Anenih: Abiola begged IBB to allow him become president even for one day

Tony Anenih, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) board of trustees, has revealed how the Late MKO Abiola appealed to Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former military president, to allow him claim his mandate as president even if it was just for a single day.

Babangida annulled the June 12 1993 presidential election in which Abiola contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), against his rival Bashir Tofaof the National Republican Convention (NRC).

In his book, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics’, Anenih, who was the national chairman of the SDP at that time, said Abiola told him repeatedly that Babangida was trying to embarrass him.

“On the issue of June 12, Chief MKO Abiola had called me on the phone to come for an urgent meeting in Ikeja. I flew to Ikeja and met Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, Dr Dele Cole, and Kola, MKO’s son,” he wrote.

“At the meeting, Chief MKO told us that his friend, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, planned to embarrass him. He kept repeating this without stating the type of embarrassment.

“Later, he insisted that we must leave his house for Kola Abiola’s house. He was terribly frightened and depressed. We all moved to Kola’s house in Maryland. Right from this time, Chief Abiola was trying to get President Babangida on the phone, but each time he tried Akilu received the call.

“We could hear Chief Abiola telling Akilu to tell his friend (IBB) that they were still friends, and that he should allow him to be president even for one day, and he would resign thereafter; that all the photographs they took together were still all over his house, and that he should not forget the past, and that God would bless him.

“MKO would repeat Akilu’s words: ‘You mean I should call back in 30 minutes? Okay, I will call back in 30 minutes’. This went on till 7pm when the national anthem was sung on the television and MKO hysterically was saying, ‘Do you see my friend? You see him? You see my friend? He wants to embarrass me. Pointing to the television and there was IBB with a piece of paper in his hand. It was the annulment speech of June 23, 1993, by which President Babangida annulled the election and repealed Decree NO 13 of 1993 and 52 of 1992 on which basis the election had been conducted.”

Anenih said that at a meeting, Babangida he made it clear that the military would not accept Abiola as its commander-in-chief.

“He (Babangida) told the meeting that the military would not accept MKO Abiola and Alhaji Tofa as their commander-in-chief of the armed forces and that we should go and prepare for a fresh presidential election with new candidates,” he said.

“He directed that the SDP and NRC should arrange fresh conventions to pick new candidates. He gave the two political parties six weeks to conduct fresh primaries, confirm the nomination of their candidates and hold fresh elections – an action President Babangida knew would not be possible.”