Practical next steps (short checklist)

On the bed, the General lay motionless. There was no struggle. No broken furniture. Just a man, silent against the sheets. The man who had terrified millions, who had jailed activists, and who was days away from becoming the civilian president, was gone.

Aides exchanged nervous glances. Was he sleeping in? Was he angry? No one dared knock on the door of the "Stone Man."

The sun beat down on Aso Rock, but the heat didn't penetrate the inner sanctum. General Sani Abacha sat behind his desk, the air conditioner humming a low, steady drone. To the outside world, Nigeria was a pariah state, suffocating under sanctions and the grip of tyranny. But inside, the General felt an intoxicating sense of momentum.

The international community, which had long been critical of Abacha's regime, began to turn up the heat on the military dictator in his final months. The United States, in particular, was vocal in its condemnation of Abacha's human rights abuses, and there were calls for his government to be isolated and sanctioned.

"The Last 100 Days of Abacha" by Olusegun Adeniyi is a political chronicle detailing the final months of General Sani Abacha's military rule in Nigeria. The work explores the corruption and power struggles of the era, serving as a key text on Nigeria's democratic transition. Purchase or review the book at Tarbiyah Books Plus . 20 Years after Abacha: Lest We Forget - PressReader