Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida: Offloading heavy burden on him at last

“An exciting and inspiring future awaits you beyond the noise in your mind, beyond the guilt, doubt, fear, shame, insecurity, and heaviness of the past you carry around.” 

—Debbie Ford

By Cosmas Omegoh

Former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd), left the world in stitches last Thursday following his admission that the late Chief MKO Abiola won the annulled 1993 presidential election fair and square.

At the presentation of his autobiography entitled: “A journey in Service,” in Abuja, the man, fondly called IBB, expressed regret over the annulment of the poll, which was adjudged to be the freest, fairest and most credible in Nigeria’s political history .

The General’s revelation 32 years after, officially explained his position on who he believed won the contest.

IBB’s outpouring is one that has clearly left opinions sharply divided, leaving the people  intensively and extensively engaging the issue at every turn. And as it stands, the debate will not go away soon – not even when anyone might think it will.

IBB is dubbed a dribbler. That was a rare skill which earned him the moniker – Maradona – after the late Argentine football maestro, Diego Maradona.

So, many people believe he has once again left Nigerians with so much to chew and be busy with in the days ahead.

The IBB event was every inch a gathering of the crème de la crème in Nigeria. It attracted former military and civilian heads of state, among them, Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalam Abubakar, as well as former President Goodluck Jonathan, and the incumbent President, Bola Tinubu.

There were also eminent traditional and religious leaders, as well as captains of industry.

General Muhammadu Buhari sent in his representatives.

The presentation of the 420-page memoir climaxed with the revelation that Chief MKO Abiola was the winner of the 1993 poll, which annulment reverberated across the country in 1993 and thereafter.

The book reviewer, and former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, set the stage by echoing IBB’s sentiments that the late Chief Abiola was the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential  contest.

Osinbajo quoting from the book said: “There is no doubt in my mind; MKO won the election. He satisfied all the requirements.”

Two candidates: Chief Abiola who was the standard bearer of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) took part in the epic two-horse contest.

When IBB eventually took to the podium, he finally validated the truth people knew, but which they had left in the realm of conjecture till now.

IBB while admitting his mistake noted: “Although I am on record to have stated after the election that Abiola may not have won the election, upon deeper reflection and a closer examination of all the available facts, particularly the detailed election results…, there was no doubt that MKO Abiola won the June 12 election.

“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 the 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.”

The then electoral umpire, the late Prof Humphrey Nwosu was already on his way to announcing the result when he was halted. That was how the 1993 presidential election ended as a road not taken.

The outcome of that development was seismic.

IBB had admitted that the poll was: “Undoubtedly credible, free and fair…

“However, the tragic irony of history remains that the administration that devised a near-perfect electoral system and conducted those near-perfect elections could not complete the process.

“That accident of history is most regrettable. The nation is entitled to expect my impression of regret.

“As a leader of the military administration, I accept full responsibility for all decisions taken under my watch. And June 12 happened under my watch; mistakes, oversights and missteps happened in quick succession, but I say in my book, in all matters, we acted in the supreme national interest so that Nigeria could survive.”

He also added a twist by shifting the blame for what went down to the late General Sani Abacha,  claiming that Abacha had become a major force in a “factionalised” military and it was difficult to remove him when the military president left office.

“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,” he said.

Expectedly, torrents of reactions have trailed the IBB revelations. Looking at them so far, it seems that he has received more jeers than cheers.

Speaking with tongue in cheek, President Tinubu said he was “glad about the revelation of June 12,” preferring to add: “Let me say thank you for everything, for who you are, what you are, and how you have contributed to the history of this great country.

“My General, we will not forget to pray for you. I listened to you carefully, …without you, people like me will not be in politics. I thank you for your progressive revolution.”

Tinubu was part of the National Democratic Coalition NADECO) that fought for the restoration of the Abiola mandate at that time.

Those against IBB on the night were vehement that following the huge donations made at the book launch to fund his proposed Presidential Library, Nigeria had rewarded wrong doing.

Some insist that what went down in 1993, and the way the country had taken it remain a sad testament that Nigerians are not a serious people.

Yet, some persons have continued to wonder why IBB chose to blame Abacha knowing full well that he was no longer around to speak for himself.

On the flip side, some persons have continued to commend IBB as one of the most charismatic leaders to ever rule Nigeria, citing his many legacy projects across the country.

They commended him for speaking out as that is the way to go rather than allowing the nation to grope in the dark with regard to his past deeds. According to them, IBB had successfully offloaded the burden that people believe had weighed heavily on his weary heart. They challenge those still trudging through the land to say the roles they played in the Nigeria-Biafra Civil war and other vexing issues that have left the country a shadow of itself.