Lt. General Jeremiah Useni is the man that played the prominent role
during the reign of late Head of State, Sani Abacha, as Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja, is well known. However, there are two things about
Jeremiah Useni, who was referred to as ‘Jerry Boy’ at the time. He was indeed a
Boy, because he joined the Army at the age of 14. Firstly, he was one of the
soldiers who fired shots during the coup against General Ironsi in which the
General was killed in Ibadan. Mr. Useni was also the closest person to General
Abacha up to his last moments.
This interview, conducted in Hausa by the Hausa language newspaper,
Rariya, and translated to English by Brave Heart Ibe Anthony, reveals a lot of
things many of us didn’t know, including the conspiracies that denied him the
opportunity of succeeding Mr. Abacha after he died. Excerpts…
