Former military head of state, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has finally admitted that Chief Moshood Abiola won the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election. The long-awaited revelation was made in his autobiography, A Journey in Service, launched in Abuja on Thursday.
Through the book’s reviewer, former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Babangida confirmed that Abiola, who contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), secured both the majority of votes and the required geographical spread to be declared president.
“There was no doubt in my mind; MKO Abiola won the election. He satisfied all the requirements,” Babangida wrote, marking the first time he has publicly acknowledged Abiola’s victory.
The annulment of the election remains one of the most controversial political decisions in Nigeria’s history, and Babangida admitted it was the most challenging moment of his life. His acknowledgment now reignites discussions about the true outcome of an election widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s democratic history.
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Despite the annulment, Babangida expressed satisfaction that President Muhammadu Buhari posthumously honored Abiola with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), a title reserved for Nigerian presidents.
Babangida’s admission, after years of silence, is already sparking reactions across Nigeria, with many seeing it as a long-overdue validation of Abiola’s mandate. The question now remains: what impact will this revelation have on the nation’s historical narrative and the ongoing fight for electoral justice?
