Abdulsalami was bringing MKO Abiola home when death came

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo dropped a heavy revelation yesterday at the public presentation of three books honouring General Abdulsalami Abubakar's 84th birthday. He said Abdulsalami was actively working to secure MKO Abiola's release after General Sani Abacha's death, and had even arranged for Abiola's son Kola to come to Abuja to pick up his father. That was when the unexpected happened — Abiola died.

Obasanjo quoted Abdulsalami telling him on the telephone, "Our man is dead." Just imagine that. The man who won the freest election in Nigeria's history, who spent years in detention for that mandate, was about to walk free. His son was already on his way. And then he was gone. The timing of Abiola's death on July 7, 1998 has always raised questions, but this account from Obasanjo puts Abdulsalami squarely in the middle of efforts to correct the injustice.

Obasanjo also credited Abdulsalami with releasing political prisoners after Abacha's death, including Obasanjo himself. He called Abdulsalami a patriot and a peacemaker who "sagaciously managed the seeming confusion and uncertainty that followed Abacha's death." The question I keep asking myself is this: if Abdulsalami was so close to getting Abiola released, what exactly happened in those final hours? And why has it taken nearly three decades for this part of the story to come out?