Former military dictator, Retired General Ibrahim Babangida, has said that fear of a violent coup de’tat made him annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Moshood Abiola.
Babangida, in an interview on Arise TV Thursday morning, gave it as what he called “the reason” when he was confronted with the question on what many regards as the criminal annulment of the free and fair election.
He added that the election “could have given room for more instability in the country.”
Babangida, who later metamorphosised into a military president, resorted to revisionism in attempt to explain the reason for the annulment of an election widely considered to be the best in the history of Nigeria.
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He responded by saying; “Do you want me to be honest with you?”
When Ngozi, the interviewer, gave a nod, he said: “If it materialised [that is, if the election had gone through], there would have been a coup d’état which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm.
“It didn’t happen, thank God for the Maradonic way we handled you guys in the society.”
When asked if he was pressured by the military or civilians to annul the election, the ex-military ruler said: “Both.”
According to him: “Both. The Military, they can do it because they have the weapons to do it. The other is the social agitation.”
It would be recalled that the Babangida-led military government shocked the world on 24 June 1993, when it announced the annulment of the June 12 presidential election.
Abiola defeated Bashir Tofa, candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC), in the results declared in the 30 states and Abuja.
Abiola was already known as the winner, while what the electoral commission was doing in Abuja was a mere tabulation of the results declared in the states.
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The commission was in the process of completing the ritual when an annulment was announced on radio.
The statement was not signed by anyone.
With public outcry, his government attempted to taint the election, by citing unproven allegations of vote-buying and other electoral irregularities.
The annulment led to protests and political unrest, including the resignation of IBB and the enthronement of a weak interim civilian government, which eventually culminated in a coup by General Sani Abacha and eight more years of military rule.
The Buhari administration, however, confirmed Abiola’s victory in 2018, when he awarded him a posthumous Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR, an honour reserved for heads of state.
