Did abacha changed the initial plan? your guess is as good as mine, let see what happened.

Why did you leave General Sani Abacha behind when you were stepping aside as a Military President? - IBB.

If you remember very well, we had an interim government, that government had a life .We drew up a Constitution for that government . That government came into force in November 1993. And it was supposed to expire in February of 1994.

We needed to make sure that government was ably supported by the Military so that they would be able to conduct an election in February of 1994. And we can only do that, knowing the environment in which we operated, one we respect authority.

We thought then, quite rightly too that Ernest Shonekan should be supported by a strong Military so that the threat of toppling him did not arise. And they provided the stability for 82 days . That was the whole idea . And the late Abacha of course was the Chief of Defence Staff and the Minister of Defence .

And we felt if anything happened , the public can be rest assured that there was somebody still there with a lot of strength and experience who would still be able to pilot when it was necessary. But whatever happened subsequently, it was a different thing altogether . You know it as much as I do . It was not the fault of the Military.

IBB didn't go further than this. now what happens there after? did abacha changed the whole plan?

Is that all?

seun, lalasticlala

Chronology of Major Political Events in the Abacha Era (1993-1998).

Nigeria’s default on the issues of democracy and/or good governance and human rights, strained, without a shadow of a doubt, the relationship between the country’s civil society, the international community and the Nigerian state under General Sani Abacha. This arose from the monumental annulment, by the Babangida military regime, of the June 12 1993, presidential election, adjudged by both international and national observers as ‘free and fair’. Sequel to this, the Abacha regime which succeeded the crisis-ridden regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, after the ‘illegal’ Interim National Government (ING), put Nigeria at the highest peak of human rights abuse in its political history.
This chronological analysis highlights, essentially, the crisis of the democratic process and human rights in Nigeria during the Abacha years which subsequently led to an extremely tense relationship between the country and the international community. It also lays emphasis on issues of governance and civil-military relations.
A word on the chronology: the flashback into the last lap of the Babangida regime is intended to demonstrate the linkage, in political terms, between the Babangida and Abacha regimes. If it seems that we have unduly highlighted the spate of bomb blasts that were a recurring decimal of the Abacha era, it is because that singular phenomenon contributed to heightening political and social insecurity nationwide. The latter would then be used by government, indeed provided a perfect alibi for Abacha, to run a personalist dictatorship, a muscular and authoritarian government, almost in all material particular. Worse still, cases of hired assassinations almost became a national routine. The Police, totally beholden, as it was, to successive juntas, was long on promises but short on delivery: neither the assassins nor their sponsors were apprehended. Mercifully, the Oputa Human Rights Violation and Investigation Commission in Nigeria (HRVIC) already regarded by many an analyst, as the Nigerian version of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), that began sitting in 2000, has started to unravel some of the most bizarre killings and attempted assassinations of that gruesome period.
The Abubakar interregnum (June 1998 – May 1999) is included here principally to indicate how rapidly electoral democracy, even if pro-forma, was wound up with the inauguration of the Obasanjo government on 29 May 1999.

Events Preceeding the Abacha Era: A flashback

August 30, 1990: Babangida reshuffles government, 9 ministers and 10 state governors replaced. Office of Chief of General Staff renamed Vice Presidency. Lt. General Abacha replaces Babangida as minister of Defence and retains his post as Chief of Defence Staff.

March 27-31, 1993: Businessman, Alhaji Bashir Tofa secures National Republican Convention (NRC) presidential ticket while Chief Moshood Abiola, publisher of the Concord Group of Newspapers becomes Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential flag bearer.

April 17, 1993: The National Assembly convenes for the first time and immediately resolves to oppose any effort to disrupt the transition to civil rule programme.

June 4, 1993: The President dissolves the Armed Forces Ruling Council and replaces it with the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). In the same vein, the Council of Ministers was supplanted by the Transitional Council (TC).

June 10, 1993: The Abuja High Court, with Justice Bassey Ikpeme presiding, issues an order restraining NEC from conducting the presidential election on June 12, 1993. This follows a suit brought by a largely ‘shadowy organization’, the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), headed by Chief Arthur Nzeribe, a disqualified presidential aspirant. Michael O’Brien of the US Information Agency in Lagos issues a statement that postponement of the elections is ‘unacceptable’ to the US government.

June 12, 1993: National Electoral Commission (NEC) conducts presidential elections in defiance of the Abuja High Court Order. Nigerians and foreign observers describe the elections as the freest and fairest the country has ever experienced.

June 14, 1993: NEC publishes results from fifteen states on its billboard outside its headquarters at Abuja showing that M.K.O Abiola is leading in all regions of the country including Bashir Tofa’s home state, Kano.

June 14, 1993: Government swears in a 7-member presidential election tribunal.

June 15, 1993: Another interim Order by an Abuja Court restrains NEC from releasing the results of the presidential elections.

June 16, 1993: NEC shelves the release of the final results of the election because of developments and actions pending in courts until further notice.

June 22, 1993: NEC goes to the Court of Appeal to challenge the interim injunction by the Abuja High Court.

June 23, 1993: The Government annuls the results of the June 12 elections in a most bizarre manner; nullifies all the relevant court decisions, suspends NEC through an unsigned terse statement.

June 24-29, 1993: Abiola declares himself president-elect; individuals and groups protest the annulment of the elections.

June 30, 1993: Campaign for Democracy (CD) an umbrella organization for no fewer than 40 NGOS/Human Rights Groups, calls for a one-week nationwide protest to begin on July 5.

July 1, 1993: British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, freezes new aids to Nigeria.

July 31, 1993: The National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) announces that an Interim National Government comprising of representatives of the NRC, the SDP, and leading military officers will be formed.

August 1, 1993: A group of thirty senators signs a joint motion asking the government to declare the winner of the June 12 election.

August 4, 1993: Abiola leaves Nigeria unannounced.

August 12, 1993: Government begins clamp down on activists all over the country.

full reports here. http://books.openedition.org/ifra/653?lang=en