By Our Reporter
For the eight years, Ibrahim Babangida, an Army General, rtd, had ruled as Nigerian military President, he was said to have taken responsibility for every action taken by his administration both popular and unpopular one. Unknown to many, most of the decisions that was said to have been taken by the Administration were hatched and announced by the fifth columnist led by General Abacha, the then Chief of Army Staff, COAS, and Secretary of Defence.
One of such unpopular decisions allegedly taken by the administration was the annulment of the June12, 1993, Presidential election, described as ‘’the freest since Independence’’ won by the deceased business mogul, Moshood Kashiomale Olawale Abiola, popular, MKO, in media circles, of th Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Putting on the garb of an Army General going to the war front to confront the enemy camp with his own soldiers, the Niger state born military President who may not have wanted to play into the hands of Gen. Abacha appears to have played along with him.
There is no gain saying the fact that the former Nigerian military President may have set the stage for the annulment of the 1993 general election, when he had allowed Gen. Abacha, to maintain two political appointments: Chief of Army Staa, COAS and minister if Defence.
Holding the two key positions in a military Administration may have given Gen Abacha and his military clique, the opportunity to recruit loyalists to his camp who were ready to work with him to dictate the policy direction of the Gen .Babangida government to ascertain who gets what and when.
This may have informed why Gen Abacha had had used his position to recruit the likes of Lt. Gen. Nimiel Joshua Dogonyaro , Brig. David Mark, a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and two-terms Senate President, and several other top military personnel to actualize his dream.
The former Nigerian military President, who had ruled the country for eight years, a and believed to be indebted to Gen.Abacha, because of the too many things they have done together and the ones he had helped do tosave his administration from collapse.
Gen. Abacha was said to have supported the Niger state born military President to overthrow former military Head of State, Muhammed Buhari, in 1985, and equally put down the Gideon Orkah coup . He was said to have also saved the military President’s daughter’s life at the risk of his life.
Indeed, Gen. Abacha may have started nursing the ambition to be the country’s next military Head of State if Gen. Babangida , completes his self -programmed eight years in office. He may have come to the conclusion that Gen. Bbangida may want to set up an interim government to replace him because of the country’s intractable political crisis caused by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
Note that the claims by the military President that the June 13, 1993, election, was anything but ‘’free not fair’’ , just as voters were coerced against their preference for Candidates of the choice , and disrespect for the electorate as unfetered final arbiter on elections, noting that decorum and fairness on the part of the electoral umpires and respect for the rule was lacking was prevalent in the polity.
The former Nigerian military President was said to further armed Gen. Abacha and his military clique with information to strike when he revealed that ‘’the Presidential primaries of the year 1992, SDP, and the National Republican Convention, NRC, did not meet the basic requirements of’’ a free and fair elections’’ Acting on security reports, he had said that there were allegations of irregularities and other acts of misconduct leveled against the presidential primaries of the two political parties, SDP, and National Republican Convention, , NRC, that had produced the Candidates for the election.
Giving an insider information, he had reportedly said that evidence available shows that the total amount spent by the two parties that had fielded Candidates standing in for the election was N2.1 billion, thus ‘’undermining the electoral process’’.
This may encouraged the ambitious Army General, who was waiting on the wings to step in as the country’s new military Head of State, in 1993, had no option but to annul the June 12, 1993 election, to weaken Abiola’s claim of his mandate.
Gen. Babangida, appears to have known from the onset the implications of distancing himself from the annulment of the June 12, 1993, elections by the fifth columnists led by Gen. Abacha and his military clique that he had ‘’taken’’ full responsibility for the annulment of the election results to restore calm in the military.’’
The General, who appears to have been boxed to a corner was not satisfied as he sill fears that Gen. Abacha and his boys could spring surprises to force him out from office because of his alleged political ambition.
Aware that Gen. Babangida could not withstand the intractable political crisis caused by the annulment of the June 12, election from the local pollical activists, Civil Societies and the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, which had the likes of Ola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the current Nigerian President to reverse the decision may have informed why he had resorted to plan B: to participate in the interim government that had been agreed needed to be established to fill the vacuum that would be left with the exit of General Babangida from office.
He was said to have extracted a promise from the former military President to keep to his two political appointments of being the country’s COAS and Secretary of Defence to give security coverage to the new government , until it finally settles down to address the problems met on ground.. He had his way.
The all-powerful Gen. Abacha, may have seen it as an opportunity to remove the lameduck Earnest Shonekan’s contrived interim government and step in as military Head of state. Given that it has been his life ambition to rule Nigeria, after Gen. Babangida, exit from office, the former military President may have known about the hidden agenda but kept to himself to avoid heating up the polity. as Gen. Abacha could be deadly.
It was not surprising why he had turned his back on Abiola, urging him to forget about the June 12, 1993, President mandate and join him to rebuild the country. The multi-billionaire business mogul may have viewed the action of Gen. Abacha, in sacking interim President of Shonekan, and announced himself as the country’s new military Head of state as a stab on the back and was not ready to take it.
He was said to have fought back with the support of the political activists and the civil society groups,including NADECO, to reclaim his mandate but got it wrong. The duo of Gen. Abacha and Abiola had died process, paving the way for Gen. Abdualami Abubakar to step in .
Barely 32 years out of office, the former Nigerian military President may have considered it necessary to break his silence’’ to the annulment the June12, 19993, election stressing that ‘’it was announced without his approval’’.
At the public presentation of his book A Journey in Service’’, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, , FCT, the former Nigerian military Leader may have shocked Nigerians when he disclosed that Abiola, the then Presidential flagbearer of the SDP, had won the June 12, 1993, general election described as’’ the freest and fairest’’ in the history of Nigerian political dispensation. Recall that he had said at the heat of the 12, political Crisis that the election was not free and fair, to win the heart of Gen. Abacha and his military clique.
The former Nigerian military Leader who had kept as a closely guided secret the issues concerning the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election allegedly won by the defunct SDP, Candidate, Abiola, had said that he was in Katsina , home state of Muhammadu Buhari, immediate past Nigerian President, when the announcement , annulling the June 12, 1993, election, was made , an indication that he was not in fully in total control of the government. He had said that General Sani Abacha led military force, had annulled the election but did not seek his consent or approval.
According to him, the forces behind the annulment of the June 12, Presidential election won by Abiola, were led Gen. Abacha, the then Chief of Army Staff and minister of Defence. Who could later sack the interim government of Ernest Shonekan and rule as military Head of state.
Gen Babangida, rtd, who had broken his silence on the annulment of the June 12, 1993, general election, had said that there was no basis for the matter to have degenerated to crisis level because he had given a matching order to Humphrey Nwosu, a Professor and Chairman of National Electoral Commission, NEC, to proceed with the announcement of the elections results but the NEC, helmsman , opted to obey a counter-order to stop further announcing of the June 12, election results , describing it as inconclusive.
Divulging more information about what took place behind the scene, before the annulment of the election, General Babangida, who has no apology to make to anybody had said that Gen. Mark, who many believe may have spoken the mind of the Gen. Abacha, had threatened to shoot him and even shoot , Abiola, the President- elect if I dare plan to swear him in as the country’s next President. It was a question of personal safety and national security and he was said to have opted personal safety to allow Gen. Abachacha his military clique do whatever they like.
The retired Army General had said that Abiola, did not help matters as he started hobnobbing with Abacha, who has political ambition , believing that once he sacks the Shonekan interim Government he will restore his Presidential mandate. It was the height of deception. Instead of protecting Abiola’s interest h had arrested him and clamped him into detention for daring to challenge his Authority.
Political analysts had said that Gen. Bababangida’s book ,’’A Journey in service’’, would have carried much weight if he had published it when Ge. Abacha, the former military Head of state and other key actors in the power struggle were still alive for him to give their own side of the story.
Notwithstanding, that Generals Abacha, Dogonyaro, Abiola and Prof. Nwosu, the NEC, Chairman are dead, Nigerians are waiting to see the outcome of the General’s book because of the many controversial issues raided. Senator Mark and some the northern Emirs who were said to participated in scuttling the June 12, election, are still alive and could tell their own side of the story about the annulment of the June Presidential election to set the record straight.
While many are yet to come to terms with Ge. Babangida’s Journey in service book, described as watershed in political circles because of the revelations he had made, which may not have been in public domain , President Ahmed , who had used the NADECO, platform , alongside other political activist to see to the actualization of the mandate of Abiola, had commended the Army General for confirming for the first time after 32 years of leaving office that ‘’Abiola had won the historic June 12, 1993, general, based on collated results’’.
The Nigerian President had recalled that the annulment of the June 12, general election was a watershed precipitating ‘’political crisis and hastened Gen Babangida’s exit from power.’’ The Lagos state born Nigerian President had said that the country’s former military Leader’s admission about Abiola’s victory in the June 12, 1993 election ‘’will help to set the records properly’’ instead of the earlier believe that ‘’the election was inconclusive peddled by the Abacha led military clique.’’.
Gen. Babangia, had said that the he late Abiola. Who incidentally was the SDP, flag bearer in the annulled June 12, 1993 election, had won in 20 states out of the 36 states of the Federation, including the FCT . He was said to have garnered over eight million votes compared to Bashir Dawakin Tofa, the NRC,’s Presidential Candidate’s votes of ,5, 848,247, votes, and also securing the mandatory of the votes 28 states of the Federation including the FCT.
The then SDP, Presidential Candidate, going by the collated results that was said to have been released by Gen. Babangida, 32, years after leaving office, had won Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Borno, Cross river, River, Delta, Edo , Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara , Lagos, Ogun, ndo, Oyo, Ekiti, Plateau, Taraba, ,andYobe states including the FCT.
Tofa, the NRC, Candidate, Gen. Babangida, could Authoritatively confirm that Tofa, of the NRC, had won in Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi , Niger, Rivers and Soko states. Abiola’s victory in the annulled June 12, 1993, election was comprehensive as he was said to have won 60% of the votes cast.
The former Lagos state governor who had said that he was at the former military President book Launch ‘’to pay homage to him for his contribution to the building of the Nigerian economy to make it the best in the African Continent had said that he will continue ‘’to do his best for the country by making tough decisions to reposition the country’s economy ‘’. Which financial experts had said had been in a sorry state over the years.
