Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has revealed that General Sani Abacha personally summoned and pressured him to accept appointment as Chief of Army Staff during the November 1993 coup.
He disclosed that he twice rejected the appointment as Chief of Army Staff offered by Abacha following the coup that toppled the Interim National Government, insisting to Abacha that he did not want to be made a tool in the hands of civilians seeking to use the military.
The revelations are contained in Chapter 17 of Abubakar’s 264-page, 27-chapter autobiography titled ‘Call of Duty’ obtained by our correspondent at the public presentation of the book at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The event, held on Saturday to mark the former Head of State’s 84th birthday, was attended by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima as Special Guest of Honour.
Narrating the events surrounding the Abacha coup, Abdulsalami recounted how he had been posted to the National War College, now renamed National Defence College, as its Commandant when the political crisis around the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election deepened.
