Jamiu Abiola, Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Linguistics and Foreign Affairs, has strongly criticized former military Head of State Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) for claiming that the late dictator Sani Abacha was responsible for annulling MKO Abiola's victory in the 1993 presidential election.
Abiola, who is the son of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, described Babangida's claim as "tales by moonlight" during an interview on Channels Television.
"He (IBB) mentioned that the election was annulled by General Abacha but all of that is tales by moonlight," Jamiu stated, questioning why IBB only recently admitted in his book "A Journey in Service" that Abiola won the 1993 presidential election.
Challenging IBB's Narrative
The presidential aide questioned why IBB did not speak up after Abacha's death in 1997 when General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over power.
"If that was the case, nothing stopped him from bringing up that when General Abacha died, to General Abdulsalami, who is also from Niger State and a good friend of his, to say: 'I was forced to annul this election because General Abacha wanted to kill MKO Abiola,'" Jamiu argued.
He further questioned why his father was not allowed proper medical attention after Abacha's death. "Now, MKO Abiola is in jail. Why don't you release him to get a medical checkup as opposed to him eventually dying in jail?"
Historical Context
Following the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, MKO Abiola was arrested and imprisoned for allegedly attempting to overthrow the military regime. Abacha died on June 8, 1997, while Abiola died in custody on July 7 of the same year.
Jamiu suggested that even if IBB didn't want to reverse the annulment during Abdulsalami's regime, he could have at least advocated for his father's medical release. "Even if he didn't tell Abdulsalami to de-annul the election, at least let him go to have a medical checkup and Abacha was dead. If Abacha was the problem, they could have come up with the result."
"This result that was announced in his book could have been announced when General Abdulsalami came into power and they could have allowed him to get a medical checkup. Maybe he would have survived," Jamiu concluded.
The June 12, 1993 presidential election, widely considered Nigeria's freest and fairest election at the time, remains a significant moment in the country's democratic journey. President Bola Tinubu has previously conferred posthumous honors on Abiola and others associated with the historic election.
Follow BenriNews on social media for more updates:
