₦airaland Forum

Wahabfuture:
Omo iya, you are always here to defend your people, why shouldn’t I do the same or do you have double head? this is how you claimed this morning that Peter Obi losing presidential election was the cause of Yoruba and Igbo constant fighting here and i replied it was the Lagos governorship election and someone deleted it, we need to start respecting each other and quit propaganda, nobody is going to take Lagos from Yoruba, I do not belong to any political party in Nigeria and have never vote before in Nigeria because I’m not interested in do or die Nigeria politic

If IBB had said it’s Igbo coup I’m sure you would have believed him but it’s contrary to your narrative 😃🤣

You guys are too predictable

spiSeyi:
Abacha family still get mouth to talk nah Abacha/Salami kpai MKO

andy244:
Stop the nonesense, Abacha died before MKO.

LegendHero:
Peter that voted Obi Pandora the third class dullard are nonentities.

Obviouslyblunt:
Never knew a day would come when some part of the country would praise Abacha.

Svoboda:
Abacha was a better patriot than Ibb. He was as well more brave. If not for him, that orkar coup would have succeeded.

oyeb15:
Abacha was d best. Those that gather at dat event are bunch of uupatriot looters.

If u investigation wat OBJ and his master's abroad tagged Abacha Loot, you will love d man forever.

Love800:
I heard that abiola himself was a corrupt man. The government gave him monopoly over every other person in business. Just like dangote!

No better person dey dis Nigeria. Even peter obi is not trusted!

ggood:
what did orkar did can you explain to me thanks

poseidon12:
And you think that Orkar coup not succeeding was good for Nigeria?

Elharun12:
An Open Letter to General Ibrahim Babangida: Abacha’s Legacy Shines Where Yours Faltered

February 21, 2025

Dear General Babangida,

Your memoir, *A Journey in Service*, launched yesterday, February 20, 2025, in Abuja, has stirred the pot once more. Through your book reviewer, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, you admitted that Chief MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993, election, a truth long known to Nigerians. Yet, you’ve shifted the blame to General Sani Abacha, claiming he was your “biggest headache” and the mastermind behind the annulment. You wrote, “Without question, one of my biggest headaches at this time was Sani Abacha. I knew that Abacha was ambivalent about a return to civil rule,” and alleged he led forces that annulled the election without your authority while you were in Katsina. This narrative, casting Abacha as the villain and yourself as a sidelined bystander, is a convenient rewrite of history. The facts tell a different story: your eight years in power gutted Nigeria, while Abacha, for all his complexities, rebuilt it into a stronger, prouder nation. Let’s set the record straight.

In your book, you claim ignorance of the annulment, stating that the press secretary to your second-in-command, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, announced it without your permission. You wrote, “To suddenly have an announcement made without my authority was, to put it mildly, alarming. I remember saying: ‘These nefarious “inside” forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me!’ I would later find out that the ‘forces’ led by General Sani Abacha annulled the elections.” This is a flimsy dodge. You were the Commander-in-Chief, sir, not a bystander. The June 12 election, which you now concede was “credible, free, and fair,” was annulled under your watch on June 24, 1993, via a national broadcast you authorized. If Abacha outmaneuvered you, why appoint him Chief of Defence Staff? Why leave him as the Interim National Government’s (ING) military linchpin when you “stepped aside”? Your claim that he became a “dominant force in a factionalised military” only underscores your failure to command loyalty or control your own regime.

You paint Abacha as a schemer, alleging he “attempted to violently remove me from power through a coup” by spreading a narrative that I was “the problem.” Yet, history shows he saved you during the 1990 Orkar coup, rallying loyal troops when your life hung in the balance. You’ve admitted this before, praising him on your 74th birthday in 2015 for coming to your aid. Where’s the loyalty Abacha showed you? We might never hear his side of the story, but history never lies; it records his actions, not your recastings. Now, you label him a headache to absolve yourself. The contradiction is glaring: if Abacha was so untrustworthy, why entrust him with Nigeria’s defense? Your memoir’s finger-pointing reeks of hindsight crafted to dodge accountability.

Let’s talk about your legacy. June 12 wasn’t Abacha’s doing; it was yours. You annulled Nigeria’s fairest election, sparking unrest and shattering democratic hopes. Your Interim Government under Ernest Shonekan was a puppet show, collapsing in three months because you designed it to fail. Economically, your IMF-backed Structural Adjustment Program tanked the naira from 0.89 to 17 per dollar by 1993, unleashed inflation, and impoverished millions, while you siphoned off $12 billion, dwarfing any “Abacha loot.” Politically, you banned real parties, executed rivals like Mamman Vatsa on shaky grounds, and stoked religious strife with the OIC move. Nigeria bled under your watch; Abacha merely inherited the wreckage.

Abacha took power in 1993 not to ruin Nigeria, but to steady it. Economically, he grew reserves from $494 million to $9.6 billion and cut debt from $36 billion to $27 billion, all with oil at $15 a barrel. Inflation fell from 54% to 8.5%. He built roads in Lagos, Kano, and beyond, delivering what you only promised. You call him “ambivalent” about civilian rule, yet he began a transition framework in 1995, cut short by his death in 1998, paving the way for 1999’s democracy. Your memoir begrudges his resolve; I see a leader who acted where you wavered.

You scorn his defiance, but Abacha’s stand against globalists was Nigeria’s gain. After the 1995 Saro-Wiwa execution, a domestic call you’d have ducked, sanctions hit. He didn’t bend. He allied with Libya’s Gaddafi, hosting him in Kano in 1997 to cheers of thousands, and led ECOWAS to stabilize West Africa. You courted the West; Abacha defied them, preserving our sovereignty.

[b]Your book admits regret, saying, “June 12 happened under my watch; mistakes, oversights, and missteps happened in quick succession,” and “If I have to do it all over again, I’d do it differently.” Too late, sir. [/b]You claim Abacha “wanted that job at all cost,” a line from a 2018 interview you now amplify. Yet, if he was your headache, you empowered him. History favors Abacha not for flawlessness; his rule was tough, but for results: stability, growth, and pride. You left Nigeria broken; he left it standing tall. Your memoir can’t rewrite that.

Sincerely,
HALIMS GIZA

yarimo:
Very unfortunate abacha is Dead he can't say his side of the story, IBB put it in mind if you are dead Alot of books will come up blaming you for where Nigeria is today. They are just waiting for you to die

xeju:
What side does he want to say? To lie so that you his asslickers will defend him?

Judolisco:
Exactly.... Someone that hurriedly murdered his best friend

franchasng:
Here is the truth.


IBB was right, Abacha annulled 1993 Presidential election because Abacha was Northern political elites/Mafias' endorsed butcher, reason Buhari adored him so much more than anything on earth because Buhari too was an unforgiven sadist.



Northern Nigeria Mafias replaced Abacha with Buhari, they love Moslem extremists, and Buhari was a perfect Moslem extremist, reason Buhari enjoyed cult-like followership in the North, not because of his good character or good leadership qualities but because he was a radical Moslem ready to kill for Islam and to defend the Northerm Moslem interest at all cost.



Northerners don't like IBB just as they don't like Atiku because both IBB and Atiku are not radical Moslems, and they leaned towards Southern lifestyle of libelism.



IBB was right, Abacha annulled the 1993 election with Northern political elites/mafias backing and IBB was handicapped to act against Abacha's decision because Northerners backed Abacha's decision and were ready to even assassinate IBB if he dared challenge the decision to annul the 1993 Presidential election that MKO Abiola won.

OldNORSE:
As of today 22-2-2025, IBB is the greatest enemy of Spirogyra Soup people 😂😂😂😂

madridguy:
https://punchng.com/youre-always-envied-abachas-son-defends-late-father-amid-renewed-criticism/

madridguy:
https://punchng.com/youre-always-envied-abachas-son-defends-late-father-amid-renewed-criticism/

Odin13:
General Babangida remains The Godfather to all..
What has Yoruba gotten to do with this. Let us grow beyond all this tribal rhetorics.


Abacha is late and rotten

General still soldered on..

Yoruba man trying hard to discredit The Godfather ..

You failed

Never knew a day will come that Yoruba will sing the song of Abacha

What a wonderful world

madridguy:
https://punchng.com/youre-always-envied-abachas-son-defends-late-father-amid-renewed-criticism/

obaidan:
i cannot believe any sensible human being is taking sides to support or whitewash either of those 2 demons. I cannot believe what i am seeing on nairaland and other social media platforms from young Nigerians. They have turned it into South East vs South West battle. The same gimmick they used to cause disunity between their grandfathers in the 70s and 80s and 90s, they are still using it to cause division between the senseless offsprings in 2025. It is a shame

OldNORSE:
As of today 22-2-2025, IBB is the greatest enemy of Spirogyra Soup people 😂😂😂😂

Gerrard59:
To think both regions would claim to be the most "enlightened" of all. Imagine defending the likes of IBB and Abacha in 2025 because of ethnic superiority. Na why I maintain my stance that collectively[b] Nigerians are not intelligent.[/b]