#ThrowbackThursday: Imprisoned for coup plot, Yar’Adua dies in detention

On this day, December 8, 1997, reports filtered in that Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, a prominent actor in Nigeria’s political space, had died. He died while being detained by the military junta led by General Sani Abacha who had accused him and a few others of plotting to overthrow the regime.

Yar’Adua will be remembered not only for his journey through the Nigerian Army but also his uncommon activism that saw him square off against dictators in the battle for entrenchment of democratic rule in Nigeria.

He enlisted in the army in 1962 and is said to be course mate with Muhammadu Buhari who, at the moment, is presiding over the affairs of Nigeria. In 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War, he, alongside Nigerian troops unsuccessfully tried to capture Onitsha after the bridge linking the commercial city was blown.

Yar’Adua was actively involved in the coup that overthrew General Yakubu Gowon in 1975 and installed General Murtala Mohammed as Head of State. For his role, he was aptly rewarded with the portfolio of Minister of Transport. He became Chief of Staff under the Obasanjo regime, after Murtala was assassinated in another coup.

His foray into civil rule began in 1987 when General Ibrahim Babangida  set up a transition to civilian rule programme. Leveraging the moment, Yar’Adua dragged his People’s Front into a coalition that led to emergence of Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In 1992, he ignored a ban by the Babangida junta to openly mobilize for civil rule and was detained. He was released after the law was repealed and was on the verge of picking the SDP presidential ticket when the process was truncated again. He eventually  lost the ticket to Moshood Abiola after the transition programme was reactivated.

In 1994, he was once again detained for mobilizing the populace towards a political conference. Unable to stomach his activism, the Sani Abacha regime, on a trumped up coup charge, threw him, Obasanjo and a few others into prison in February 1995. He did not survive the trauma and was pronounced dead on December 8, 1997.

The cause of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s death remains stewed in controversy.

The Yar’Aduas had been actively involved in Nigeria’s politics. His late father was Minister for Lagos Affairs from 1957 to 1966 while his late younger brother, Umar Yar’Adua was Nigeria’s 13th President.

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