The “Black Monk” is the sequel to Max Chuck Black’s film: “The Black Roaring Lions” and it is a befitting extension of the theme – Generals with Nine Lives.
The opening scene captures Major-General T.Y. Danjuma who was the General Officer Commanding (“GOC”) of the Third Division of the Nigerian Army with its base in Port Harcourt in the turbulent oil rich Niger-Delta area. There he was entertaining a delegation of paramount chiefs led by the father of the Military Governor of the State (Rivers State) twenty-nine years old Lt. Commander Alfred Diette-Spiff (from the Navy) and a member of the Supreme Military Council.
What was hilarious was that the protocol officer who had been delegated to receive them ensured that they were given VIP treatment. Without any delay, they were ushered into the GOC’s waiting room reserved for very important visitors (VIPs).
As it was morning, the protocol officer promptly offered the visitors tea, coffee or soft drinks. The chiefs were furious. They did not mince words:
“That is not what we drink in the morning. Tell your boss it has to be gin or schnapps, otherwise we are leaving.”
In next to no time, the GOC sent one of his orderlies to procure a carton of the “vital medicaments”. Thereafter, peace and goodwill ensued! However, this was not before the three chiefs had consumed one bottle each leaving nine bottles in the carton. The GOC offered profuse apologies for the slight delay in receiving them as he had been presiding over crucial security meetings; and also, for offering the wrong refreshments. Their response was very direct.
“You are a good man and a fine officer. Not to worry.”
They proceeded to make a dignified exit with each of them carrying a bottle of the medicament under each armpit plus an extra one in the pocket of their flowing gown/ wrapper. When they emerged from the “Military Zone”, they refused to address a press conference regarding the details of their discussions with the new GOC. Instead, the leader of the delegation issued a cryptic statement:
“These military officers think they are the only tough guys in town.”
At intervals, the memorable words of General T.Y. Danjuma showed up on the screen:
“No nation has ever survived two revolutions.”
The same repetition was accorded to Charles Darwin’s dictum:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent but the most responsive to change.”
What followed was a flash back to the allegations by Dr. Obarogie Ohonbamu (who was a lecturer at the University of Lagos) against General Murtala Mohammed. He claimed in an article he wrote for his magazine “Africa Spark” that General Muhammed corruptly enriched himself, engaged in illicit acquisition of properties during the civil war and had purchased a row of buildings in Kano as well as a fleet of trailers.
This was sequenced with the heart-wrenching cold-blooded assassination of General Murtala Mohammed on Friday 13th February 1976 before the matter could go to trial. The grief all over the nation was unprecedented. Special prayers were offered at Lagos Central Mosque. Before the day was over, the corpse was conveyed in a military aircraft to Kano for burial. The film deftly compared the burial of Murtala Muhammed with that of General Sani Abacha whose corpse was dumped into the cargo hold of the plane that flew him from Abuja to Kano on 8th June 1998. By the time the plane landed, it was almost nightfall. If there was any outpouring of grief, the film missed it.
An interesting revelation was that General Abacha had left “The Villa” in the company of General Jerry Useni at about 3 a.m. to relax at his Guest House (House 7) within the Presidential Complex.
According to the film, there were two Indian ladies waiting for him. Also, on offer were some apples. It was no secret that Abacha loved apples. He could not resist picking up one of them. It was a fatal error of judgement (almost at par with Adam accepting the apple offered by Eve). The rest is history. Within a matter of minutes, Abacha was frothing in the mouth and gasping for breath.
His Chief Security Officer (“CSO”) Major Hamza Al-Mustapha delivered his own version of events as follows:
“Contrary to insinuations, the sudden collapse of the health system of Abacha started on Sunday, 7th June, 1998 right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him, Abacha.”
Al-Mustapha said shortly after the hand shake, he “noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief and I informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, accordingly. He, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the Head of State.
Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him. He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m the Head of State was bouncing and receiving visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends.
They stayed and chatted together till about 3:35a.m. A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre.
At about 5a.m the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality. As an intelligence officer and the Chief Security Officer to the Head of State for that matter, I devised a means of diverting the attention of the security boys from my escape route by asking my wife to continue chatting with them at the door – she was in the house while the boys were outside. From there, I got to the Guest House of the Head of State before them.
When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation on ground, I knelt close to him and shouted, ‘General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.’
I again knocked at the stool beside the bed and shouted in the same manner, yet he did not respond. I then realized there was a serious danger. I immediately called the Head of State’s personal physician, Dr. Wali, who arrived the place under eight minutes from his house. He immediately gave Oga – General Abacha –two doses of injection, one at the heart and another close to his neck.
This did not work apparently as the Head of State had turned very cold. He then told me that the Head of State was dead and nothing could be done after all. I there and then asked the personal physician to remain with the dead body while I dashed home to be fully prepared for the problems that might arise from the incident.
As soon as I informed my wife, she collapsed and burst into tears. I secured my house and then ran back. At that point, the Aide-de-Camp had been contacted by me and we decided that great caution must be taken in handling the grave situation.
Again, I must reiterate that the issue of my boss dying on top of women was a great lie just as the insinuation that General Sani Abacha ate and died of poisoned apples was equally a wicked lie.”
Bashorun J.K. Randle
