Former military President Ibrahim Babangida has been criticised for saying the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, would have been overthrown if he had been allowed to assume power.
An ex-Personal Assistant to Abiola, Chief Lisa Akerele, who said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, described Babangida’s reason as unintelligent.
Babangida had claimed in an interview he granted a news magazine that Abiola’s regime would not have lasted more than the three months the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government stayed in power if he had allowed the late businessman and politician to assume power.
But Akerele said he had thought that the former dictator would have given Nigerians cogent reasons for hurting them unnecessarily by annuling the election.
He said, “We thought that 18 years after dashing the hope of millions of Nigerians he (Babangida) would now have a more convincing reason for his illegitimate and coward action.
“But it is unfortunate that he (Babangida) is still singing the same old song. Well, Nigerians know that his he is not a happy man and that his conscience is pricking him daily because of the injustice he meted out to them.
“It is not too late for him to actually look back and apologise for the wrongs he had done his fellow Nigerians. If he could do this, I know he would be forgiven and he would also have a peace of mind.
“Without this, I do not know if he would go to bed a happy man. At 70, he should not be ashamed to say he was sorry for his wrong actions. That is one of the qualities of a good leader.”
On the rift between Babangida and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Akerele said there was no need for Nigerians to intervene because the two former leaders contributed to the annulment of the election.
He said Nigerians should allow the two generals to fight, adding that such a disagreement would unearth many things they had done together to the detriment of the country.
By Olusola Fabiyi Courtesy Of: Punch
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