Former Military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) said he did not retire late General Sani Abacha for lack of courage but for his safety and that of those dear and close to him.
He made this revelation in his book – “A Journey in Service” launched on Thursday in Abuja.
Though Babangida claimed he uncovered plots by Abacha to violently overthrow his administration, he also acknowledged his opposition to the outcome of June 12 election and return to civil rule.
He however left him in the military when he “stepped aside” on August 27, 1993, an action many people felt was either taken out of cowardice or a deliberate plan for Abacha to succeed him.
Speaking on handling Abacha and the fallout of June 12 election Babangida on pages 282 and 293 of his book wrote: “Other fundamental questions have arisen in my handling of General Abacha and the June 12 elections. If, as I said earlier, Abacha was a clog in the wheel of the transition to civil rule process and had plotted to remove me as President violently, why didn’t we retire him to forestall the problems that later emerged?
“Was there a pact between Abacha and me that he would succeed me? Was I afraid of him, fearful for my life? Why didn’t we ‘neutralise’ the other known opposition forces to the transition process? Why didn’t we take prompt action against the ABN for interfering with the Transition process, in violation of Decree 19, which made it a criminal offence to hinder the transition?
“The answers to some of these questions are implicit in earlier sections of this chapter. No, there was no pact between Abacha and me. Yes, there were moments when my safety and the safety of all those dear to me were of concern. But the situation was so unstable that any wrong move on my part could have resulted in bloodletting”.
“As I stated above, the military was so factionalised that any move against General Abacha at that time would have, to put it mildly, been problematic. So, I kept hoping (again, naively, it seems now, in retrospect) that Abacha would fall in line and back the transition process.
“As humans, we have instincts. But we also have the innate ability to override them. In my judgement of Abacha, I allowed my instincts, and painfully so, to take a backseat.”
