Dr. Oluranti Afowowe, author of Destiny Anchored on Faith: The Story of Oladipo Diya has alleged that the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters died after being injected while in prison and that former President Olusegun Obasanjo narrowly escaped a similar fate.
Speaking on the Edmund Obilo Podcast, Dr. Afowowe drew attention to the dangers faced by political detainees during the regime of General Sani Abacha. He claimed that Yar’Adua’s death was the result of a deliberate act, while Obasanjo survived because he heeded a warning not to consume a suspicious drink.
“We knew how Yar’Adua died, how he was injected. Obasanjo was going to be injected but he was advised not to take it,” Afowowe stated.
According to him, the prison environment was rife with plots to silence key political and military figures who were considered threats to the regime. He suggested that the planned poisoning of Obasanjo, like the death of Yar’Adua, was part of a broader pattern of eliminating perceived opponents.
Afowowe emphasized that these incidents underscored the climate of fear, uncertainty, and political repression in Nigeria during the 1990s. He noted that such events formed part of the background against which General Oladipo Diya’s own ordeals unfolded.
“These were not natural deaths or ordinary coincidences. They were targeted attempts, and only providence saved some while others did not survive,” he explained.
The author said his book highlights these untold aspects of Nigeria’s history to show how faith, destiny, and courage shaped the survival of men like Diya and Obasanjo.
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