At a point in Nigeria, Hamza al-Mustapha is regarded as one of the strongest military men in the country. As the Aide de Camp to the former Head of State while he was Chief of Army Staff to when he was Chief Security Officer to the Head of States he was loyal to his boss General Sanni Abacha. While Abacha was alive, Mustapha was said to have been a swiss knife in his government. He was in charge of the special strike force unit which was a military arm Abach never joked with. He was also a tested political strategist.
He was powerful and influential. After the sudden death of Abacha in 1998; Mustapha’s woes began. Things he had done in the past started to hunt him. He was questioned at the Oputa Panel over his involvement in some alleged torture, misuse of power cases, gruesome killings, abuse of human rights among other allegations. His story over his non-involvement in the death of Kudirat Abiola is a story nobody believes to date. After spending several years in detention, with different court verdicts, he later regained freedom years ago joining active politics by founding Green Party of Nigeria and later contested as the 2019 Presidential Candidate of Peoples Party of Nigeria.
In remembrance of his late boss, showing his unflinching loyalty, Hamza last week at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, The Centre for Political Research Education and Development with the theme: The Man, His ideals and legacies, hosted a maiden Abacha day colloquium in memory of his former boss and benefactor General Sanni Abacha. To the chagrin of many; the event was well attended by former governors, ministers, political appointees and other well-meaning Nigerians. While the idea of the colloquium generated sheer criticism from some people, Hamza was commended for his loyalty to his boss even in death. A few weeks ago at Sheraton Hotel Abuja, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN JOURNALISTS at their annual convention conferred an award of excellence to him by the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, who commended his strides in fostering unity in Nigeria.
