Maryam Abacha, the wife of late military leader General Sani Abacha, has claimed that Nigeria’s money was mismanaged by those who took over after her husband’s death.
In an interview with TVC, she said the funds her husband saved for the country disappeared shortly after he died.
“The monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months, the monies vanished. People are not talking about that,” she said, suggesting that later administrations mishandled the funds.
She rejected the long-held belief that General Abacha looted public funds and hid them in foreign banks. She asked anyone making such claims to provide evidence.
“Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed? Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad?” she asked.
General Abacha became Head of State in 1993 after removing Chief Ernest Shonekan. He died in office on June 8, 1998, at Aso Rock in Abuja. He was buried the same day, without an autopsy, which led to speculation that he may have been assassinated. General Abdulsalami Abubakar succeeded him and returned Nigeria to democracy in 1999.
Since Abacha’s death 27 years ago, Nigeria has recovered what is widely called “Abacha loot” from various foreign governments. But Mrs. Abacha defended her late husband, saying he did not steal public funds or hide money abroad.
She questioned why people still blame him and wondered if the attacks were based on tribal or religious bias.
“Why are you blaming somebody? Is that tribalism or a religious problem or what is the problem with Nigerians? I pray for Nigerians. I pray for all of us. I pray that we should have goodness in our hearts. We should stop telling lies and blaming people,” she said.
“Why are we so bad towards each other? Because somebody is a northerner or a southerner, somebody is a Muslim or a Christian, or somebody is nice or… It’s not fair.”
She also criticised the media and urged journalists to focus on educating the public rather than tearing people down.
“People are not that bad. Twenty-seven years ago and you are still talking about Abacha. He must be very powerful and loved by Nigerians. We thank God for that.”
When reminded of how the economy was stable under her husband—with growing foreign reserves and less debt—she insisted he did nothing wrong.
“So, where did he steal the money from? So where would he have stolen the money from?” she asked. “And because Nigerians are fools, they listen to everything.”
Mrs. Abacha also spoke about the need for Nigerians to unite and respect one another.
“Babangida doesn’t make Nigeria alone. Abacha does not make Nigeria alone. Abiola and everybody, nobody is big enough for Nigeria. We are all very important. Even the single man on the street is very important. We are all human beings, for goodness sake. All these wahala should stop. Babangida cannot make things or unmake things,” she said.
