Sowore Accuses Ex-Dictator Babangida Of Using June 12 Election Admission To Raise Funds For ‘Presidential Library’
Sowore said Babangida’s recent acknowledgment that the election, won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, was free and fair is merely a tactic to secure funds.
Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has accused former military dictator, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), of exploiting the June 12, 1993, presidential election controversy for financial gain.
Sowore said Babangida’s recent acknowledgment that the election, won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, was free and fair is merely a tactic to secure funds.
The Babangida regime annulled the election, triggering a crisis that led to numerous deaths.
Sowore made these remarks during a live interview on Arise News TV on Tuesday night, monitored by SaharaReporters.
“There was no transition. He did not have any plan to transition Nigeria into democracy. We forced him to do so eventually. And by the time he did, the damage had been done,” Sowore said.
“You are asking me what stood out in the book, nothing! Except for those who were not born or who did not know about him. This may sound strange to them that he finally said that ‘Oh you know, the June 12 election was free and fair.’
“We knew that 32 years ago. No, he did not need to say that (confirming the credibility of Abiola’s election). We knew that already. I personally interviewed Prof. Humphrey Nwosu in New York, and it is on the internet, on YouTube, and he admitted it. He said he knew. Everybody knew that Abiola won the election.”
Sowore further claimed that Babangida’s admission was motivated by personal financial interests, specifically to fund his planned presidential library.
“He is saying it now because it is lucrative. He wanted to use it to raise money for a presidential library, which is a scam because he (IBB) was never a Nigerian President. How can somebody who was not elected have a Presidential Library?” he added.
The June 12, 1993, presidential election is widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election, won by business mogul Abiola.
However, Babangida, who was the military head of state at the time, annulled the results, plunging the country into a political crisis that led to his resignation in August 1993. The annulment sparked nationwide protests, leading to the arrest and eventual death of Abiola while in detention under the Sani Abacha regime.
For decades, Babangida avoided direct confirmation of Abiola’s victory, often citing vague national security concerns as the reason for the annulment.
However, during the launch of his book in Lagos last week, the former military ruler finally admitted that the election was indeed free and fair, acknowledging Abiola’s victory publicly for the first time.
During the book launch, Babangida blamed Abacha for the annulment. His remarks were met with scepticism and backlash from pro-democracy activists and critics, including Sowore.
Sowore’s fiery response underscores the lingering anger many Nigerians still feel about the annulment of an election that could have set the country on a different democratic trajectory.
