- Regrets cancellation, admits Abiola won 1993 presidential election
- You missed historic opportunity in 1993, Tinubu tells Babangida
- Dangote, Rabiu, Danjuma, others donate billions for IBB Library
Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), has finally admitted that late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
He also expressed regret over the annulment in his newly launched autobiography.
The book titled, “A Journey In Service” unveiled on Thursday in Abuja, was reviewed by former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
The event also featured President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Nigerian heads of state, including Generals Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalam Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan, as well as a representative of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chaired the occasion, commended Babangida for documenting his experiences.
He noted that the book would serve as a valuable historical resource, though he cautioned that it might elicit mixed reactions.
The event held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, attracted high-profile attendees, including former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who delivered the keynote address.
Osinbajo sharing a key excerpt said Babaginda admitted that: “Upon deeper reflection and a closer examination of all available facts, particularly the detailed election results, which are published as an appendix to this book, there was no doubt that MKO Abiola won the June 12th elections.
“Upon closer examination of the original collated figures, it was clear that he satisfied the two main constitutional requirements for winning the presidential elections, namely majority votes and geographical spread.
“Having obtained 8,128,720 votes against Tofa’s 5,848,247 votes, and securing the mandatory one-third of the votes cast in 28 states of the federation, including Abuja, I am gratified that the Buhari administration finally recognized him as a former head of state of Nigeria,” Babangida wrote.
Babangida admitted that the annulment of the election was the most challenging and painful period of his life.
“Looking back now, the June 12th saga was undeniably the most challenging moment of my life, and in certain respects, one of the most painful. And if I had to do it all over again, I would do it differently,” he said.
In his revealing memoir, Babangida said he was in Katsina when the annulment of the election, won by MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party, was announced by the press secretary of his second-in-command without his knowledge or permission.
He said he later discovered that the forces against the June 12 election were led by Sani Abacha, his chief of defence staff who later became military head of state.
In the wake of the crisis, Babangida had stepped down as president in August 1993 and installed an interim government, led by Ernest Shonekan, which Abacha later removed from power in November 1993.
Abacha later clamped Abiola into detention for declaring himself president.
Babangida, who did a national broadcast on June 24, 1993 to officially announce the annulment of the election, said Abacha had become a major force in a “factionalised” military and it was difficult to remove him when he stepped down from power.
‘IKPEME WORKED IN MY AGF’S CHAMBER’
The journey to the June 12 annulment began two days before D-Day when a judge granted an injunction stopping the electoral commission from going ahead with the election.
A group known as the Association to Better Nigeria, led by Arthur Nzeribe, had filed the lawsuit.
Babangida admitted in the memoir, published by Bookcraft Ltd., that Nzeribe was close to him, but denied supporting the activities of ABN.
“From out of nowhere, on June 10, two days before the presidential election, the same shadowy group, ABN, which had been campaigning for an extension of military rule, approached the Abuja High Court of Justice Bassey Ikpeme for an injunction to stop NEC (National Electoral Commission) from conducting the elections,” he said in his memoir.
“Unknown to me at the time, Justice Ikpeme, who was relatively young at the Bench, had worked in the chambers of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Clement Akpamgbo. Strangely, Justice Ikpeme, in the dead of night, in clear violation of Decree 13, which barred any court from interfering with NEC’s conduct or scheduling of the elections, granted the ABN an injunction stopping NEC from conducting the June 12 elections. There was confusion everywhere.”
He said he quickly convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence and Security Council, the country’s highest governing body, to discuss the way forward.
“On Friday, June 11, as the NDSC meeting was going on, I learned that a Lagos High Court had ruled that NEC should go ahead with the elections. The NDSC meeting on Friday, June 11, only hours before the scheduled elections, was one of the stormiest meetings I ever conducted as President. Strangely, the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Akpamgbo, who was the nation’s chief law officer and who ought to know that the Justice Ikpeme court order violated an extant law (and was tacitly supported, it turned out by some of my topmost military officers), advised that the elections be postponed in compliance with the Abuja court order. Professor (Humphrey) Nwosu (NEC chairman) insisted, to the dismay of my top military colleagues, that he had enough powers under the law to proceed with the elections.
“The arguments went on for hours in a tense atmosphere, peopled by some who wanted the elections postponed, among them the Chief of Defence Staff, General Sani Abacha, Lt-General Joshua Dogonyaro and a few Service Chiefs. But I had my views bottled inside me. Even before Professor Nwosu presented his compelling argument, I decided that the elections should proceed, backed firmly by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Salihu Ibrahim.”
‘ABACHA LED THE ANTI-JUNE 12 FORCES’
Babangida said he looked across the room and said to Nwosu: “Go ahead with the elections. Go to your office, hold a world press conference and tell everyone the elections will be held tomorrow as planned.”
He said on June 16, Nwosu suddenly stopped the announcement of the election results even though the voting was peaceful and orderly.
“And then, on June 16, without my knowledge or prior approval, NEC Chairman, Professor Nwosu, announced the suspension of the June 12 election results ‘until further notice’. I knew instantly that certain fifth columnists were at work and that there was a need for extra care. And even after that suspension of the announcements of results, ABN obtained another ‘strange’ court order from Justice Saleh’s court in Abuja, stopping the release of the results of the elections,” he wrote.
On June 23, Babangida said he left Abuja for Katsina to commiserate with the Yar’Adua family over the death of their patriarch, Musa Yar’Adua, former minister of Lagos affairs and father of Umaru, the late Nigerian president who died in office in 2007.
Babangida narrated that “The funeral had taken place, and as I got ready to leave, a report filtered to me that the June 12 elections had been annulled. Even more bizarre was the extent of the annulment because it terminated all court proceedings regarding the June 12 elections, repealed all the decrees governing the Transition and even suspended NEC. Equally weird was the shabby way the statement was couched and made.
“Admiral (Augustus) Aikhomu’s press secretary, Nduka Irabor, had read out a terse, poorly worded statement from a scrap of paper, which bore neither the presidential seal nor the official letterhead of the government, annulling the June 12 presidential elections. I was alarmed and horrified.
“Yes, during the stalemate that followed the termination of the results announcement, the possibility of annulment that could lead to fresh elections was loosely broached in passing. But annulment was only a component of a series of other options. But to suddenly have an announcement made without my authority was, to put it mildly, alarming. I remember saying: ‘These nefarious ‘inside’ forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me’ . I would later find out that the ‘forces’ led by General Sani Abacha annulled the elections. There and then, I knew I was caught between ‘a devil and the deep blue sea’. From then on, the June 12 elections took on a painful twist for which, as I will show later, I regrettably take responsibility.”
Thursday’s event drew an elite gathering of past and present leaders who reflected on his legacy and the state of democracy in West Africa.
Discussions ranged from Babangida’s contributions to Nigeria’s political history to concerns over the resurgence of military coups in the region.
In his keynote address, former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo emphasised the importance of multi-party democracy in Africa’s development.
He warned against the growing wave of military takeovers, calling them a setback to democratic progress.
“Multiple parties are good for our continent,” Akufo-Addo said, urging leaders to protect democratic institutions.
Former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), lauded Babangida’s rise from aide-de-camp to head of state, describing him as a “boss of bosses.”
Gowon also expressed gratitude for Babangida’s decision to restore his rank of General after it was stripped following the 1976 coup.
The former head of state said, “Thank you for restoring my rank,” reflecting on how Babangida’s leadership impacted his life.
Another former military president, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, shared personal anecdotes about his long-standing relationship with Babangida, which, he said, spans over 80 years.
Abdulsalami recalled a childhood prophecy that foretold Babangida’s rise to power and commended him for documenting his life’s journey.
“Your memoir will enrich the country,” Abdulsalami stated.
For his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan described Babangida as one of Nigeria’s most charismatic leaders and called for the creation of presidential libraries to preserve the country’s political history.
“IBB brought us here today to celebrate his book and library.
“His home has become somewhat of a pilgrimage site,” Jonathan noted.
Representing immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Minister of Transportation, Jaji Sambo, delivered a congratulatory message, expressing hope that Babangida would continue offering valuable counsel to Nigeria’s leadership.
You missed historic opportunity in 1993, Tinubu tells Babangida
However, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday reflected on a moment when he boldly confronted former military President Ibrahim Babangida, telling him he had missed a historic opportunity.
Babangida, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, was the country’s head of state when Tinubu was elected to the Senate in 1992 to represent Lagos West.
Speaking at the book launch in Babangida’s honour, Tinubu recalled how he challenged the former leader for repeatedly postponing the inauguration of elected officials after their victory at the polls.
He admitted that he feared imprisonment for confronting the then-head of state.
Tinubu recounted, “One thing I will never forget: you were in office, and you acknowledged that we were elected, yet you kept postponing our inauguration.
“Then you summoned us to Abuja. When we became restless, you called us to the International Conference Centre. I sat there, listening in my radical manner, convinced that you wouldn’t inaugurate us yet again.
“Before we even returned to the hotel, it was locked—and no key.
“Later, when Dele Cole invited me to make a remark, I confronted you. I told you that you had the opportunity to make history that day, but you failed to seize it. I asked, ‘Why not inaugurate us? Why are you calling us back and postponing it again?’
“They thought I would end up in jail. But at the end of my remarks, you came forward, shook my hand and I will never forget that moment.”
Meanwhile, Tinubu also praised Babangida’s contributions to nation-building and credited the former military leader with inspiring his political journey.
“General Ibrahim Babangida, without you, people like me wouldn’t be in politics. You inspired some of us,” President Tinubu stated.
He continued, “Your progressive revolution — you said you wanted young, brilliant people in politics — back then in Dodan Barracks. You inspired some of us. And when we look at the programmes, many of us gathered here today for this library project can see the vision of a leader.
“Thank you for who you are. As for the book, I haven’t read it yet, but I have taken my copy, and I will read it.
“Without you, people like me wouldn’t be in politics. Your progressive revolution, your insistence on bringing young, brilliant minds into politics — you inspired us.”
In his remarks, Babangida reflected on his decision to annul the June 12, 1993 election.
Thirty-two years later, he maintained that his actions were taken in what he believed to be the country’s best interest.
Dangote, Rabiu, Danjuma, others donate billions for IBB Library
Prominent Nigerian business leaders and statesmen donated over N17 billion to the IBB Presidential Library Foundation in what can be described as a grand display of support for the former military leader.
The fundraiser, organised by the IBB Presidential Library Foundation, saw significant contributions from Africa’s wealthiest individuals, including Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and General Theophilus Danjuma.
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the single largest donation of N8 billion, to be paid in installments of N2 billion annually over four years.
Dangote praised Babangida for his transformative policies during his regime, which he said liberated the private sector and laid the foundation for Nigeria’s economic growth.
“Your Excellency, you were the architect of the private sector in Nigeria. Your policies, such as the abolition of import licences and the issuance of banking licences, enabled Nigerian businesses to thrive. Today, the private sector contributes 85% of Nigeria’s GDP, while the government contributes only 15%,” Dangote said.
Dangote also pledged to continue his annual contributions of N2 billion if the library project extends beyond the initial four-year timeline.
Chairman of BUA Group and co-launcher of the book, Abdul Samad Rabiu, donated N5 billion to the IBB Presidential Library project.
Similarly, General Theophilus Danjuma, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the TY Danjuma Foundation, pledged N3 billion.
Their contributions underscored the high regard for Babangida’s legacy and the importance of preserving Nigeria’s history through the library.
Declare Abiola posthumously as ex-Nigeria president, CUPP tells Tinubu
Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties has demanded the immediate declaration of late Moshood Abiola posthumously as the former president of the country since he won the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential poll.
Reacting to the validation of Abiola’s victory by Ibrahim Babangida, CUPP’s National Secretary, Peter Ameh called on President Tinubu to do the needful on the issue.
CUPP blamed the annulment of the presidential poll which led to a total breakdown of law and order at the time for the reverses being suffered by the country till date.
Ameh noted that the unfortunate event, orchestrated by Babangida, has had far-reaching consequences, perpetuating electoral theft and undermining the country’s democratic growth.
The CUPP scribe noted that the validation of Abiola’s victory at the launch of his autobiography in Abuja on Thursday should serve as a reminder of the importance of upholding democratic principles and the rule of law.
He further argued that the unfortunate development also underscores the need for accountability and transparency in Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The consequences of this annulment have been profound. Nigeria’s development and growth have been hindered by the persistence of electoral theft and undemocratic interference,” he noted.
“The country’s democratic institutions have been weakened, and the people’s trust in the electoral process has been eroded.
“In light of these circumstances, it is imperative that we recognize Abiola’s rightful place in Nigeria’s history. Declaring him posthumously as the former President of Nigeria would be a significant step towards healing the wounds of the past and promoting national reconciliation.
“The annulment of the June 12 election has left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s national reality. It is essential that we learn from this experience and work towards creating a more democratic and just society. Recognizing Abiola’s presidency posthumously would be a significant step in this direction, promoting national healing, reconciliation, and democratic growth,” he noted.
