Alieu,
I do not know General Abubakar personally, and without doubt his personal 
life and the names of some persons in his family are of no relevance to the 
current discourse. What is of relevance here is his public life and 
contributions to the welfare of Nigerians in that regard.
It should be noted that he was part of an establishment(the Nigerian 
military) which had already become notorious for the levels of politization 
and corruption. Abubakar came to power at a time when the other generals who 
ruled before him had already made the military very unpopular through their 
brutal leadership styles. Needless to say the people needed respite from 
those atrocities, but the military also needed to clean its house if they 
were to continue enjoying the huge stakehold they had come to establish in 
Nigerian politics. Abubakar was not acting alone and it would not be sound 
judgement to attribute everything he did to his personal political acumen. 
The fact is, he did not stay in power long enough for his personal 
leadership style to be tested. All we know at this point, is that he was 
part of the corrupt military establishment in Nigeria.
As of September 22nd, a good number of us had already been convinced that 
the electoral process in The Gambia had been rigged. It is not only the 
atmosphere that prevails on election day and days immediately before it that 
should be factored when one desires to determind the credibility of a poll. 
I am convinced you know what I mean! It does not matter who the head of the 
international observer mission is, if his judgement goes south, we should 
ask questions about it. Endorsing polls masterminded by the dictatorships of 
Jammeh and Mugabe, cannot be seen as speaking well of your most favoured 
African politico-military personality.
Omar Joof.



>From: Alieu Sanyang <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list              
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: UN Envoy Makes Excuses for Gambian Strongman
>Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 04:34:15 -0700
>
>It certainly looks like the guy might know more than what you might think 
>or know. Below is just an example of who the guy is:
>
>
>             General Abdulsalami Abubakar is a lucky man, one of the few 
>military leaders in the world to get a crown without a coup. When he was 
>chosen by his military colleagues to step into the shoes of General Sani 
>Abacha who had just died suddenly, mysteriously, he was not exactly a happy 
>man. He thought of turning down the offer but he knew he could not forgive 
>himself nor the nation forgive him. It was a call to national duty at a 
>time of national distress.   Abacha's agenda of sit-tightism or of 
>transmutation from military dictator to a civilian president had polarised 
>the country and split it down the middle. The country needed a man of 
>peace, a fence-mender, a wound-binder, a man whose ambition was not 
>vaulting, one who would steer Nigeria away from the knife-edge of danger.
>   Abubakar became head of state but his family members were not beating 
>the drums. One of his daughters cried uncontrollably for two weeks, 
>interjecting amidst sobs, "But daddy, why you?" The answer is "Mother Fate" 
>or looking at it another way "Lady Luck." It is fate or luck that had taken 
>him to the pinnacle of leadership and Abubakar knew only too well that if 
>he tempted it, he could be taken down to the valley of disgrace. So he said 
>he would quit on May 29, 1999. Cynics may have said, "we have heard this 
>stuff before." But Abubakar was different. He quit.
>   The world loves a man of honour. So Abubakar's lap of honour started 
>immediately. Ghana gave him its highest honour, the Star Award; ECOWAS 
>decorated him with its International Gold Medal. The America gave him the 
>Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition Peace Prize. He also raked 
>home the International Globalist Award for 1999.
>   At home, he has not been short of goodwill. He has represented President 
>Olusegun Obasanjo at the inauguration of the Senegalese President, 
>Abdoulaye Wade and received, on behalf of Nigeria, a peace award at Durban, 
>South Africa, a few weeks ago. During the Sharia riots Abubakar went on a 
>trouble-shooting mission to various parts of Nigeria.
>   Abubakar's profile is still rising like a meteor. He had the honour of 
>being named Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Observers Mission to the 
>Parliamentary Election in Zimbabwe. Leading a 44-person disparate group 
>from 25 countries, Abubakar carried out the assignment with distinction, 
>fairness and a sense of history which earned him showers of praise from the 
>observers. If Abubakar donned all these honours and medals, his chest would 
>look like a plate of fruit salad which would certainly illuminate his grey 
>beard and moustache. Both have been neatly trimmed to give the picture of 
>the circle at the centre of a football field. This must be his celebration 
>of freedom from the tyranny of military discipline.
>   Number two in a polygamous family of 10 children, Abubakar is clearly 
>the most distinguished. But his own family is smaller: One wife, sic 
>children - evenly distributed between the sexes - one of them a doctor, 
>another a lawyer, the other an architect. The remaining three - all boys - 
>are just boys in school. The Abubakar have a romance with the name Fati. 
>Abubakar's mother is Fati. His wife is Fati. One of his daughters is Fati - 
>three Fatis in one man's life.
>
>
>            Male
>
>
>Malamin Barrow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>   Abdulsalami Abubakar as head of the UN observer mission to the Gambian 
>elections must be some kind of a joke put on us. The buffoon looking 
>General came to notice at the time of general Sani abacha's death. Those 
>who saw video clip could not fail to notice how hastily he appears to have 
>been summoned to sign the constitutional document enabling him to replace 
>the dreaded Nigerian dictator. Without ceremony or circumstance, he took 
>out a flimsy BIRO PEN, seeminly with the ink leaking, to sign and seal the 
>fate of millions of Nigerians. He just doesn't seem have a grasp of the 
>seriousness of such occasions.
>
>
>------- Original Message -------
>From : omar joof[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent : 10/9/2006 2:14:26 AM
>To : [log in to unmask]
>Cc :
>Subject : RE: Re: UN Envoy Makes Excuses for Gambian Strongman
>
>Ginny,
>No, this man does not know anything that you dont! He spent the best part 
>of
>his life "saluting" British imperialism and agents of the cabalist Kaduna
>mafia. I totally agree with the rest of your write-up.
>Omar Joof.
>
>
> >
>
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