Afenifere Slams Babangida over Excuse for Annulling June 12 Election
- Ibrahim Babangida’s excuse for the annulment of the June 12 presidential election, has been criticised
- Afeniefre said it was unacceptable to Nigerians, describing it as an insult on the intelligence of the people
- The Yoruba group said IBB lost the opportunity of being the hero of democracy and father of a new Nigeria
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Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, has criticised Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former military head of state, following the excuse he gave for annulling the June 12 election won by M.K.O Abiola in 1993.
The group described Babangida's comment as an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians, The Cable reports.
Babangida, popularly called IBB, had annulled the June 12, 1993, general election adjudged by most Nigerians as the freest and fairest poll in the country’s history.
Source: Getty Images
In an interview on Friday, August 6, the former military ruler had said he annulled the election to prevent a violent coup d’etat.
The former head of state said there was pressure on his junta within and outside the military to nullify the election for that reason.
He has lost the opportunity to be the father of a new Nigeria.
In a statement issued by Sola Ebiseni, secretary-general of Afenifere, the group said Nigerians were not interested in IBB's excuses, PM News reports.
Part of the statement read:
"It is even most preposterous that IBB will only now be insulting the intelligence of Nigerians that he annulled their mandate to forestall a violent coup, which, by reasonable inference, he was aware of.
“He lost the opportunity of being the hero of democracy and father of a new Nigeria, an eternal regret that no whitewashing on television can redeem."
IBB hits Buhari, Atiku and Tinubu
In a recent interview, Babangida spoke on the fight against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, the 2023 presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu, and other issues.
He boasted that his administration did a better job at fighting the nation's number one enemy - corruption. According to him, if a comparative study is done between his government and the present leadership, Nigerians will discover that he and his then cabinet members were saints.
The former military ruler also ruled out Atiku and Tinubu from the coming 2023 presidential race. He urged Nigerians not to vote for anybody who is above 60 years of age as the president in the next general election.
Why IBB hit Buhari, Atiku and Tinubu
An associate professor of Political Sociology, University of Abuja, Dr Abubakar Umar Kari, said IBB was very much aware that his positions on all the issues raised would stir controversy in some quarters.
According to Kari, IBB can afford to criticise anybody because of his age.
He stated:
“But then, the IBB of today is too old, hence can afford to take a swipe at anyone."
Source: Legit.ng
