Former President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida says he hopes, someday, the mystery behind the murder of Dele Giwa, the late editor of Newswatch will be uncovered. The former military leader also said he accepts full responsibility for the annulment of the results of the election won by Moshood Abiola, 33 years after the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Speaking Thursday at the public presentation of his autobiography, in Abuja, Babangida said he takes full responsibility for whatever happened, as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief, adding that the” military underestimated the consequences of the action”.
The former President, while also speaking on the death of Dele Giwa, denied any involvement of the government, saying that he expected that one day the truth would be uncovered.
He said: “The hysteria of the media did not help the investigation of the Giwa murder. As is typical of the Nigerian media, the direction was marked by an adversarial attitude towards government which had remained the hallmark of the Nigerian media from its colonial heydays.
“It was an attitude of ‘we versus the government’ that has remained today. It is a situation in which the government is adjudged guilty even before the evidence in a case is adduced.
“When the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the Giwa case at the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, I expected that the police and lawyers would come forward with new evidence as to their findings on the Giwa murder over the years.
“Nothing of such happened. The Giwa, like all mysterious murders, has remained unsolved after so many years. I keep hoping will be uncovered in our life time or after us. More often than not, mysterious crimes are solved long after their commission.”
Accepts responsibility for June 12 annulment
The former military leader, used to opportunity of the unveiling of the autobiography, ‘titled “A Journey in Service'”, to admit that Abiola won the election.
“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.
Read also: MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election – Babangida
“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.
“I am gratified that the Buhari administration finally recognised
MKO Abiola as a ‘former head of state.”
He described the annulment as a shocking and regrettable moment in Nigeria’s history.”
According to him, : “There were no questions that mistakes were made in the handling of the June 12 elections and their aftermath, for which I take full responsibility as President and Commander-in-Chief. One of my biggest mistakes was failing to firmly secure the support and firm commitment of my military colleagues to the Transition programme from the beginning.
“We completely underestimated the deep opposition to the civil rule within the military top hierarchy. We underestimated the damage that the extended stay in the political arena, with all its perks, had done to the military psyche and the psychological shock that would accompany an eventual withdrawal from much temptingly appealing political positions.
“We further underestimated what it would take to return the military to the barracks and its non political and non partisan role.
“Looking back now, the June 12 saga was undeniably the most challenging moment of my life and in certain respects, one of the most painful. I don’t remember who first said that ‘sometimes, life can only be understood backwards ”
“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.”
He revealed that the annulment of the election also nearly cost him his life.
Babangida revealed how on the morning of June 23, 1993, he had traveled from Abuja to Katsina to condole with the Yar’Adua family following the death of their patriarch, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua. While there, he received an alarming report that the June 12 election 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 (National Electoral Commission)!” he wrote.
He noted that he was particularly disturbed by the unceremonious manner in which the announcement was 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,” he stated.
Prior to the announcement, Babangida admitted that various options were being considered following the deadlock in announcing the election results, including the possibility of fresh elections.
However, he insisted that outright annulment was only one of several possibilities.
“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!’”
It was only later, he disclosed, that he realized the annulment was carried out by powerful elements within his administration, led by Abacha who was his minister of defence.
“There and then, I knew I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea!” he wrote.
Babangida acknowledged that the election, which was widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest, took a “painful twist” from that moment, and he ultimately bore the responsibility for what transpired.
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