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Mum didn’t allow us ride in luxury cars to school –Kudirat’s son, Abdul

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Abdul-Mumuni is one of the children of the late M.K.O. Abiola and the sixth child of the Kudirat Abiola, who was assassinated in 1996. He tells TOPE OMOGBOLAGUN his thought about the acquittal of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha over his mother’s assassination

How would you describe your parents?

My parents were humble, outstanding and law abiding citizens. They possessed all qualities of what parents should be. My mother was a disciplinarian but my father was a bit calm with the children. My mother taught me humility. She didn’t want me to grow up with the mentality that I have an inheritance; she made me see that there were people who didn’t have any background but grew up to become prominent people in the society. She made me understand that money is not the solution to everything but a means of helping others.

Where did you have your early education and what are you doing now?

I had my primary education in Nigeria, after which I travelled abroad for my secondary and tertiary education. I am an accountant and I also specialise in information technology. I work with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as a retailer and I also have a company that specialises in information technology.

How did you feel, when you heard about the death of your mother?

That day was a funny day because I was about 12 years old, I just woke up and did not feel like going to school which was quite odd. Though as at then, I didn’t like to study, I preferred playing with the girls and obviously there were girls in school. That was my reason for going to school always. But on the day my mother was killed, I insisted that I was not going to school, but of course, mummy would always force me to go to school. After the school hours, she wasn’t around to pick me. I was waiting for her at the school gate as usual at 3 o’clock, but to my surprise, nobody came for me, until after 30 minutes when I saw my step-mother in a taxi. I was surprised to see her come for me at school and in a taxi when there were fleet of cars in our house. I really didn’t know what was going on, but I kept waiting for my mum to return home until my aunty walked into the room where my younger brother and I were playing computer games and broke the news to us.

I thought it was a joke and when I looked outside, I saw people carrying something that looked like a coffin. It was like a shock, as a child, I was unable to understand how such a thing would have happened to her. At a time, she was around, and suddenly, she was gone. I felt heart-broken. I felt like I was in a dark hole where there was no way out. It’s just like good people never get justice. It’s only the corrupt ones that get whatever they want and I don’t think that is the message we want to be sending to our kids.

Life is not about stepping on people but it’s about carrying them along. People don’t get too far when they step on other people’s toes. What we lack in this country is unity; we should all carry each other along. From the leaders to the followers, everybody should get along with one another. We should stop being selfish, we should see ourselves as Nigerians. We should treat someone else the way we want to be treated. It’s not rocket science that we need to go to school before we know this. Things like this should be part of our upbringing; I know what my mum thought me within the little period of time that I was with her. She thought me to be considerate and understanding.

How did you feel when you heard that Major Hamza al-Mustapha, who was accused of having a hand in your mother’s murder, was acquitted?

I have read stories where people say “we thank God that Al-Mustapha is out of prison.” Why are we thanking God? We shouldn’t thank God for people like that. It’s not just about my mother that we are talking here. There are many people who have lost their lives and we didn’t hear about them because they are not as prominent as my mother and father were. But they also want justice, we should think about all these things before we come out and make statements. This issue aside, what about the Boko-Haram issue, how many people have they killed? Do we even know their names? In the US, memorial service is held for victims after a tragedy, but in Nigeria, nothing of such is done. We don’t even mention their names. They deserve to be remembered.

People say God is going to come one day and we will walk with Him. I think we should be very careful with such statement. When we do the right thing, then we are walking with God.

We will all die and when we die what legacy are we going to leave behind. I will really love to meet the judges that made the pronouncement. I want to understand what message they are passing to other women. I have a daughter, what do they want me to teach her? Should I tell her to be quiet, not to say her mind? Is that what we call democracy? We need justice, people need to be heard, if people are talking, they need to be listened to.

During the military regime, freedom of speech was restricted, but now that we have democracy, people are talking and no one is listening. Both situations are bad I believe now that we have the voice to speak, people should listen.

What happened to you after your mother’s death?

It was just me and my younger brother that were in Nigeria when she died. But we left the country two days after her death. I have never imagined that I was going to leave Nigeria in such manner. We were good people, wonderful people. I can remember that our house was usually filled with people who came with one problem or the other because they knew that once they met my father, their problems would be solved. I keep wondering where the people are now. They should come out and speak. There are a lot of things happening in this country and until good people come out to talk, things would still remain the same.

How did your mother train the children?

She was a strict disciplinarian. I was quite stubborn as a child. She had this special type of cane called koboko that she used to flog me. She would teach us how to respect the elders and so on. I can remember then she didn’t allow me to go to school with the luxury cars. She forced me to go to school in a Peugeot 504 car but obviously I knew I was from a rich family because we used to have plenty of cars in the house.

So I had to cook up a story that my teacher said that I should come for extra lessons at 7am when I knew that the driver would not come until 7.30am. I did it so that I would go to school with an escort. But the truth is that she never wanted me to view life as a simple place to live.  She wanted me to believe that I had nothing even though I had many things. Once in a while, I played a fast one on her with my little sense.

Did she create time to cater for the family when she became a political activist?

 She always had time for her children and I consider her a super woman. She was an example to all women both as a wife and as a mother. She had seven children for my father and still created time to cater for them all. She was very steadfast in her believe in Islam and in the Nigeria people. We can learn a lot from the way she lived her life.

Apart from her own children, what role did she play in the training of other children of Abiola?

My mother was a mother to all. If my father wasn’t around, his other children would come to my mother. My father married many wives and had many children but my mother had no problem with that. What was important was that she loved him for who he was. She understood what he worked for and believed in it.  They were soul mates. Once my dad set out to do something, he would not give up until he achieved his goals. My mother did the same.

What about your siblings?

Lekan, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, Jamiu and I are presently in the country while Khafila, Moriam and Hadi are working abroad.

How would you describe your father?

My father was a very sweet person. Once he entered the house, we all knew the difference. He had a lovely baritone voice. His presence brought happiness into the family. Everybody was  always eager to see him. He was ready to sacrifice his wealth for the people. From him, I learnt that it is better to be respected than to be feared by the people. That was what differentiated my father from other affluent people. He was a rich man but anybody from any part of the world could approach him and he would give them the same audience he gave other people.

Did you ever make him angry?

There was a day I was playing with my younger brother on my dad’s bed and my brother mistakenly sat on his eyeglasses and broke it. When my dad came in, all he did was gave him a little slap on the hand. He told him to get up and leave the room. Even though he was not beaten, my brother was still annoyed that our father sent him out of his room. He did not talk to him for two weeks until my father came to our own wing of the house to beg him. That showed how lenient my father was. He was always coming to our aid when we got punished by our mother.

As a child, how did you cope without your mother?

I was taken out of the country immediately after her death. My senior siblings had imbibed the strict discipline from my mother so when I was growing up under them, they trained me the way my mother would have done.

Did your parents have any particular food that they liked?

I can remember that father had a special love for Amala and ewedu. Mummy would prefer ikokore, a special delicacy in Ijebu.

What particular lessons have you learnt from your parents’ life?

I have learnt to always speak the truth, keep faith and stay on the path of righteousness. My parents sacrificed their lives for this nation so that the country could have true democracy. I always believe that my mother’s case was a state sponsored killing. That is why we are going to follow up this case to the Supreme Court and hopefully, we would see someone who would stand up for justice.

Have you ever been intimidated by the status of your parents?

Their status has never intimidated me. All I will do is to continue with what they stood for. I will make sure that their messages are passed across to the people. I could sponsor scholarships, organise programmes for youth empowerment and other programmes that would represent their interests.

Do you still meet some of the people that your father assisted?

I haven’t seen many of them, but I believe they are doing very well. One message I would love to pass across to them is that they should assist others the way my father assisted them. I am not telling them to come to the family to pay homage, but they should also assist others in need.

How would you describe social lives of your parents?

My father’s rich social life was one of his strong points in life. It attracted him to so many influential people in the society. He attended many social activities with my mother. When I was born, he held a big party because I look like him. I was told he said ‘eleyi ma jomi o’. (This child resembles me).

What was the reaction of the family when you heard that he won the 1993 presidential election?

We were all excited and I was happy as a person because I know he was going there to do the right things. God knows why he didn’t get to rule Nigeria. I am sure that those who conspired against him are sad today because the country is not anyone’s dream.

As a child expecting to be the president’s son, how did you feel when the election was annulled?

It didn’t matter if he was the president or not as far as I was concerned, he was the president in his house. There was nothing that Nigeria had to give him; he already had everything. I would have preferred that he withdrew his position and come back home because that would have saved me the loss of my parents than being the president’s son.

7 things you didn’t know about my parents

•Despite his wealth, my father could ride in any car, even Volkswagen Beetle

•There were over 600 people waiting to see my father everyday

•My mother used horse whip to beat us when we offended her

•My parents never disagreed in front of their children

•My mother insisted that I went to school in a small car despite my father’s fleet of cars

•My mother took care of my step-siblings

•My father never beat his children


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