Babangida admits Abiola won 1993 election in new autobiography

• Says Abacha annulled election

• Says He’ll do it differently if given another opportunity

• Commends Buhari for conferring him with a GCFR

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Former Nigerian military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has officially confirmed that the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola emerged victorious in the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election. Babangida made this disclosure in his newly launched autobiography, *A Journey in Service*, unveiled on Thursday in Abuja.

The book’s reviewer, former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, quoted Babangida as stating, “There was no doubt in my mind; MKO Abiola won the election. He satisfied all the requirements.”

He further noted that Abiola, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, secured both the majority of votes and the required geographical spread to become president.

Reflecting on the controversial annulment of the election, Babangida described it as the most difficult decision of his career.

Excerpts from the book read thus: “Transition to Civil Rule and the June 12 Saga connect the dots that constitute one’s life by looking not forward but backward, which is another way of saying that to be sure, hindsight may not always be 20:20, but it can be helpful in understanding what went right or wrong and how to learn from similar situations in the future. If I had to do it all over, I will do it differently.

“However, faced with the circumstances of those moments as President and Commander-in-Chief, painful as it seemed, I did what was in the country’s best interest, for which I take full responsibility.

“Although I am on record to have stated after the elections that Abiola may not have won the elections, upon deeper reflection and a closer examination of all the available facts, particularly the detailed election results, which are published as an appendix to this volume, there was no doubt that MKO Abiola won the June 12 elections.

“Upon closer examination of the original collated figures from the 110,000 polling booths nationwide, it was clear that he satisfied the two main constitutional requirements for winning the presidential elections, mainly 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.”

Babangida described the forces against Abiola and the elections as formidable. He said, “Unfortunately, the forces gathered against him after the June 12 elections were so formidable that I was convinced that if he became President, he would be quickly eliminated by the same very forces who pretended to be his friends.

“While I accept that the unfortunate denial of his mandate amounted to a subversion of the will of the Nigerian people, I was petrified that if Abiola got killed, it could lead to a civil war.

“Having participated in one civil war, with all its horrors, pains, and devastation, I wasn’t prepared to see another,” he said.

Babangida also expressed relief that President Muhammadu Buhari has since recognised Abiola’s victory by honouring him with the nation’s highest title, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), a distinction reserved for presidents.

“I am gratified that the Buhari administration finally recognised MKO Abiola as a ‘former head of state.’ Because it allows us to see things we wish we could change and say. As I said above, hindsight is helpful, but it can also be painful.”

The former military president also disclosed that former military leader Gen. Sani Abacha was behind the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election in Nigeria. Following this annulment, Abacha, who was then Chief of Defence Staff, orchestrated a coup that led him to seize power in November 1993, ultimately becoming Nigeria’s military head of state.

Recounting what led to the annulment, Babangida said: “(NBA), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Women in Nigeria (WIN), and the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), almost overwhelmed by a looming national crisis of unimaginable dimension, I withdrew to my home in Minna to reflect and hold a series of meetings with various people, within and outside the military, on the situation, oblivious that something even more severe and sinister was about to happen.

“On the morning of June 23, I left Abuja for Katsina to commiserate with the Yar’Adua family over the death of their patriarch, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua. 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 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 ‘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.”

The June 12 election is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s fairest and freest elections, and Babangida’s admission adds a new layer of significance to its legacy.