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IBB: FROM ANNULMENT TO ATONEMENT
For 32 years since he annulled the June 12 1993 presidential election won by his late friend, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the silence maintained by the former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, had been interpreted variously.
Of course, his silence neither meant consent nor denial. But it had remained the very sore point even after the nation had tried to move past the June 12 episode, albeit not forgotten. June 12 remains a watershed in the annals of the nation’s body politic.
Year in, year out, many Nigerians had not only demanded an apology from IBB as the former leader is otherwise called; they also wanted him to admit his wrong on June 12 and then go ahead to atone for it.
But like a military tactician, who understood when to move forward or and beat a retreat, IBB refused to dignify any of the demands, many of them attacks on his person, with a response.
Even where he was believed to have been boxed to a corner in an interview, he always consciously refrained from any debate pertaining to the annulment of the June 12 presidential election.
While he had also played hide and seek in the last 32 years, one thing also stood the IBB leadership out. Much as he would not encourage a debate around the June 12 annulment, deliberately, he also did not shift blame or toss it around. He took responsibility and perhaps, waited till yesterday for a closure.
The likelihood that the decision to annul the June 12 presidential election was not solely IBB’s, is high, given the nature of the military leadership at the time, which always deferred to its supreme body.
Each of his interviews preceding yesterday on his days in office also left a clue about the discomfort and emotional trauma he not only suffered but has had to endure over that singular action that almost cancel out the nation called Nigeria.
For a man, whose regime, in spite of its inadequacies, embodied staggering legacies of monumental proportion, the June 12 episode was a huge blight that had reduced him significantly.
This is because, not only was the election considered the freest and fairest in Africa annulled without any justification, a lot of innocent lives were lost to the movement for the actualisation of the Abiola mandate.
Although these crimes were not directly committed under his government, the fact that he paved the way for the murderous regime of General Sani Abacha to find its way to leadership, made him complicit, and he bore the pains of these events till yesterday, when he finally drew curtains on the June 12 episode.
IBB’s admission came at the launch of his autobiography, ‘A Journey In Service’, in Abuja, yesterday. In the 420-page book, Babangida devoted a page to the transition from military rule to democracy and the June 12 chronicle.
His words: “Although I’m on record to have admitted after the election that Abiola may have not won the election, upon deeper reflections, and a close examination of all available facts, particularly, the detailed election results which I published as an appendix to this book.
“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 in the country, it was clear that he satisfied the two main constitutional requirements for winning the presidential election.
“Mainly the majority votes and the geographical spread, having obtained 8,128,720 votes against Tofa’s 5,84,8247 votes and securing the mandatory one third of the vote cast in 28 states of the federation, including Abuja.”
According to him, he was pleased when “the (Muhammadu) Buhari administration finally recognised Abiola as a former head of state of Nigeria.
“Looking back now, the June 12 saga was undoubtedly the most challenging moment of my life and in certain respects, one of the most painful. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it differently.”
IBB described the annulment of the election as an “accident of history” that was “most regrettable”, stressing that, “The nation is expected to expect my impression of regret.
“As the leader of the military administration, I accept full responsibility for all decisions taken under my watch and June 12 happened under my watch. Oversights and mistakes happened in quick succession.”
Eighty-four years old this August 17, IBB is in the twilight of his days, and it is evident that the most important thing to him at this moment is, doing right by others and making up for his past mistakes as much as possible.
This, nonetheless, one major takeaway from his book launch, yesterday, was the quality of persons, who honoured him, including many of those who protested against the June 12 annulment.
Clearly, this was proof that while many of them could see through his obvious failings, they could not, in good conscience, deny his contributions to the growth and development of the social unit called Nigeria.
From the economy of Nigeria to her politics and even the advancement of her social space, IBB had his footprints across the spectra, many of which are still abiding till date.
Intelligent and detribalised, IBB, as president, was intentional about Nigeria’s unity in diversity and did a lot to the best of his ability to hold the nation together until the indiscretion of the June 12 annulment.
It will, therefore, be cheeky to look away from the groundswell of his good deeds and keep judging him by June 12 alone. The human in him, which erred by annulling the June 12 election, has paved the way for a divine intervention, which yesterday sought atonement, and forgiveness.
If it has pleased God to keep IBB and preserve him till this day, in spite of all that he has had to endure on account of his own doings, then it is hard to put his quest for forgiveness at this time past the universe.
It goes without saying that the annulment of the June 12 presidential election was a painful and thoughtless decision, perhaps, borne out of sheer arrogance in power.
But IBB’s resolve to put down his pride and seek the collective forgiveness of his dear native land, gives the June 12 experience a whole new meaning about a people bound together in love, even though they differ in tribe and tongue.
