Centenary award to Abacha not unlawful – Presidency

The Presidency has defended the centenary award
given to the late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha,
saying the award was not a glorification of
corruption.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who defended the
posthumous award given to Abacha during Nigeria’s
centenary celebration last week, said that the
award was not meant to celebrate moral virtues.
A cross section of Nigerians had questioned the
government for honouring some controversial
recipients, one of whom was Abacha.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, even rejected
his nomination for the centenary award, saying he
could not share the award with Abacha, who he
described as a “murderer and thief of no redeeming
quality”.
However, Abati told Saturday PUNCH that the
award did not mean that the government was
supporting sharp or corrupt practices, adding that
the allegation about money laundering and forfeiture
of money was another matter entirely in which the
government was also interested.
He said, “This (award) does not in any means
translate to supporting sharp practices or corrupt
practices. It is important to make the clear
distinction in this regard.”
He said, in giving the award to Abacha, the
committee in charge made it clear that he and
others under the same category were honoured
with regards to their contributions in keeping Nigeria
together.
Abati said, “I think it is important to make the
necessary distinction here. The centenary award,
like every award, has its own criteria. That
centenary award was in relation to the
amalgamation, the national unity, the history of
Nigeria and the roles played by certain individuals.
“The centenary award was not a test of sainthood.
In giving the award to the former Head of State,
Gen. Abacha, the committee in charge made it very
clear that the award in the category in which the
former Head of State appeared was awarded with
regard to the contributions of those individuals in
keeping Nigeria together.
“You will find out that under that category, there
were largely former Heads of State, persons who
have at one time or the other presided over Nigeria
and under whose watch, in spite of whatever
challenges they might have faced, helped to sustain
the unity of the country and helped to defend the
integrity and sovereignty of the country. That was a
specific criterion in this particular category. Of
course, every award at all, be it for beauty or any
other thing has its own criteria.”
Abacha was honoured during the nation’s centenary
award last Friday under the category of
“outstanding promoters of unity, patriotism and
national development.”
The reason given for his nomination was that “he
took over power when the nation was on the brink
of precipice. He mobilised the nation’s most
prominent political class into his cabinet and
succeeded in ensuring the continued unity of the
nation. He also raised Nigeria’s international
standing for his peace keeping military interventions
in Sierra Leone and Liberia.”
His award was received on his behalf by his widow,
Mariam.
Meanwhile, Abati added that the Federal
Government had always initiated moves to ensure
that stolen money is repatriated back to the country.
Abati said this while responding to questions by
Saturday PUNCH about the moves being made by
the Federal Government to recover $458m Abacha
loot seized by the United States.
He said, “The allegation about money laundering
and forfeiture of money is another matter entirely
and it is also a matter in which the Nigerian
government is interested in.
“The Nigerian government has consistently over the
years initiated efforts to ensure that stolen money is
repatriated back to the country and that such
repatriated funds are used for the benefit of the
people.”