Oladipo Diya: The general who escaped execution finally bows out

Former Chief of General Staff and de facto second-in-command to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, Lt. General Oladipo Diya, on Sunday died at the age of 78 amid glowing tributes, Daily Trust reports. Lt. General Donaldson Oladipo Diya, the de facto Vice President of Nigeria under military Head of State, late General Sani […]

Former Chief of General Staff and de facto second-in-command to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, Lt. General Oladipo Diya, on Sunday died at the age of 78 amid glowing tributes, Daily Trust reports.

Lt. General Donaldson Oladipo Diya, the de facto Vice President of Nigeria under military Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, cheated death at least three times.

Diya was sentenced to death by firing squad over an alleged coup against the Abacha regime in 1997, but miraculously escaped after the late military junta’s death.  Reports say some Abacha’s loyalists allegedly attempted to assassinate Diya, twice, once at the airport and then in the streets, using bombs.

Again, last year, Diya was rumoured dead, but he was quick to refute the report, saying he was hale and hearty.

However, in the early hours of Sunday, the general finally laid down his guards, the angel of death sneaked in and took him away, barely 26 years after escaping the guillotine.

“Our dear Daddy passed onto glory in the early hours of 26th March 2023,” his son, Oyesinmilola Diya, confirmed the former Chief of General Staff’s death in a terse statement.

His life history

Oladipo Diya was born on Monday, April 3, 1944 in Odogbolu, Ogun State, then Western Region, Nigeria.

Diya attended Yaba Methodist School, Lagos from 1950 – 1956 and thereafter proceeded to his hometown, Odogbolu, as a pioneer student of Odogbolu Grammar School, from 1957 – 1962.

Diya joined the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and fought during the Nigerian civil war. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in March 1967. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School, where he was called to the Bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

He became General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigeria Army in 1985 and Commandant, National War College (1991–1993). He was the former Chief of General Staff, who served as deputy to the late dictator, Sani Abacha.

Diya was Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985.

His wife, Chief Deborah Folashade Diya, died at the age of 66 in May, 2020.

The 1997 ‘coup’

In 1997, Diya and dissident soldiers in the military were alleged to have planned to overthrow the regime of Abacha.

Diya was tried in a military tribunal and was sentenced to death in a plot many believed was orchestrated to take out perceived enemies of the dictator.

He was let off the hook after the death of Abacha in 1998, by his successor, Abdulsalami Abubakar, who granted him and others a national pardon.

I did not cry before Abacha

It was reported by the Abacha junta that Diya cried and asked for forgiveness after his arrest and trial for the alleged coup plot.

However, following his release, Diya appeared before the Oputa Panel and responded to questions on his activities while he was second in command.

He was put on the spot by a lawyer who asked him if it was true that he, Diya, truly met with Abacha, cried on his knees and begged for forgiveness.

“You wept before Abacha and he had to give you tissue paper to wipe your tears,” the lawyer put to Diya.

“That’s your machination and invention,” he responded.

Tribute

Prominent Nigerians including President Muhammadu Buhari paid glowing tributes to the late general.

Buhari in mourning the passing of Diya, recalled that Diya “Was known for his brilliance, exceptional organisational skills and discipline and displayed these virtues in the important roles he held in office as a military officer.”

The president saluted “The former Chief of General Staff for his love, belief and loyalty to the country he cherished so much and fought gallantly on the frontlines to defend her unity.”

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his condolence to the family of the former Chief of General Staff, expressed sadness over the passing of the retired general.

Tinubu praised his contributions to national development and the military institution.

“The news of the death of General Oladipo Diya came to me as a shock. I send my heartfelt condolences and sympathy to his immediate family, especially his wives and children.

“General Diya lived a remarkable life of a soldier and he made his mark in the military where he served our country diligently. As military governor of Ogun State, in the various military positions he held till he rose to the enviable position of Chief of General Staff and second in command to the Head of State, he served meritoriously.

“As much as he could, he played a stabilising role during one of the most turbulent periods in our nation’s life in the aftermath of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. He will be remembered for his patriotism and service to the nation,” he said.

Also, former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark in a statement by his media aide, Paul Mumeh, noted that the fallen general was one of shining lights of the Nigerian Army and by extension the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic.

Mark recalled that General Diya was in the forefront for the promotion of professionalism and intellectualism in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

“He (Diya) was an intellectual and a professional soldier who paid attention to details “, the former Senate helmsman and a former Army general stated.

In his home state, Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, in a statement by Kunle Somorin, the governor’s spokesman, described the departed army general as a seasoned administrator, gentleman and officer whose contributions to the development of the security architecture of Nigeria would remain indelible, adding that others carried on where he left off and Ogun State would not forget Diya’s role in its history.

The governor recalled that the deceased who apart from being a former de facto number two citizen in the country was also a military governor in Ogun State.

“He was courageous and daring, quick-witted and patriotic. Gen. Diya played frontline roles in the evolution and development of the state and his activities in the military, in part led to the eventual return and enthronement of democracy in the country in 1999,” he said.

A former governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel, in a statement, described his death as a great loss “to our country, Nigeria and to Ogun State in particular.”

“As Military Administrator of Ogun State, he was exemplary in the enforcement of the War Against Indiscipline with a focus on a cleaner environment.

“He will surely be missed by a lot of people for different reasons and especially for his statesmanship,” Daniel said.

Also the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, extolled the virtues of the former Chief of General Staff.

“General Diya, who was an illustrious son of Odogbolu, was a courageous, administrator par excellence and brave military officer who served the nation and Ogun State diligently.

“His commitment to the development of Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole shall not be forgotten as they are indelible in the hearts of the people,” Adebutu said.