Elder statesman and former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, has faulted the honour given to Babagana Kingibe, saying the running mate to Chief MKO Abiola did not deserve any recognition in relation to the June 12 struggle.
Musa, who was at the thick of the struggle for the validation of the election, also disclosed what transpired before Kingibe and some of the campaigners who joined the late Sani Abacha’s government.
What is your reaction to the honour done to Chief MKO Abiola on the June 12
I have given my view on this issue severally. I can describe the action taken by President Muhammadu Buhari as commendable, just, relevant and patriotic. President Buhari’s action showed that he can do the right thing and correct wrongs before it’s too late for him and for the nation.
Beyond what the President has done, are you satisfied given what the struggle for the actualisation of June 12 connotes for you and others who fought for its validation?
The fact that the winner of the June 12 elections had died means that there is nothing more for us than what the President has now done. We agreed that Chief MKO Abiola won the election and I think the struggle has really succeeded, because if MKO Abiola were alive then it would have been a different thing because we would have followed up by asking that Chief MKO Abiola be made president of Nigeria.
But he is dead, so that opportunity is no longer there. All we want is this recognition that there was actually a June 12 election and MKO Abiola won it. Even though he is dead he should be compensated, not only compensation but something should be done to recognise his achievements and the injustice done to him and I think that has come in two ways. First, June 12 has been recognised as truly democracy day in Nigeria and secondly, MKO Abiola has been awarded the highest national honor in the country. I think these two actions are the practical things that can be done now.
Are you then in support of the Senate resolutions that the results of the June 12 election should be formerly announced?
Yes, that is a very good one. But it was then also done indirectly. If you recalled the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission that conducted the elections, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, then said that actually Abiola won the election. So what is left now is for government to make a formal declaration that Abiola won the election. But before that can be done, the government should order a powerful independent judicial commission of enquiry to look into the annulment and discover who were directly responsible for the annulment and their motivation and prosecute them accordingly and use them in an example, so that it can never happen again. This is because what happened with the annulment of June 12 was really treason. And some of those responsible for that treason are still alive. Let them be probed and subsequently prosecuted and punished so that it can be an example to deter others from doing that again.
Apart from Abiola himself, Kingibe and others are also being honoured, what is your take on that?
Let me say that in the case of Kingibe, I hope he is not being honoured because of June 12, because even though he was the running mate to Abiola I do not think that he took any action that could justify that, besides just being the running mate. I was very much involved in the June 12 struggle right from the annulment and I know when Abiola travelled oversees and he could not lead the campaign and struggle, we persuaded Kingibe to lead the struggle, he actually did but not in a satisfactory manner and there are many other things to justify that he really does not deserve any recognition in connection with the June 12 struggle. That is the truth; we have to tell the truth no matter who is involved. Kingibe is my friend, but we have to tell the truth for the sake of us and the sake of the country.
So you are saying he doesn’t deserve any honour?
No, no, certainly not. That is one. Then there are so many of them and we cannot honour all of them. Let us accept the honour done to MKO Abiola by bestowing the highest honour on him and also I think it should be sufficient for us because really they are so many of them.
Are you saying the honour should be restricted to only Abiola?
Who else? Nobody else because they are so many that deserve to be honored, but is it practicable to honor all of them? I think we should be satisfied with the honouring of MKO Abiola and the honour done to June 12 in itself. I believe that should satisfy all of us who were in the campaign over the annulment of June 12 and for its actualisation.
You said Kingibe was your friend….
Yes he was my friend. We worked together in the early 70s, so I know that, but that does not mean I should deny the truth, when it has to be told now.
Can you tell us what actually transpired around that time as your friend, when he abandoned the struggle and many of you carried on?
I think I have told you, I cannot go more than that.
As your friend, you did not reach out to him on the need to continue the struggle?
I can tell you that I was one of those who persuaded him to join the struggle in the first place, when he was virtually indifferent, when the need for the campaign arose and then Abiola was not in Nigeria. I was among those who persuaded Kingibe not only to join the struggle but also to lead the struggle which he did as I said, but not in the way it was expected under the circumstances that we found ourselves then. Most likely because of his many friends, most of them were probably against the validation of June 12. He had so many friends that I can tell you all over the country.
At the point he joined the General Sani Abacha’s government, how did you feel?
Well, he joined the Abacha’s government as part of the scheme. Actually not only him, but leading campaigners of the validation of June 12 like Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Ebenezer Babatope, and so many others, like Sule Lamido and others like that joined the Abacha government even though they were leading the campaign for June 12. If I am right I think about 10 of them became ministers under Abacha.
What was their motivation for joining the government then?
I can tell you that because I spoke with at least seven of them who left the struggle to become ministers under the Abacha government. First of all I got to know about the plan immediately Abacha took over government. Jakande informed me about the plan and what he told me was that the plan was to return the victory to MKO Abiola and return to civilian government within nine months. Jakande told me then also about those that were to be made ministers under Abacha to facilitate the return to civilian rule. So what I told Jakande then was that, ‘are we strong enough to trust the military and if the military fails to keep their promise, what can we do?’ So I advised him that it was a risky venture to accept this offer from the military. So let us continue with the campaign for the de-annulment of the June 12 election.