Laughter and High-Pressure Moments: Comedian Ali Baba Recounts His Close Call with Gen Sani Abacha
Renowned comedian and TV personality, Ali Baba, has shared a harrowing story of a “near-death experience” that pushed him to the edge, involving former military leader, General Sani Abacha.
In a recent episode of the Leadership Podcast with Stephen Akintayo, Ali Baba recounted the incident, which took place during Abacha’s presidency. He was invited to introduce an Akwa Ibom cultural group at an event in Abuja.
As he took the stage, he noticed that General Abacha was wearing some unusual sunglasses, which made him feel uneasy. Without hesitation, he asked Abacha to remove them, sparking a chain of events that would change the tone of the evening.
“I remember saying to General Abacha, ‘Your Excellency, sir, it’s almost 10 o’clock, why are you wearing these dark shades? Don’t you want to see their performance? Remove this shade, na,'” Ali Baba recalled.
Abacha, to his surprise, obliged, but the atmosphere soon took a turn for the worse when Ali Baba noticed DSS officers heading backstage. “He then removed the glasses and was talking to someone, and when he kept the glasses, I told the troupe to continue. As soon as they started, I saw the DSS officers going backstage to wait for God knows who,” he revealed.
Faced with the potential threat, Ali Baba decided to sit next to Abacha, rather than venturing backstage, where the operatives were waiting. “I went down the stage and sat on the ground next to him. He made jokes of me and asked why I refused to go backstage. I said, ‘Don’t worry, sir, they can come and arrest me here,” he recalled, reflecting on the intense moment.
