Buhari and those 53 suitcases

If it smells like a fish and looks like a fish, it is probably a fish. The controversy of the 53 suitcases “filled with cash” has refused to die, thirty years after General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.) ruled Nigeria as a military dictator; after ousting the elected civilian government in the country. In 1984, Buhari announced a change of Nigeria’s currency as another of his many baffling and short term economic measures. Buhari’s economic ineptitude would eventually plunge the nation deeper into fiscal morass, inflicting historic suffering on the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians.
During the currency change, Buhari ordered all luggage entering or leaving the country to be searched to ensure no currency was being smuggled. However, there seemed to be one rule for all and another for a privileged few. The famous “53 suitcases of cash” mysteriously passed through Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos on the orders of the Aide-de-Camp, ADC, to Gen Buhari, one Major Mustapha Jokolo. This incident caused a great furore in the press at the time, despite repression and threats against journalists by the government. It also was reportedly, a source of great embarrassment to Tunde Idiagbon, who was Buhari’s number two in the military junta.
Jokolo and the soldiers were briefly opposed by staff on duty under Atiku Abubakar who was the Comptroller of Customs at Lagos airport. Atiku would later tell the press of his innocence in the matter and complain about the behaviour of the soldiers led by Jokolo, who refused to respect the normal procedures at the airport, and how they threatened to shoot if the suitcases were not released without a customs search.
To be fair, the ownership of the suitcases has been disputed. The statements from Buhari and his supporters at the time (and since) have claimed variously that the luggage belonged to the Emir of Gwandu (the father of the ADC), or to Tahir Waziri, newly appointed as Buhari’s director of protocol. There is also confusion as to who exactly took the suitcases out of the airport, in spite of clear eyewitness reports that it was Major Jokolo and his soldiers who took them.
Later, Mohammed Rafindadi who was Buhari’s head of Secret Police said that in fact it was he who went to the airport, and took the suitcases away. Perhaps because he was a secret policeman, nobody saw him. People rather saw armed uniformed soldiers instead!
This 53 suitcases saga has haunted Buhari for years, and he has done his best to shake it off, to no avail. Buhari may not like it or want to admit it, but there are certain facts that cannot be disputed. Both Waziri and the Emir “coincidentally” were on the same aircraft from Saudi Arabia; a country where a lot of Nigerian currency was available as a result of Moslems going there from Nigeria on pilgrimage or personal business.
Waziri was a personal friend of Rafindadi the head of Buhari’s secret police. The Emir was also the father of Buhari’s ADC. Buhari’s half-brother was also travelling with the Emir’s entourage. 53 (or 35 in some versions) suitcases did pass through the airport without being searched. Whichever way you look at it, there was a Buhari connection to these mysterious suitcases and they were taken through Lagos airport in highly suspicious circumstances.
What was really inside the famous 53 suitcases? Rafindadi claimed they were filled with “personal effects” and not currency as widely claimed at the time. If the suitcases contained only personal effects, why was such effort made to seize them with a squad of armed military men threatening to shoot anyone who intervened? According to Atiku Abubakar, Major Jokolo and his soldiers drove past airport security onto the tarmac and went straight to the aircraft. There they collected the Emir and Waziri and then drove out of the airport threatening to shoot anyone who tried to stop them, including customs officers! Atiku Abubakar said he was pressurised by Buhari’s government to deny that the smuggling took place, but he refused and told the truth. Also, why was there the frenzied attempted cover-up by Rafindadi, and the announcement from Buhari’s office that the soldiers who participated in this event had been reprimanded?
The arguments about the timing of the flight arriving, or whether the suitcases belonged to the Emir or to a Nigerian diplomat, are academic. Whether the 53 suitcases were removed by the army, or by the secret police is also inconsequential. What is of essence and no one can dispute is that a large number of suitcases were smuggled through Lagos airport at a time of currency exchange, when security at the borders were on high alert. The burden for Buhari is that for some inexplicable reasons, all the key players in the saga have direct links to him!
If it smells like a fish and looks like a fish, it is probably a fish! There is no doubt that something very “fishy” happened on that day back in 1984. General Buhari cannot simply dismiss these clear facts that point to abuse of office, and smuggling of cash. It is not too late for him to apologise to the nation especially at this time when he is seeking our mandate to rule again. Nigerians are waiting…