Why I Annulled June 12 Election – Babangida

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), former head of state, has given important insight into the happenings that characterised the famous June 12 general election.

Babangida disclosed his reasons for annulling the poll.

Babangida inexplicably nullified the June 12, 1993 general election which was deemed by most Nigerians and foreign observers as the most credible poll in the country’s history.

The election was contested between Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

It was widely believed that the candidate of the SDP was leading by wide margin when Babangida ordered the discontinuation of announcement of results and subsequently annulled the election.

The former dictator, to date, has been maligned and vilified by Nigerians, especially those of Yoruba extraction, who still harbour deep resentment towards him for thwarting the ascension of one of their own to the highest public office in the country.

He has, however, cleared the air on what led to the abrupt cancellation of the general election.

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Babangida, while speaking with Arise TV on Friday, revealed that the annulment of the election was aimed at forestalling a coup that was in the offing.

He said if the election had materialised there would have been a violent coup which will disrupt the applecart and throw the country into turmoil.

“If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’etat — which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm,” he said.

“It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country.”

He said the pressure was from both within the military and outside the military.

“Both. The military can do it because they have the weapons to do it, and others (civil society groups) can use agitation,” Babangida said.

Speaking on how he got the nicknames of “evil genius” and “Maradona”, the former head of state said the sobriquets were creation of the media because of his adroit political maneuvers.

“That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people, you have to anticipate them. If you anticipate them then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction — you can’t be evil and then a genius,” he said.

“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it.”

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