t have gone to Abuja. But  for Abacha’s death, he was healthy. I will not say whether it was a military set-up or not, but I will say that one day somebody will write a book that will reveal what led to his death. I believe that before we leave this planet, the truth will be revealed.

Will you blame Ojukwu for leading the Igbo into the 1966 Nigeria Civil war? And why?
The civil war was just an unfortunate incident in the history of Nigeria,  as the young men of that time were not able to handle the crisis properly because they could have taken the alternative of peace instead of war. I was not in the army at that time, I will not blame Ojukwu because  in  times of crises someone must lead others.  For what he did, he was like Moses who  God used to lead the Israelites.  So, Ojukwu was used by God to save the Igbo. What I don’t like is the continued killing of people of a section of the country, the Igbo. There is enough land in the east. The easterners should come home and develop their land to avoid this unnecessary marking out of Igbo in the North for slaughter. Boko Haram is just wasting innocent lives. Government should do everything possible to arrest and punish these people causing all these unwanted destruction of lives and property to  avoid a repeat of 1966 civil war, as all Nigerians have the right to work and live in any part of Nigeria.

What do you think was Ojukwu’s mistake during the war?
The greatest mistake he made was his failure to come to a compromise to end the war when the Commonwealth came to see how the situation was to be settled. The Nigerian government was ready  for the peace agreement because many people were dying, while the Igbo soldiers were  tired of fighting the war. He failed to settle the matter on time by preventing the large number of people that were killed, though people like late Nnamdi Azikwe were there, he was the person fully in charge of Biafra.

How were Igbo military officers marginalised after the war as was claimed by some people?
It was not easy for Igbo officers in the army as they were retired before they got to enviable positions  in the military because of the civil war discrimination. It was people like General Sani Abacha that helped us to level up. He appointed Igbo officers into different positions if you were qualified. I thank President Goodluck Jonathan  for appointing an Igbo man as  Chief of Army Staff after 40 years,  thereby breaking the jinx.

Some of the  top northern military officers were naïve,  selfish and very tribalised not to allow the Igbo to grow in the military. Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike was made Chief of Air Staff and later Chief of Defence staff and his record is the best till date.

Most of the Igbo officers, who were reinstated after the war in the army politics, lost seniority to their northern colleagues. So, when the army were looking for those to retire, they would check the ages and the ranks because in army politics, at a particular age, your rank must correspond. For example at the age of 45, you must be in the rank of a Colonel. So, if you are 50 years and your colleagues in that rank are 45 years, you will be retired. This was what affected the Igbo officers. Now the problem has been solved as the Igbo officers in the military are going together with their colleagues from other parts of the country.

Why is it that the military don’t give the actual figure of  affected persons during crisis?
The only reason is to reduce tension during crisis because if 100 people are killed and you confirm 100 deaths it will increase the crisis, so the only way is to play down the situation by lying  about the figures,  this is a form  of crisis management,  it is used all over the world.

What is the difference between the 1966 massacre and the ongoing bombing and killings by the Boko Haram members  in the North?
That of 1966 was well-organised and well-planned to eliminate Igbo from house to house. But Boko Haram attacks are not organised as such because members of the sect attack people randomly and in the process kill even Northerners.

With the benefit of history and experiences, how would you compare eras of military and civilian governments?
Normally, all over the world people prefer civilian government, but in our country, I will say that the military  did better than the civilian administrations. The military built all the flyovers in Lagos State, put all the structures Nigerians are now enjoying since 1999. What have the civilian government added to the past infrastructure on ground.? Nothing! They are just siphoning public fund for themselves. For example, let’s  look at the revelations coming out from the fuel subsidy probe going on in the House of Representatives.

Why is it difficult so far for an Igbo to win a presidential election in the country?
The political leaders from the East need to come together and avoid political  rivalry. They  should start on time to prepare and support one candidate for president,  they can make it to the top if they learn to cooperate with one voice. The problem is that money often causes confusion among the political leaders. This is because a small boy with money does not have respect for the elders. He thinks with his money he can buy the conscience of those who are supposed to look for a capable candidate to represent them well in government.

What advice do you have for President Jonathan on how to crack down on Boko Haram?
Since the military is now in charge, it will take some time to crack down Boko Haram. Just like how the military cracked down the Maitatsine Islamist group  in kano in the early 80s. Government made a mistake of using the police from the beginning. The government thought the Police could crack them down but it was a miscalculation. The military came too late, but with the military now in control, Boko Haram will soon be a thing of the past.

What should President Jonathan do to improve the economy of the nation?
President Jonathan  should devolve power if he wants to practise American system of government. They should copy it to the letter because if we try to do our own style, we will fail. President Jonathan is a young man, who is  committed to helping this nation, but he needs to give his ministers specific responsibilities to do that will help his government to be focused. For example, in the Benin Republic, there is no emission of gases from vehicles and no blaring of motor horn this is because the ministers there are doing their jobs. All  they do in our country is to carry files about with no major policy implementation that will help Nigerians. The president needs to push them to work hard.

How do you relax?
As a retiree, I relax with my wife at home because our children are all married. Sometimes, I visit my friends and as a devout Catholic, I am always in the church. I am a very fulfilled man.