The former military President, General
Ibrahim Babangida, on Tuesday recalled the incident, which led to the scuttling
of the June 12, 1993 general election and declared that he should be blamed for
the cancellation.
The former president who marked his 63rd birthday spoke to
journalists on some national issues, especially that bothering on the election,
which was acclaimed to be fairest and freest in Nigeria.
Babangida, at his Hill top residence in
Minna, said he is accepting full responsibility for the election cancellation,
stressing that he has to do so due to prevalent circumstances, which could not
have offered him the opportunity of doing otherwise.
Reacting especially to reports credited to
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and Reverend Sunday Mbang, calling on
him to apologise to Nigerians for voiding the election, Babaginda said he would
not want to join issues with anybody on what transpired then.
He said like his boss, Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo, he is more interested in the oneness of the country and would be less
interested in any controversy that would cause disaffection among ethnic groups
in the country.
Having fought for the corporate existence
of Nigeria, Babangida explained that if not accepting responsibility for the
June 12, would create bad feelings among generality of Nigerians, he would
accept full responsibility.
According to the former head of state,
“accepting responsibility is a way of saying sorry over what happened
then.”
“Let me say one thing; by my faith, 1000 years ago
there was no Nigeria, but 100 years ago, God knew there will be Nigeria and
that there will be 2007,” he said, adding that what has happened then and
today in Nigeria might have been destined by Allah and could not be changed by
anyone.
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