Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), has finally spoken in detail about the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election.
According to The Nation, it was reported that while he was speaking at the public presentation of his book, “A Journey in Service”, Babangida took responsibility for all actions taken during his eight-year rule. However, he provided more insight into the events surrounding the annulment of the election, which was believed to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola, the presidential candidate of the now-defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In the book, Babangida revealed that he was in Katsina at the time, visiting the Yar’Adua family to offer condolences over the death of Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua. He stated that while he was away, he was informed that the election had been annulled.
He further disclosed that the announcement of the annulment was issued through “a terse, poorly worded statement from a scrap of paper, which bore neither the presidential seal nor the official letterhead of the government.”
On page 275 of his book, Babangida distanced himself from the decision, stating that the annulment was only one part of a series of other options being considered at the time.
According to him, he said, “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.”
Further talking, he wrote, “There and then, I knew I was caught up between ‘the 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.”
General Ibrahim Babangida, also regretted in the book how the fallout of the annulment of June 13, divided the Nigerian military hierarchy in that same year.
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