The son of the late MKO Abiola and Kudirat Abiola, Abdulmumuni Abiola, has said that it is healing for the Nigerian people that former military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, on Thursday, expressed regret over the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, acknowledging that the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, MKO Abiola, won the poll.
Admitting his error, the ex-military leader said, “Although I am on record to have stated after the election that Abiola may not have won the election, upon deeper reflection and a closer examination of all the available facts, particularly the detailed election results…there was no doubt that MKO Abiola won the June 12 election.
“Upon closer examination of the original collated figures from the 110,000 polling booths nationwide, it was clear that he satisfied the two main constitutional requirements for winning the presidential elections, mainly majority votes and geographical spread, having obtained 8,128,720 votes against Tofa’s 5,848,247 votes and securing the mandatory one-third of the votes cast in 28 states of the federation, including Abuja.”
“That accident of history is most regrettable. The nation is entitled to expect my impression of regret,” said Babangida.
He also expressed regret that the country’s democratic progress was interrupted, yet emphasised that both Nigeria and its democracy endure.
“As a leader of the military administration, I accept full responsibility for all decisions taken under my watch. And June 12 happened under my watch; mistakes, oversights and missteps happened in quick succession, but I say in my book, in all matters, we acted in the supreme national interest so that Nigeria could survive.
“Our nation’s march to democracy was interrupted, a fact I deeply regret. But Nigeria’s democracy is still alive, a testament to commitment,” he noted.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Abdulmumuni said, Babangida’s admission of Abiola’s victory and his remorse for the annulment validate the long-held truth about the election.
He said, “In the revelations that we heard from the late head of state yesterday, there were two parts for me. The first part was the acknowledgement that Abiola, my father, had won the 1993 elections. That, for me, I already knew that. And it was, for me, even from the young age of eight when the elections were held, I knew my father had won the elections even before they were announced.
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“I think the second part was more important for me, the acknowledgement that he felt remorse for the actions that he had taken at the time and also his expression that if he had the opportunity to do it again, he would have taken a different path. I think it’s important that we understand that we’re human and it’s in humans to error and what we need to do is to acknowledge when we make those mistakes and seek forgiveness. So, for me, I think that was more important to me, the fact that he expressed that remorse towards the decision that he had made.”
Regarding Babangida’s admission, Abdulmumuni went on to say, “I think this also was good because once he announced it, he had put the matter to rest. Now, the issue is that he was the head of state at the time and now that he has announced that Abiola had won the elections, he has basically put that matter to rest.
“We now basically know that Abiola did win, and he won across Nigeria. We can talk about Abiola as the figurehead of the June 12th struggle, but what we need to understand is that the Nigerian people were the ones who gave him that mandate and they were the ones who believed in his vision. So, this is also healing for the Nigerian people as well to hear the head of state at the time say those words.”
Reflecting on the personal and national trauma caused by the annulment, Abdulmumuni said, “When we look at the events of June 12 1993, it brings up a lot of emotions for me. I remember after the election was annulled, I remember my father struggling to get his mandate, struggling to get justice for what he assumed was the wrongful annulment of the election. It proceeded for him to get arrested. He eventually lost his life. At the time when he had gotten arrested, my mom had come out and tried to get him released, and ended up losing her life. So, I know what was lost. I lost a companion in my mother, I lost a guardian, I lost a protector.
“I basically became an orphan based on that event or that era. You see, I’ve always lived a life, my father was one to always turn your other cheek, in my religion it talks about forgiveness. It talks about forgiving not necessarily for the perpetrator’s sake, but for your sake so you can actually move on. And I think that this was traumatic for the Abiola family, but it was also traumatic for the Nigerian people as well. You mentioned some of your colleagues, their experiences around that time and how they were so afraid. It was uncertain, the future was uncertain for a bunch of Nigerians. We lost a lot of great Nigerian people who felt that Nigeria was not redeemable and they left the country. There was a lot of brain drain in that period as well.
“So I know that there’s a lot of trauma that has come out, and I don’t think that there will be anything that can be said or done to alleviate that stress. What I’ve tried to do in my life and in moving forward, especially as you can’t change the past, but we can only focus on the future. I’ve tried to not dwell on it, I’ve acknowledged what had happened in the past, but not dwell on it and just try to see how I can use this anger, hurt, and frustration in a way that is productive and moves the nation forward. I think that we can all sit here and talk about all the things that have gone wrong, but we have a nation to run. And we have issues that are pertinent at this time.”
Abdulmumuni then stressed the need to channel efforts into building a better Nigeria rather than dwelling on past injustices, saying, “My father had a vision and a passion for this country. And I think it’s important that their sacrifice is not in vain. And I cannot be discussing my father’s sacrifice all the time, especially knowing that he had a vision, he had a hope for a better Nigeria.
“And I think that should be, I can use that energy in a more productive way of realizing that dream for him. Like yes, my father wanted something and he made promises and he couldn’t keep it. And I think it’s up to his children and those who believed in what he stood for to push that agenda.
“I think that’s more or less the way I would go about it. And also pushing his agenda, we’re also alleviating some of the pains that other Nigerians went through. We talk about my father and my mother, but the Nigerians who lost limbs, lost livelihoods, companies, people who were known supporters of my father lost most of their companies. And I just know that it was a traumatic period for all Nigerians. And for me, I think we only do ourselves a disservice if we dwell on the hurts. And we need to now see how we can turn the page and put Nigeria first.”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. Democracy is not a destination, it’s a journey. And I’m willing to commit myself and I’m hoping other Nigerians are also willing to commit themselves to this Nigerian project. Because the Nigerian project is not just my project, it’s an inclusive one and it’s a collective one,” he concluded.
