Like Tinubu, MKO Abiola Was Also a Criminal – David Hundeyin

David Hundeyin, a controversial Nigerian journalist and an avid critic of President Bola Tinubu, has described the late Moshood Kashimawo Abiola better know as MKO Abiola, as a criminal.

Abiola was the presumed winner of what is adjudged Nigeria’s freest and fairest presidential election on June 12, 2023, which was annulled by the then military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida. He died on July 7, 1998 after years of incarceration over the struggle to reclaim his mandate.

Hundeyin likened MKO to Tinubu, whom he said benefitted immensely, albeit fraudulently, from the Nigerian system, especially in Lagos.

According to him, MKO Abiola was involved in every major illegal activity in Nigeria, including arms deals, coup financing, and smuggling of illicit commodities.

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Hundeyin made the allegations on a Podcast show, Noble Nigeria.

He blamed Abiola for the reason Nigeria didn’t have telephones until around 2021, echoing the past narrative about the popular International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT) alleged contract scam in which MKO, as a top executive of the multinational, was supposed to facilitate the supply of telecommunication infrastructure in Nigeria, which never saw the light of day.

All his wealth was obtained through illegal means. Similarly, like Tinubu, MKO Abiola was also a hardened criminal." – David hundeyin

MKO atiku David hundeyin Peter obi tinubu Nimc pic.twitter.com/vteIw72tNN

— Business Elites Africa (@ElitesAfrica) July 8, 2024

MKO was accused of siphoning the funds meant for the infrastructure. This occurrence inspired Fela Kuti’s diss song “International Thief Thief (ITT)”, where he called out MKO Abiola for allegedly defrauding Nigeria.

Although, as with many loots in the Nigerian system, there was no empirical evidence or convictions to substantiate the claims against MKO Abiola.

Washington Post investigation

The Washinton Post published an article on August 16, 1980, citing sources at ITT, alleging the multinational paid a huge sum of money (kickback) to MKO Abiola, which he distributed to the then government officials to curry favours for the contract.

Excerpts from the article:

“International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. has made questionable payments of millions of dollars beginning in 1975 and continuing into this year to gain huge telecommunications sales contracts in Nigeria, according to ITT sources.

“Central to the Nigerian payments is a politically powerful businessman named Alhaji Chief M.K.O. Abiola, who, sources say, has received large payments and has distributed some of the funds to Nigerian government officials.

“By all accounts, including those of a senior ITT official in an on-the-record statement, Abiola has been paid lavishly to represent ITT interests in Nigeria.

“ITT officials say the payments to Abiola have been salary and commissions which, they say, are perfectly proper because of Abiola’s role as a business partner with ITT in Nigeria. Abiola, who will be 43 later this month, has the title of chairman of ITT Nigeria and owns about 40 percent of the subsidiary in his company according to ITT’s general counsel.

“But other ITT sources say some of the millions of dollars allegedly paid to him by the company have been spread among government officials in the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). One American expert on Nigeria describes Abiola as “a very key person of the NPN.

“These sources, with first-hand knowledge, say that ITT’s top management has been nervous ever since the payments began in 1975. One describes the matter as “ITT’s funny bone,” a source of deep concern at ITT World Headquarters in New York City.

“The Nigerian payments have been made through an ITT subsidiary in Switzerland, ITT Standard S.A. Sources say Swiss secrecy laws have kept records of the Nigerian payments out of reach of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These sources also note that money brought into Nigeria would have to be declared under that country’s tax laws.

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“These payments could involve violations of American securities laws and antibribery statutes.

“Under the securities law, companies must publicly disclose any questionable financial transactions.

“The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 makes it a crime for an American company or any individual acting on its behalf to make payments to an official of a foreign country in exchange for assistance in obtaining business. According to sources, ITT’s payments have continued after the effective date of the act.

“ITT was asked to arrange an interview with Abiola for this report. An ITT spokesman said, however, that Abiola, a Moslem, had been celebrating Ramadan, the Islamic holy period of prayer and fasting. The spokesman added that after Ramadan, Abiola said he would be too busy to answer questions.

“The allegations of Nigerian payments come at a time when ITT is concluding its third internal investigation of questionable payments in about five years. The current investigation, which was part of a 1979 settlement of a suit brought against ITT by the SEC, is meant to look into payments from 1971 through 1975, the year in which the alleged Nigerian payments began.

“However, Edwin A. Kilburn, an ITT assistant general counsel working on the investigation, says that the current probe does not stop at 1975 but continues right up to the present “to make sure we aren’t violating the law.”

“The Washington Post obtained a copy of a 77-page draft report of this investigation dated March 28. There is no explicit mention in the report of the alleged Nigerian payments.

“According to the draft, the investigative committee found that ITT employes made a total of $13 million in questionable payments since 1971. Of that amount, $8.7 million was disclosed in 1978 after the last probe, with the balance uncovered during the current investigation.

“But one highly placed ITT source calls even the revised figure of $13 million “preposterous” because it’s so low. If the questionable payments to Nigeria were included, he says, they alone would add “tens of millions of dollars” to the total.”

MKO Abiola’s business foray and his ITT Journey

In 1956, MKO Abiola began his professional journey as a bank clerk at Barclays Bank in Ibadan, Nigeria. His career progressed rapidly, and within two years, he moved on to become an executive accounts officer at the Western Region Finance Corporation.

Craving further advancement, Abiola traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, to continue his education. There, he excelled academically. He secured a first-class degree in accountancy from Glasgow University and earned a distinction from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

With these qualifications, he returned to Nigeria, eager to apply his new skills. He first took a position as a senior accountant at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital and then moved on to work for the American pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer.

During his time at Pfizer’s Nigerian branch, Abiola aspired to become a stakeholder in the company. However, the terms offered did not meet his expectations, prompting him to seek opportunities elsewhere.

This search led him to ITT Corporation, where he was hired after an interview initially arranged without revealing the company’s identity.
One of Abiola’s early responsibilities at ITT was to manage and clear a significant backlog of debts owed by the Nigerian military government under the then Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

This task led him to Murtala Mohammed’s office, who was then the army’s Inspector of Signals. They had a heated argument which escalated to a point where it drew the attention of Hassan Usman Katsina, the Chief of Army Staff, whose intervention favourably resolved the issue, resulting in a full settlement through a check handed to MKO Abiola.

Abiola capitalised on this success and negotiated for more stake within ITT. Although he desired a 50% equity share in the Nigerian operations, it didn’t work out.

Then, he established a side business, Radio Communication Nigeria (RCN), focusing on the sale and marketing of telecommunications equipment, with the Nigerian military as a primary client.

His strategy included training military personnel on how to operate the equipment without relying on foreigners, which aligned with the military’s security priorities.

This approach proved successful, leading to a major contract that captured ITT’s attention. So, the multinational offered Abiola a 49% equity stake.

RCN continued to grow, developing critical communications infrastructure for the military.

In 1975, this momentum helped secure a major contract with ITT and its partners to supply automatic telephone exchanges throughout Nigeria. It was this controversial contract that earned Abiola the “criminal” title in some quarters till today.