Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has come under the verbal scrutiny of Nigerians following his gargantuan confession regarding the annulment of the 1993 general election, among other revelations of national concern. By all standards, it’s the case of a poultry farmer stripping his hens of their feathers and yet feeding them with crumbs of corn, to, of course, come off as responsible and affectionate. A broad spectrum of Nigerians believes that the 1993 election represented a paradigm shift in the political trajectory of the country, especially given the free, fair, and credible manner in which it was conducted. However, emerging results proved otherwise, indicating that some form of untold “politricks” had occurred in secrecy.
In his autobiography, Babangida revealed that the untold “politricks” involved what I describe as the “dance of the masquerade,” orchestrated by himself and his cohorts under the guise of electoral irregularities.This confession, juxtaposed with a post by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 12 2018, corroborated a fact that Nigerians had known for a long time: the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party won in twenty states, while his opponent, Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention only secured eleven states, with the highest percentage emerging from Imo State at 48.86%. Nigerians were aware of this, but, as it were, were too overwhelmed with anxiety to voice their concerns for fear of having their heads on the chopping block. In an attempt to give the victor-turned-victim a consolatory pat on the back, former President Muhammadu Buhari bestowed a posthumous award on the late Abiolaโan action that, if words were allowed to flow freely, is synonymous with the case of “medicine after death.” Of what use is a GCFR honor to a dead man?
The shameless revelation not only indicated that Nigerians were robbed of the leadership of a credible leader, but also that Abiola was denied his constitutional right to lead as the people’s choice. No matter how much we shield it, we cannot ignore the fact that the nation is still battling the ripple effects of the havoc the situation wreaked, as that was the fairest, freest, and most credible election the nation has ever had. Our almighty democracy couldn’t salvage the situation, as the SDP’s representative, MKO Abiola, was detained after declaring himself president in 1994. It was in this prison that Abiola, the man of the people, died.
The show of shame, to say the least, has earned IBB a brand new name as a credible leader and a 17-billion naira profit at the launch of his autobiography. This, to state unequivocally, is an irredeemable blow to democracy. So much from a man who executed a friend who planned a coup against his government in the name of national security but couldn’t uphold the true results of an election for the sake of the same national security. Spell hypocrisy! The number of lives that were lost, along with the death of the people’s choice, were dismissed by Nigerians who sat on their asses and smiled away time as they did justice to the book review. None could call out the brutality of the man who went to the lengths of publishing the real election results 32 wholesome years after, without any atom of courtesy for those who lost their lives in the process.
The rather late confession and the seemingly obvious fact that Babangida might escape the jaws of the law have left many wondering how many more elections have been annulled in this manner. Will there still be future confessions in perhaps 32 years’ time by the so-called democratic leaders who appear to uphold the principles of democracy before the public but do the exact opposite in secret? Who will publish his autobiography in, say, 2050, to let us know the hard truths behind Boko Haram’s funding, the death of Yar’Adua that still remains shrouded in secrecy, the abduction of the Chibok girls, the money-swallowing snake, the 2023 general election, and other matters of national concern that hands might be too weak to type?
Nigeria, I hail thee!
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