By our reporter
The late Gen. Sani Abacha’s family members have returned the accusing finger over the controversial annulment of the June 12,1993 presidential poll,to then Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, popularly called IBB.
They described his narrative that it was their now-late patriarch, General Sani Abacha, who annulled the election, as a “deliberate distortion of historical facts.”
Abacha was Defence Minister in the IBB regime at the time. He was later to become Head of State from November,1993 to July, 1998.
In a statement on Sunday, March 9, the Abachas stated that Babangida, and not their father, was responsible for the annulment of the election as he (IBB) was the nation’s authoritarian leader being military Head of State.
The statement was issued by Mohammed Abacha, eldest son of the family.
The family was officially reacting to claims made by IBB in his recently-launched book, ‘A Journey in Service’, wherein he alleged that it was Gen. Abacha that annulled the poll without his permission.
In the 420-page autobiography, IBB acknowledged that the 1993 election was “credible, free and fair” and was won by presidential candidate of the now-defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief MKO Abiola.
Giving their own perspective to issues, the Abachas pointed out that for years, various actors had attempted to rewrite the history of that critical period in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, insisting, however, that the facts remained constant.
Imploring Nigerians to beware of revisionist narratives that seek to manipulate public perception for personal or political reasons, the younger Abacha stressed that their late father’s memory must not be tarnished by what he described as baseless accusations meant to absolve those who were truly responsible.
According to him, irrespective of the attempt to shift blame, Gen. Abacha was a true and loyal friend to IBB up to his death, especially,he noted, because his father was a man of unshifting commitment to his friends and associates.
He recalled a time when IBB’s life was under threat, saying it was his father that rescued the Minna-born general.
Though Mohammed did not specify, but the period being referenced may be the April 22, 1990 coup led by now-late Col. Gideon Orkar,in Lagos, then Nigeria’s capital.
Heaping mounds of blame for the June 12 annulment squarely at IBB’s doorsteps, the Abachas stated: “It is important to state unequivocally that General Sani Abacha was neither the Head of State nor the Commander-in-Chief at the time the June 12 election was annulled.
“The decision to annul the election was made under the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who, as the then Head of State, held absolute executive powers and was solely responsible for the actions of his government.
“Any attempt to shift this blame onto General Sani Abacha, who was a very senior military officer within the regime, is a deliberate distortion of historical facts.”
Apparently lambasting IBB in an obvious indication of the widening gap between the Abachas and IBB personally, the family added: “We regret that ‘A Journey in Service’ missed the opportunity and failed to make history as a truthful and objective account of past events.
“As one public commentator aptly put it, honesty, sincerity and integrity are virtues not commonly associated with the author.”
