Despite the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, a former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, has admitted that the poll was the most credible in the history of Nigeria.
He also opened up on why a former Minister of FCT, Gen. Mamman Vatsa, was killed after his involvement in a 1995 coup d’etat.
He said his hands were tied by military law which was inevitably applied by his regime.
Babangida bared his mind in an interview with Zero Tolerance Magazine, which is a publication of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He spoke on the poll annulment and military intrigues while he was in power.
The annulled poll was won by the late business mogul, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, who later died in detention while struggling to reclaim his mandate.
Babangida said: “Yes, it (June 12) is a day in the history of Nigeria and the day the most credible election was held.
“We gave you a lot of reasons but I understood the passion. At that time, everybody was fed up. The sentiment was: just pack your things and go. Our thought process is very limited.
“First of all, on June 23, 1993, I was on the air and I told Nigerians why we had to do what we did but I was sensible enough to know that whatever I said nobody was interested. So, the important thing is get out.”
He admitted that the annulment was supported by some Nigerians and pro-June 12 activists.
He added: “I hate to say it but when we annulled June 12, the same Nigerians supported the intervention of the military, true or false?
“True because you saw it, you are old enough. All those who fought for June 12 ended up serving the military government they didn’t like and that perpetuated a longer stay of the military in government.”
Asked why he used the phrase ‘step aside’ to leave power in 1993, Babangida said it was a military parlance.
“Everyone of you though that I was not keeping pace with the Nigerian dream. We have a tradition in the military. If you are marching in a column, when they say left, you should obey the command. If you right foot, somebody will shout at you because you are affecting the column, you should step aside so that the column will continue. That was what I did.”
On why Vatsa was despite his claim that he forgives easily, Babangida said he was hamstrung by the law.
He added: “Because others before him faced the same law, the only change in that law was introduced by us to give room for appeal.
“If I was involved in that coup and it flopped, I would have been shot too. So it is the application of the law but then it is painful.
“We made the law, others suffered the consequences.”
Responding to a question, Babangida said the military indulged in coup d’etat each time there was frustration in the society.
He, however, described military interregnum as a phase that the country was going through at that time.
He said: “No, let me give you a lesson today. A coup or change comes about if there is frustration in the society, just get that right. There was frustration in the society between 1984 and 1985; the ground was fertile for a coup.
“It wasn’t fertile, thanks be to God, in December 1985 when the first attempt on me was made, neither was it fertile in April 1990 when the second attempt was made and we had the support of all of you sitting down here.”
Source: The Nation
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