By
Rahman Owokoniran
Retired General IBB’s confirmation of the well-known fact that Chief MKO Abiola won the election of June 12, 1993, is no surprise to the public at this point. It makes no difference that he lends his voice to this universally-accepted truth 31 years later.
After all, what accolades will any scientist expect today to announce his great “discovery” that the earth revolves around the sun?
However, IBB laying the blame on someone else for his annulment of the election is simply disingenious. The man at whose desk the buck stops is passing the buck. Alas!
Of what use was the Supreme Military Council to have made a decision that could not be implemented? Totally unacceptable.
I believe that he should have told us that there was no such decision to hand over the government to a civilian administration. After all, IBB asked to be addressed as President Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda (indicative of ‘democratic’ leadership) as opposed to being addressed as General Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda. He and his evil co-travellers simply sold a dummy to the nation, and it boomeranged.
My take is that they were not ready to transfer power to the civilians because I believe that they anticipated a victory by Bashir Tofa, a local champion who would have been easily displaced should Abiola refuse to accept the election result and contest it.
Babangida should have allowed the matter to rest because President Buhari had already settled it when he officially acknowledged the posthumous victory of Chief MKO Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, and declared the day a public holiday.
RAHMAN OWOKONIRAN WRITES FROM LAGOS
