Opinion
Capt. Dauda, Sgt. Yildar, Still At Large 48 Years After Dimka’s Coup
By Luka Binniyat
James Mangai, my egregious childhood buddy, now aging with a widening bald head, and an amusing grey mustache, just left my house.
Friendship and the Barracks
It’s been a while since we met, though we both live in Kaduna, with our wives and kids, some of them now grown-ups.
Mangai has been my friend dating back to 1970 when our parents brought us to stay with them at 130 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Ozala, East Central State, (now in Enugu state). The Nigeria civil war had just ended, and our dads, yearning for family companionship, felt we should join them from our homes in Zaria, as the first batch of family reunion. Mangai is of the Challah (Ron) tribal group or Bokkos at that time in Benue-Plateau State and I am from the Atyap ethnic group of ‘Southern Zaria’ North Central State. It is now Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State.
Our parents had met during recruitment at the Nigeria Army Depot in Zaria in 1967 and just hit it off. They fought side-by-side for the entire 3 years that the ‘Ojukwu war’ stretched as infantry soldiers and came out without a scratch.
From Ozala, where we started primary school (St. Paul Primary School Ozala) in 1974, our parents were transferred to Keffi and we both enrolled at the Army Children School, Keffi in the same 1974 up to 1977. After that, we found ourselves moved to three other Barracks around the country during our secondary and University days. After a long time of separation work reunited us in Kaduna in 2011.
After we had lunch, we left the parlor to sit outside for fresh air so we could enjoy our privacy
The Dimka Coup
We reminisced over many issues of those days.
Then, Mangai recalled a grim event that has come to be known as the ‘Dimka coup’ of 1976.
It took place on 13th February, 1976 and we were in primary 3 at Army Children School, Keffi. We recalled with angst the tension and anxiety that gripped 130 Battalion, Keffi. We could hear the voice of one Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka spoke over Radio Nigeria about overthrowing Gen Murtala Mohammed that morning and forming a new government. And it wasn’t quite long after Murtala had also expelled Gen. Yakubu Gowon from power. The barracks was thrown into confusion. Our parents got dressed into war gears and gathered at the parade ground for further instructions. There was also confusion and fear as it was said that Christian soldiers had killed Gen Mohammed, a Muslim.
I recalled that Mangai and our friends from Benue-Plateau were excited about the coup, because Dimka was from Pankshim, now in plateau State. But our friends from parts of the Muslim North Central, North Western and Kano states of those days were deeply hurt. Even as kids, we were careful how we discussed the coup ever after.
Then the coup failed.
We remembered that shortly after the coup failed, Olusegun Obasanjo was made Nigeria Head of state.
We heard that Dimka was on the run, but that some army officers had been arrested.
Then it was all over the news that Dimka was arrested somewhere in Igbo land.
We also heard that Maj. Gen Bissallah, also from Jos area, was also arrested.
They were later executed by a firing squad.
Within days, pictures of two soldiers were .posted all over our Barracks. They were also in the newspapers that we were sent to go buy for our teachers and soldiers who could read.
MOST WANTED! was the banner caption.
They were Capt Dauda Usman and Sergeant Clement Yildar.
Now, Yildar was from Benue-Plateau and Usman from ‘Southern Zaria’.
After the execution of the arrested coup plotters, the hunt for the two alleged accomplices continued.
Mythical figures
They later became more like legends because of the myths woven around them.
“Do you remember that it was said that Capt. Dauda was cornered in a House in Kafanchan, but that he turned into a bird and flew through the window,” I asked Mangai to express the invincibility of the ‘Southern Zaria’ man.
“Do you also remember that it was said that the army rushed to Kanke (home town of Sgt. Yildar in Kanke LGA of plateau State) to arrest Yildar who was farming for his father and that he just turned into a small flowing stream and they couldn’t fetch him,” he said of his own person the way myths were woven around them. Of Course we laughed over those tales.
Such monumental happenings don’t fade from memory till death.
Need to revisit Dauda and Yilda’s case
But, then, It’s 48 years now and no one has come up to say anything about the whereabouts of these two fugitive soldiers.
“Strangely, it’s like they don’t have families or children. I can’t remember anyone saying he’s related to them all these years,” Mangai said.
And that also beats my thinking.
These figures still hold remarkable childhood impressions on our psyche 48 years after in a profound manner. And it may also be so for members of our generation and above.
“If Ojukwu who carried out a bloody secession war against the Nigeria State could get a state pardon and Boko Haram terrorists who killed and maimed could be forgiven and rehabilitated, I don’t see why an official pardon cannot be granted to these two soldiers if they are still alive,” Mangai posited.
“Niger Delta militants have been granted amnesty and even apologists for Fulani bandits are asking for their amnesty and even for their ‘compensation despite their heinous crime against humanity,” I added.
“Could it be that certain ethnic nationalities cannot also ask for such favours even for alleged political crimes committed nearly half a century?” I queried.
“If they are alive, they would be in their late eighties or early nineties. I also do believe that they deserve a state pardon,” Mangai said.
“You are the Chairman of the Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna state Chapter,” he pointed out, “these two men need your voice as your members, since their families won’t appear to make a case for them,” he said.
“You must begin to find out what has happened to them and how they can enjoy state pardon alive or postmortem,” he challenged me.
And I have taken that challenge.
They have been on the run for 48 years.
I believe that it’s high time Nigeria revisited their case, especially as no one has heard their own side of the story in that tragic event which redirected the course of this nation.
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Luka Binniyat is an award winning Journalist, freelance writer and is the Chairman, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Kaduna State Chapter.
By Suleiman Hassan Gimba Esq
I do not speak for Buni, for I am neither the voice nor the vessel of government. I do not speak for the flyover, for I am neither its foundation nor its asphalt. And I do not speak for the detractors of the flyover, for I am neither their echo nor their intent.
But I do speak for myself—as a citizen who will drive on this flyover and the existing roads in Yobe.
I speak as a husband, as a potential father who understands that government policies shape my ability to provide for my family. The roads I travel, the infrastructure around me, and the decisions made in government halls all influence my capacity to build a future where my child can grow in safety and my wife can nurture them in a stable, supportive environment.
I do not speak for power, nor for opposition—I speak for the everyday man whose life is shaped by these choices, for the citizen who desires not just development in name but development that truly serves the people.
As a child, I struggled to grasp the saying, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” One of my teachers at FECOET Demonstration Secondary School, Prof. Adam M. Abubakar, used to say it often.
It was plain, simple, and straightforward, yet my young mind could not understand how failing to plant during the rainy season meant sowing the seeds of hunger in the dry season. But I have since come to understand that development that truly serves the people is built on planning.
I have followed the political career of His Excellency Mai Mala Buni, and I hope to write a book about him one day, for his is a career rooted in planning.
Everywhere he goes, he excels. There was a clear plan when he was a Special Adviser to the Governor, there was one when he led the APC, and there is a bold one in his leadership of Yobe State. The APC enjoyed its best days under his watch; he was National Secretary of the first and only opposition party in Nigeria’s history to defeat a sitting president; he was Chairman of the Caretaker Committee that rescued the APC from implosion.
The importance of planning is best illustrated when comparing Abuja and Lagos. Both are Nigeria’s biggest cities, but in terms of road convenience, Abuja is far ahead. Why? Because Abuja was built with a master plan to last the ages, while Lagos has had to adapt as it grows. The roads in Abuja were constructed before congestion set in, with flyover pillars pre-installed in strategic locations, waiting for activation. Lagos did not have that foresight. Today, its people sleep in traffic, and all remedial efforts are expensive and disruptive.
It is no different with Damaturu. As urbanization increases, road congestion will become a major challenge. A flyover can significantly ease traffic, reduce travel time, and improve road safety by minimizing accident-prone intersections.
It will also enhance the work of agencies like YOROTA, YEMABUS, fire services, police, and other security bodies by allowing them to move more efficiently.
I cannot speak for the flyover, but I can speak for large infrastructure projects. I have been around long enough to know that such projects create employment, directly and indirectly. The flyover will not only provide construction jobs but will also stimulate economic activity by improving connectivity. It sits on roads that link at least three other local governments, another state, and three neighboring countries. Property values around it will rise, increasing local wealth and boosting Internally Generated Revenue through modernized property taxation under YOGIS.
And what is Damaturu if not our own Abuja, our own FCT? Whether we acknowledge it or not, the city will experience population growth and commercial expansion. What we can decide is whether we prepare for it—and H.E. Mai Mala Buni is doing just that. Strip Dubai of its infrastructure, and it is nothing but a Yusufari in the Middle East. We, too, must build the kind of infrastructure that attracts investment.
What many may not realize is that the flyover will actually save them money—on fuel, on vehicle maintenance. Smoother traffic flow means lower fuel consumption and less wear-and-tear on vehicles. It also means reduced carbon emissions due to less idling in traffic, aligning with the governor’s environmental sustainability plan and the broader Damaturu Development Plan.
What we can hope for is transparency in budgeting, procurement, and contract execution to ensure that the project is completed on time and to standard.
To close this write-up, I return once more to my childhood—boring, I know. I grew up seeing the NPN shops in Potiskum. Built in the late ’70s and early ’80s, they were the first all-concrete, fire-resistant shops in Nigeria. At the time, many saw them as wasteful and too ambitious. But today, development has caught up with them. No one stands at Kasuwan NPN and questions whether we were ready for them.
The same will be said of the five modern markets built by His Excellency Mai Mala Buni, the Potiskum Cattle Market, and now, the flyover. These projects will stand the test of time. And though I can never speak for Buni, they will speak for him—because they were planned with the people in mind. And when they start improving lives, the people will listen. The people will rejoice. Years and decades may pass, but these projects will remain, honoring the man who built them and serving the people he holds dear.
By Jumai Ahmadu
It is no longer news that there was an altercation between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, but what it underscores is how women in elective positions in Nigeria continue to face severe under-representation.
Senator Natasha Akpoti, who was almost suspended from parliament by the Senate President, is just one out of similar cases in the recent past. Sen. Ireti Kingibe and Sen. Remi Tinubu (now First Lady) all had bitter experiences at the upper chamber.
It is in the light of these awful experiences that Seat Reservation for Women Bill by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, becomes urgent to only boost gender parity, but to unlock national prosperity of which women are a critical segment of.
Nigerian women’s political engagement in Nigeria has quantitatively shown that there is grossly low levels of female election to the National Assembly. The issue of female electiveness is one of myriad of issues women face in Nigeria – poor economic power, discrimination, cultural and religious inhibitions as well as societal biases.
The very notion that the country’s political sphere since 1999 has not witnessed any seismic shift in terms of gender equity and parity rather has remained largely dominated by men despite several efforts by both government and the private sector to enhance women participation and representation in elective politics does not inspire confidence in terms of inclusion and diversity.
A statistical report in 2017 on women and men in Nigeria shows that representation of high-ranking government officials with decision-making powers is heavily lopsided in favour of men. The representation of women in the 9th Assembly is not a significant improvement from past Assemblies.
In 1999, sixteen (16) women were elected into the National Assembly with thirteen (13) in the House of Representatives and three (3) in the Senate. The total number increased to 25 in 2003 with twenty-one (21) in the House and four (4) in the Senate.
The highest number of women ever to be elected into the National Assembly is thirty (36) in 2007 with twenty-seven (27) in the House and nine (9) in the Senate. Since then, there has been a steady decline to thirty-two (32) in 2011, twenty-nine (29) in 2015 and seventeen (17) in 2019.
In the 9th National Assembly, there were eight (8) female Senators (7.3%) and thirteen (13) female Members of the House of Representatives (3.6%), which represents 4.5% of the entire Assembly.
The 10th Assembly has women occupying four (4) out of 109 seats (2.7%) in the Senate and 17 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives (4.7%), which represents 4.2% of the 469-member Assembly.
Therefore, after seven general election cycles since 1999, the number of women in the Senate has dropped to what it was at Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
It is thus significant to note that the cumulative percentage of women in the two chambers of Nigeria’s incoming 10th National Assembly is below 5%. It is also important to note that no woman was elected in 15 out of Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly following the state level general elections in March 2023.
With current figures for the 10th National Assembly, Nigeria shamefully places at the lowest neighborhood of the ranking of countries on women in public leadership especially African Parliaments.
The National Assembly must take action to support increase in the number of women represented in government by passing the specific Constitution Alteration bills to achieve this.
The Temporary Special Measures bill, with more than 80 other House of Representatives members co-sponsoring it, was debated but failed to pass in the 9th Assembly. It is instructive that women groups are continuing work on the bill in the current 10th National Assembly and needs to work harder not to lose this opportunity again.
Women’s lack of adequate participation in legislative processes has negatively impacted promotion and enforcement of their rights, and despite the low representation of women in the National Assembly, the bills sponsored by female legislators has had significant impact on the lives of all Nigerians. Men’s efforts, if any, to promote these rights are not sufficient, because they are not direct beneficiaries.
Structural biases and barriers to women’s political participation indicate that the few women who show active interest in politics are discouraged by factors that include prevailing gender stereotypes, cultural/religious reasons, unfavourable political environment, lack of financial capacity, electoral violence and restrictive party structures and processes, amongst others.
Political hurdles, socio-cultural issues such as patriarchy, religious dogma, and conventional views of women in politics and socio-economic hurdles such as low income, lack of resources, electoral processes and political party structures, have all been identified as barriers to women’s political engagement.
While women are making significant contributions to Nigerian politics, their representation in political and decision-making positions needs to be improved.
And 30 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) we are nowhere near the 35% affirmative action.
Women groups plan to participate in the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Conference scheduled to hold March 10 to 21, 2025.
The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.
It is therefore recommended that the country’s 35 per cent affirmative action for women’s representation in politics be codified into law. Having legislation that requires government at all levels to have at least 35 per cent representation of women in appointive public service positions will be a good way to engender greater participation of women in politics.
Considering the importance of their presence in governance, we urge women in public leadership to stand firm and continue representing their constituents. They should never ever lose their voice, but rather continue to stand strong in your commitment to citizens and prove that representation matters.
Dr. Jumai Ahmadu is the Acting Director, Reform Coordination and Service Improvement Department, of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF
The history of abandoned nation’s city centre roads by the previous administration’s was brought to a halt, soon after the assumption of office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and appointment of Hon Minister, Nyesom Wike as the handler of the FCT in May , 2023.
Not long after his announcement and swearing as Minister of FCT, Wike visibly disturbed with the state of decayed infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory FCT, particularly the state of roads across all Areas, sessions, districts, Zones and locations swung into action by embarking on major roads repairs , resumption of construction, embarking on new ones that was commissioned during the first year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under his Renewed Hope Agenda.
The massive repairs by the Nyesom Wike led Federal Capital Territory made both major and linkages of roads weared a new look and brought fresh air to motorists, travelers, pedestrians among many other road users across the FCT.
As at January 2025, Wike had not only completed most of the nations city roads , but connecting them with high capacity fly over bridges across areas abandoned for many decades as part of the master plan and opening up roads in the rural areas of the six area councils of Abaji , Kwali, Gwagwalada, Kuje , AMAC and Bwari areas.
Major and adjoining roads across the six area councils with those abandoned for many years close to a decade have been reconstructed between weeks and months returning back to these areas good life of motorable roads to the area councils.
His style of leadership in the area of roads construction across the nooks and crannies of FCT including the interior part of the councils was the engagement of construction companies in each of the six area councils, with allocation of roads to be constructed in batches with no time limit, but to ensure good motorable roads in the six area councils with a dedicated funds of about 300Billion approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revive rural roads across the six FCT area councils.
Twenty one months down the line , the improved infrastructure and roads construction has improved and competing favorably with those of the nations city, that was once a cynosure and shadow of itself due to leadership without foresight in the previous administrations.
The implications of the provision of good roads across the nations city and area councils has reduced to the barest minimum the influx of people from all walks of life into the city centre, as people now found comfort at area councils as a result of good network of roads and Infrastructural development.
Wike road projects all over the FCT has also linked many towns and villages to the FCT from Nasssarawa, Niger , Kogi among many other states reducing the high cost of renting houses in the city centre, as people have found refuge in area councils with network of good roads and cheap accommodation against the cut throat prices at the city centre.
The FCT Minister under Nyesom Wike has changed the narration of construction of one fly over for many years in the city centre, and construction of only one rural road in the area councils as FCT intervention projects.
Currently over ten flyovers are undergoing construction, reconstruction and completion in the FCT, while area councils has witnessed roads construction of more than ten areas in each councils with the stationing of construction companies in each area councils.
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has brought a new lease of life to residents and occupants of FCT through the infrastructure upgrade by reconstructing and re-awarding and construction of new roads in the nations city.
Written BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.