Finally, IBB admits MKO Abiola won June 12, 1993 presidential election

.Politicians divided on relevance of IBB’s submission 32yrs after

.Babangida’s regret on annulment of poll ineffectual, too late—Afenifere

.Says cancellation genesis of contemporary afflictions

.As Dele Momodu, Shehu Sanni hail ex-Military President’s acceptance of wrong doing

.Chekwas Okorie says confession a vindication of Prof Humphrey Nwosu

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI, Lagos, IGNATIUS OKOROCHA, Abuja,  TUNDE ADELEKE, Osogbo

 

Former military Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB on Thursday, expressed regret over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, describing it the most difficult period of his life.

 

Babangida said this at the official launch of his memoir, ‘A Journey in Service,’ in Abuja which was attended by President Bola Tinubu and former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice Presidents, Governors and other prominent Nigerians.

 

The June 12 election, won by businessman and politician, Moshood Abiola, is considered Nigeria’s freest and fairest election.

 

Babangida said, “Undoubtedly credible, free and fair elections were held in June, on June 12, 1993.

 

“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.”

 

He added, “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.

 

“Our nation’s march to democracy was interrupted, a fact that I deeply regret. But Nigeria and democracy is still alive, a testament to commitment.”

 

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also rehashed Babangida’s words while reviewing the book.

 

“June 12 elections was the most challenging of my life. If have to do it all over again, I’ll do it differently,” Osinbajo said quoting a section from the book.

 

Reflecting on his decision to annul the June 12 election, widely regarded as the most credible in the country’s history, Babangida admitted that if given another chance, he would have handled the situation differently.

 

However, Babangida annulled the results, citing concerns over national security.

When contacted, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organization, Afenifere,  is of the opinion that the regret being expressed by former President Ibrahim Babangida on the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election was ineffectual and far too late.

According to Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, Babangida’s  expression of regret presently can be seen as an effort at changing the narrative in town.

“Desirable and perhaps  inevitable as his regret might be, the damage done to the Nigeria Nation and the people can never be attenuated by a million expressions of regret or even apology. Doing so at this twilight of his life can be regarded as an effort at  making Nigerians to sympathize with him and for history to be kind to him. Unfortunately, things don’t work that way.”

Ajayi added that Babangida’s description of the annulment as a ‘tragic irony of history’ is inexplicable.

“The course of history at that time was that Nigeria was to have a President who got a mandate from all parts  of the country. For reasons that were certainly self-serving and unpatriotic, the then government decided to annull the free and fair election. Where is the ‘tragic irony of history’ in this? Irony of a self-inflicted pain?  The only irony that can be talked about here is that a government that initiated and conducted the freest election in the country was the one that annulled the said election”.

Afenifere spokesman maintained that besides the military incursion into the political arena and the three-year civil war, the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election has had the most devastating effect on Nigeria. “Its negative impact is still being felt even now. This is because the country would have avoided most of the tragic incidents that had befallen it since then”.

He concluded by adding that the insurgency that had been ravaging the land for years too would most likely not have happened at all had the winner of the election, Chief MKO Abiola, allowed to govern”.

In his reaction, Senator Shehu Sanni noted, “Today, the former Military President IBB launched his autobiography and Library of which I was privileged to attend. It’s commendable that he finally recognized that MKO won the 1993 June 12 elections.

He however stated, “Sadly, Gani, Beko, Fasheun, Chima Ubani and other activists, journalists and unionists who led the struggle and made sacrifices for its validation have passed on. Now that the truth is out 32 years after, I hope that history will be kind to him.

 

“No former President can write a Book about everything he knew or did while in office, but can write a Book about everything he wants you to know. Not everyone will be pleased by the content of the Book and there will certainly be criticisms, but for the record, he has told his own side of the story for the judgement of posterity.”

Also speaking on TVC, the publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu despite the ill-treatment the former President did to him, he had forgiven him a long time ago.

“We must respect his decision, I’m happy he has taken full responsibility. I don’t think we have recovered from the damage, we missed the opportunity.

“Today, we are still taking about religion, tribe and ethnicity, that election would have sealed that. When it comes to elections, politicians woiod use divide and rule but Abiola was a true Nigerian.”

Responding if he had forgiven him over his incanceration by IBB’s regime, Momodu said, “I have forgiven him long time ago, I’m a Christian and that is what holy books preach. As a disciple of Abiola, Abiola forgives easily and I follow his trajectory religiously.”

 

Also, Pioneer chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)Chief Chekwas Okorie reacted to General IBB’s validation of Chief MKO Abiola as winner of June 12 presidential election thus:

 

“Let me say that it is a vindication of Professor Humphrey Nwosu, former INEC chairman,who is yet to be thanked for conducting a transparent election and announcing the right result but had to go through all sorts of humiliation.

 

“It is also a vindication that the late MKO Abiola truly won the election and the peoples mandate for him was denied.

 

“The third one is that all those who protested and demonstrated and some of those that died in the process of defending Chief Abiola’s mandate died for a good cause because they died defending the truth..

 

“Now having said that, I will proceed to say that IBB should thank his God that he lived long enough to have the courage to own up to what he did that was obviously wrong,” he said.

 

Continuing Chief Okorie said,”He accepted responsibility being the commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces at the time and he said he regretted it based on his words.

 

“He further said that if what happened were to happen again his actions would have been different.

 

“All these are statements of fact and I am happy that he was able to do it while he is still alive. It is left for God who has the ultimate power to forgive to forgive him and that also is a lesson to everybody that the only thing  that can never perish is the truth. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, even if you try to bury the truth sometime either in your life time or later the truth will still speak out and that is what happened today.

 

“So, very historic thing happened. In the book itself which I will try and lay hands on. He was detailed enough to remark on those that could be held responsible for the decision he took but those are the details which can be found in the book but this is what I could lay hands on.”

 

 

Also reacting,  The Chairman, Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC), Waheed Lawal, has described General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s (IBB) validation of the June 12, 1993 elections as an afterthought.

 

Speaking with Daily Champion, on Thursday, he stated that the former Head of State should not be taken seriously, following his pronouncement.

 

Recall that the former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida on Thursday, expressed regret over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, describing it the most difficult period of his life.

 

He said, “It’s an afterthought and nobody should take Babangida seriously, in 1993 people went out en masse to elect their president but you annulled it, and you are coming out now to validate it, it is an afterthought.”