Human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has condemned former military ruler General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), stating that in a truly conscious society, he would not dare appear in public.
Farotimi described Nigeria as a “crime scene” where Babangida, despite his controversial past, is accorded the status of a statesman.
“To die for a people devoid of memory is to be killed over and over, again and again,” Farotimi wrote. “In a place inhabited by the conscious, IBB would not dare show his face in public. But in the crime scene that doubles as our country, having been succeeded by even more villainous rulers, Badamasi is installed in the seat of the statesman. Tueh.”
His remarks came in response to Babangida’s admission in his newly launched autobiography, “A Journey in Service,” that Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Babangida-led military regime had annulled the election before Abiola could be officially declared president, triggering nationwide protests and a prolonged struggle for democracy that eventually led to Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999.
Speaking at the book launch held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, the former military leader conceded that Abiola had satisfied all the constitutional requirements to become president, securing both the majority of votes and the necessary geographical spread.
However, Babangida described the election annulment as the most difficult decision of his life, a statement that has reignited controversy over his role in truncating what is widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election.