The spirit of the presidential election on June 12, 1993, reverberated over the weekend with the revelation that former President Muhammadu Buhari and other military generals protested against former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s support for the annulment by walking out on him.
Blackwell Petroleum Ltd Chairman Bolaji Raji, who narrated the incident, stated that at a meeting at Obasanjo Farms, Ota, Ogun State, retired military generals were displeased with Obasanjo’s support for Babangida’s annulment of the election.
In 1993, General Muhammadu Babangida annulled what is widely seen as the freest presidential election in Nigeria’s history, halting the launch of the Third Republic. The decision sparked a crisis that crippled the country and the economy. Babangida then set up an interim government led by the late Ernest Shonekan, who was soon ousted by the late General Sani Abacha.
Bolaji, in a chat with media executives over the weekend, stated that Obasanjo, in the wake of the crisis that erupted over the annulment of the June 12, 1993, elections, summoned a meeting of retired military officers, political leaders and prominent religious figures to Ota to relay the message from the military.
The meeting was attended by several high-ranking military officers, including former President Buhari, Col. Umar Kangiwa, Admiral Ebitu Ukiwe, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, General Adeyinka Adebayo and General Alani Akinrinade, among others.
Obasanjo stated at the meeting that the military’s opposition to MKO Abiola led to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
He disclosed that Buhari challenged Obasanjo to name the generals who opposed MKO Abiola, but Obasanjo’s inability to do so prompted Buhari’s angry departure from the meeting.
“I accompanied my uncle, Tajudeen Cole, to a meeting hosted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Ota Farm, where he had invited prominent retired military officers, political figures, and religious leaders to discuss the annulled June 12, 1993, elections.”
“Obasanjo’s announcement at the meeting that the military rejected Moshood Abiola was met with stunned silence.’
Bolaji stated that Gen. Mohammad Buhari (rtd) challenged Obasanjo, questioning the identity of the dissenting military generals and the validity of Abiola’s election victory.
During the stunned silence and inability of Obasanjo to answer the query from Buhari, he stated, “Buhari then left the meeting in protest, followed by Col. Umar Kangiwa, Admirals Ebitu Ukiwe and Ndubuisi Kanu” in protest of Obasanjo’s support annulment of MKO Abiola’s election.
Bolaji stated that Yoruba military Generals Adeyinka Adebayo and Alani Akinrinade, along with Colonel Kangiwa, were present at the meeting and can verify this account, wondering why Yorubas still hold Fulani responsible for the annulled elections, which Buhari and Kangiwa, both Fulani, advocated for its validation.
The Blackwell Petroleum Chairman described the annulment of the June 12 election as deeply painful to Yorubaland, surpassing even late Obafemi Awolowo’s imprisonment in the First Republic.
“Many Yoruba people, both politicians and non-politicians, viewed it as an existential threat, and it ignited a fierce determination reminiscent of the old Oyo Empire.
Bolaji, who accompanied his uncle Tajudeen Cole to several meetings and proceedings at the Igbosere court during the period, identified prominent Yoruba elders who advocated for the revalidation of Abiola’s victory: Adekunle Ajasin, Abraham Adesanya, Bola Ige, Wole Soyinka, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Bolaji Akinyemi, Wahab Dosunmu, Cornelius Adebayo, Reuben Fasoranti, Olusegun Osoba, and Bisi Akande.
Olu Falae, Ayo Opadokun, Bishop Bolanle Onigbogi, Generals Adeyinka Adebayo and Alani Akinrinade, Gani Fawehinmi, Fredrick Faseun, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Falana, Bayo Onanuga, Wale Osun, Femi Ojodu, Yinka Odumakin, Dele Momodu, and Gani Adams are among those involved.
He stated that efforts to revalidate Abiola’s victory involved forming alliances with progressives nationwide, including figures like Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Col. Umar Kangiwa, Admirals Ndubuisi Kanu and Ebitu Ukiwe, Sam Mbakwe, Anthony Enahoro, Alfred Rewane, Rev. Fr. Moses Adasu, John Odigie Oyegun, Senator Sheu Sani, and Uba Sani (Governor of Kaduna), among others.
Bolaji stated that the late Habibat Mogaji, President-General of market women and mother of the current president, led the women’s wing of the struggle.
“This movement led to the formation of NADECO, a platform dedicated to revalidating the annulled election. While many leaders were forced into exile, Bola Ahmed Tinubu became a central figure and rallying point for the struggle. The fight to revalidate June 12 also extended to the Niger Delta, contributing to the region’s struggle for emancipation, though internal conflicts ultimately hampered its goals.
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