Buhari did not arrest me — Tunde Thompson

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Muhammadu Buhari (1983-85, 2015 - 2023), Presidency Sunday, May 17th, 2015

Tunde Thompson

One of the two journalists jailed under the Decree 4 of 1984, Mr. Tunde Thompson, tells FRIDAY OLOKOR the circumstances surrounding his imprisonment and his relationship with the President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)

What were the circumstances that led to your imprisonment under the Decree 4 of 1984 during the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari?

I was a Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at The Guardian newspapers. There were diplomatic stories about people being retired; I got the names of the affected people, some of whom were surprised they were being retired. It was 113 people in one big fell. I wrote a list. Subsequently, there were decisions by the government of the day to name new ambassadors and high commissioners and as senior diplomatic correspondent, it was my duty to report it. But the mentality of the time was perhaps if the government did not say this was the list, no journalist, should come out with it at all. They felt they were being preempted. But a journalist is not supposed to be a civil servant keeping things secret; the public deserves to know and I felt it was my duty to report because I had my sources that were reliable, dependable and responsible. That was where the problems arose. I wrote an article in the OPED page titled: ‘The mysteries of External Affairs.’ It was mysterious that certain people were retired and other things were taking place. There was a controversy about the Nigerian Mission House in Japan; I heard all sort of comments and I added that to my OPED page column. I would say the circumstances had to do with the government being unhappy that statements that had not been made public were published in The Guardian by this senior diplomatic reporter called Tunde Thompson. Obviously, nobody would have said I didn’t go to the Ministry of External Affairs to get my information, I couldn’t have got the names or the list from Oyingbo market in Lagos or Kasuwa Kurumi in Kaduna, it had to be from the appropriate place. I was invited on a Friday for questioning by the Nigerian Security Organisation, headed by Mr. Mohammed Ranfidadi. They always did that on Fridays to incapacitate the journalist. I asked what I had done, they said I shouldn’t worry. I was taken to a cell where there were 12 other people that had done different things they (the NSO) thought were wrong. In a room of about 10 feet by 12 feet, there were about 12 of us with an air conditioner that was designed not to make me sleep. As far as I was concerned, that was my lot but we had to see a lawyer. I knew that my company was reliable and had the contact and the clout to resist injustice but I was there for quite some time.

For how long?

I was arrested on February 11, 1984 and I was there for about two weeks.

What happened after?

The Attorney-General at that time, Chike Ofodile, addressed a world press conference. He said I was arrested under Decree No 2. There was no Decree 4 at that time. But as far as I was concerned, I did not do anything wrong. I did not commit any offence therefore under which law was I arrested. Decree 4 was the one that bordered on security. It was to come later. Ofodile’s world press conference was attended by my colleague who was the Assistant News Editor, Nduka Irabor. It was there that he was picked up. During interrogation, I had told the NSO officials that I did not handle the report they were asking me about alone. That was where he came in; otherwise I wouldn’t have mentioned him at all. I wrote the report about this issue of whether or not (Maj Gen. Hallidu) Hananias should continue as High Commissioner in London. During the course of writing, I went to the British High Commission, the confirmation received was that they were not interfering with the process of determining who would be Nigeria’s High Commission. But by the time the report was published, I was in Benin City, Edo State. I had gone there for my grandmother’s burial in Owan Local Government Area. When I came to my uncle’s place in Benin I sent some boys to go and get the newspaper, and behold I saw the headline: Haruna replaces Hananias as new envoy to UK. There and then, I shouted that something had gone wrong. I didn’t put that (in my story); I had nothing about Hananias in my script. I told the NSO that I did not put Hananias in my story. I told them that I left my script with the assistant news editor when I was going for my grandmother’s burial. That was why they went to fetch him from the world press conference on Decree No. 4 of 1984 meant to protect public officers against false accusation. My position, now in retrospect, what happened was meant to happen.

Didn’t Irabor harbour hard feelings against you that you implicated him?

His feelings didn’t matter to me. However, whether he felt bad or not did not bother me because my duty was to tell the truth. The circumstances that led to my being at Kirikiri prison were that I wrote something that was embellished; I did not put certain names in the process of submitting it, but after it was submitted for further use, there were changes which I did not put. Therefore, any reasonable person should not feel bad that I put him in jail because that was bound to happen because every step we take, we have to account for it.

What is your relationship with Nduka Irabor?

We met last during the presentation of the Freedom of Information Act by the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria at the Muson Centre in Lagos, last year.

People would have expected that the imprisonment would have strengthened your relationship with Irabor….

(Cuts in) That was assuming that the relationship ever existed. We were separated by age. I was born in 1951 and he, probably the in 1960’s or 1970’s. I was his boss, being an assistant news editor did not mean that you were superior to the senior diplomatic correspondent. The correspondent could be more experienced professionally than the news editor.

How did you live in prison?

We were good in prison. I was given one-year jail term. One year in the prison calendar is eight months. In those eight months, we had a good time in the sense that we were treated with sympathy by the system – the inmates felt that the government should not have treated us that way. When we were leaving, the inmates organised different activities for us. These included an inter-hall football match. It was to hold on the Saturday before our departure which should have been on Monday. It was in 1985. Something interesting happened though. Around 2:00 on Saturday, security officials came for us telling us we were going to the United States or Britain. I told them I didn’t have a passport with me and they said I should wait and see. I said they might be right because government is a magician, they could produce travel papers anytime and they would be diplomatically acceptable. We went to the Central Registry and they brought out our things. Behold, we went out into the van and straight into the night. They dropped us at home. I didn’t even know my house because my family had moved from Shogunle to Mende, Maryland. My child who was born on December 1, 1983 didn’t know me anymore. It took a two-week London trip for me and the child, organised by the publisher of The Guardian, Alex Ibru, and the newspaper, for him to remember who I was. Ibru is dead now, but that was very good and thoughtful of him.

While in prison, what were your thoughts about Buhari?

It is not easy to pray for your jailer but we always prayed in the prison. There were lots of people opposite us awaiting trials from the courts; therefore, everybody had to be close to God.

Did you have an encounter with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti at that time?

Fela was my friend. Before prison, I was one of those who went to see Fela when he took over the DECCA Building, when he was protesting against (MKO) Abiola and (Gen. Olusegun) Obasanjo over his problems with DECCA Records. He took over the premises and I went to see him to sympathise with him. When I asked him why he was doing that, he said they refused to pay his royalties and they took him for a fool. Fela was a nice person, it was a pity he died the way he died.

Have you forgiven Buhari?

Why not? I have been forgiven by the government. Our imprisonment record was supposed to be obliterated as at 1985 when the government of General Ibrahim Babangida had the term: State Free Pardon and it is in The Guardian’s library. I have been forgiven by the State. Honestly some of them who were in government later did not see why what happened to me happened. But I now know why it happened. There was a report I wrote: 8 military chiefs named as Ambassadors, six were from the North, and only two were from the South and I believe that some people were asking why were most of the people from the North. It was not just one story, there were quite a number of stories I wrote then.

Some believe that your reason for forgiving Buhari has to do with the electioneering campaign and his image being shored up….

(Cuts in) Some people were using that Decree 4 imprisonment to campaign against him and I felt they were wrong and they were unjustified. Their position was untenable because Buhari never signed a paper (warrant) to arrest Tunde Thompson, the Head of the NSO did.

But the general belief is that whatever government official does is ordered by the sitting Head of State or has his consent or approval.

That is the error I want to change. That belief was wrong and it is still wrong because Buhari did not sign any paper that Tunde Thompson should be arrested, it was somebody else who did. It was based on my report that they decided to send people to The Guardian to arrest me and it was only the consequence of my statement that led to the arrest of Nduka Irabor.

While writing the stories, as a journalist, did you ever anticipate they could put you in trouble?

No, I did not. I expected appreciation. I told an administrative staff under Buhari and Rafindadi that if they thought anything was wrong with the report that I wrote, they should write a rejoinder and it would be published. I said if they thought it was correct they should commend us for doing a good job. The official said they should take me back to my cell.

Despite your experience, you have decided to come closer to Buhari. Was it because you were broke?

Go and ask Buhari or anybody who is close to the All Progressives Congress or the President-elect, if there was any demand of compensation by me at all and wait for his or her answer. The truth of the matter is that I felt that the truth should be told. People should not be running down a man or ruining his name or reputation falsely. He did not order my arrest and the system takes care of people unjustly or justly and that was my lot. I should say thank God I am alive because in that prison, we heard unpalatable stories about prisoners. People would use blade to slice the body of a fellow who had offended them. The truth is that I have been avoiding working for the government for a long time. I studied Political Science at the University of Ibadan, I was Public Relations Officer of the National Union of Nigerian Students, I even ran for the office of the students’union president. Before the elections of 2015, when I was interviewed by a national newspaper, it just occurred to me that there was no reason this man shouldn’t be allowed to run the affairs of this country again by people who were maligning him. I saw that he was more competent than another person who was close to him. That was where I decided I have forgiven him if only because I know he is the best person to run the affairs of Nigeria at this time. When one talks about terrorism, violence and anti-terrorism efforts, I don’t see anybody who will do better than Buhari in this country. When one talks about corruption, he has set an example. When one talks about indiscipline, one will agree that the queue culture that started in his time is still what is saving the people today. Before, we would fight at bus stops, when we were meant to queue. Therefore, I thought that a man who did what he did before the elections would do a better job. When he ran the first two or three times, my mind was not made up but I really was fed up with the punishment and suffering our people were going through. I am also one of the masses. One has to buy generator, sink borehole and do other things while there is a government whose role is to provide for the welfare of the people. People can interpret the statement that I made as saying Buhari is the best person to run the country this time and people should not ruin his chances by telling lies against him. The interview was during the campaigns for the presidential elections.

What have you been doing since you left The Guardian?

I left The Guardian in 1988 as Managing Editor. I have been involved in public relations, publicity, media management and many other things. A journalist cannot stop writing or taking part in workshops and conferences. I have been doing all that.

When did you decide to start avoiding government jobs?

It started first when I was in the university. In my graduating year from Ibadan in 1975, the Public Service Commission came to the university to interview us. But I decided not to honour the invitation because I did not like the way the government of the day was carrying on. That mind-set stayed with me until January 2015.

What is your role in the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation?

You cannot call it a campaign now; we are positioning ourselves to be useful to the success of Buhari as the President of Nigeria from the media perspective after he has been inaugurated. There is a media group to which I belong and we are working out a programme of action that will involve many activities in the area of broadcast media, print media and the Internet.

How do you see journalism now compared to your days?

I don’t think there is much difference. There are now modern gadgets which were not available during our time. We only had pen and notepads while some had tape recorders. But the modern trends have shown that telecommunication gadgets play a major role in journalism today and it is a great step forward.

Journalists remain poorly paid, what do you think is the way out?

If a man or woman is poorly paid, you are helping him or her if that poor pay is paid on time or as and when due, but when it is not, it becomes double jeopardy. Some of us will stand and fight for journalists’ welfare. Journalists are underrated even by some of their employers. There is need for more seriousness about the welfare of journalists. We have the Nigerian Union of Journalists; we have the Nigerian Guild of Editors and that always need to advocate prompt payment of the salaries of journalists. I would recommend reviewing the wages and salary of journalists; if you know you can’t be a publisher, get out of the business or sell it and let somebody who knows the business better take over. Nigerian journalists are underrated yet a lot is expected of them. Some underrate, devalue the quality of a man or woman by not providing him or her with the equipment that can make him or her perfect and improve on his or her performances. Media houses expect adequate information for their broadcast or publications. But how do they get adequate information if they do not sponsor journalists to be members of clubs or societies where they can interact with the high and mighty in the society to get quality information? The rights of journalists to work without hindrances must be respected by their employers.

What makes you believe that the General Muhammadu Buhari of 1984 is different from who he is today?

I am telling you from my observation that Buhari has become a different person. I haven’t had a one-on-one meeting with him, but I see a man who has taken the trouble to know his limitations, his errors or his faults. Those things he did in 1984, the dictatorial tendencies and including the kidnap of Umaru Dikko, were patriotic acts. But diplomatically, they were errors. He can’t do that today because he must have seen that international laws expect certain behavioural patterns. He will not support hostile or aggressive behaviours towards the press anymore because I will stop him. Buhari cannot unilaterally send anyone to prison because this is a democracy. This society is ready for that change now and that change is to begin with him. Those attitudes and behavioural patterns of 1984 too have to change in today’s democratic dispensation.

-Punchwp_posts

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Posted by admin on May 17 2015. Filed under Latest Politics, Muhammadu Buhari (1983-85, 2015 - 2023), Presidency. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry