*How I was nicknamed ‘evil genius’, ‘Maradona’, by IBB
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Former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has explained why his junta annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The election was adjudged by most Nigerians as the freest and fairest in the nation’s democratic experience.
It was contested between Chief Moshood Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC).
Babangida, while speaking with Arise TV during an interview on Friday monitored by The Nation, explained if he had not annulled the election, a violent coup d’etat would have happened.
He said: “If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’etat — which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm.
“It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country.”
Babangida said there was pressure on his junta within and outside the military to nullify the election for that reason.
“Both. The military can do it because they have the weapons to do it, and others (civil society groups) can use agitation,” he added.
Also, he explained the nicknames were manufactured by the media because of his “deft political moves”.
Babaginda said: “That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people, you have to anticipate them.
“If you anticipate them then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction — you can’t be evil and then a genius”
“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it.”
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