Former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission in the Babangida years, who conducted the annuled June 12 election, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, is receiving condemnation across Nigeria for absolving former power-hungry dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, of blame in the annulment of the June 12 presidential election. It is alleged that Nwosu has a paymaster for trying to polish Babangida's battered public image.Among those who slammed Nwosu’s comments were the apex Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae; former police commissioner, Abubakar Tsav, constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay; and human rights activist, Mr. Festus Keyamo. Afenifere said in a statement titled “No to Nwosu’s fairy tales: IBB guilty as charged,” that the former electoral umpire gave an unbalanced account of the controversial election, which was won by Chief Moshood Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party.
Nwosu had at the launch of his book “Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election and its Annulment,” in Abuja on Thursday chronicled the events leading to the annulment of the election. But, Afenifere said, “If we could excuse Nwosu’s bravery deficiency, 15 years ago, we cannot accept his attempt to launder the image of General Ibrahim Babangida at the occasion of the presentation of his book. It is quite annoying to read Nwosu saying it is apparent that some military colleagues of Babangida who in the first instance were against the conduct of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and who were outwitted by the combined efforts of the military president and NEC, during the NDSC meeting of June 11, 1993 caused the election to be annulled.
“He went on to mention the late General Sani Abacha, Senate President David Mark, Adamawa Governor, Murtala Nyako, Clement Akpamgbo, Generals Halilu Akilu and Joshua Dongoyaro among others as those responsible for the annulment. While we know that all the above mentioned are anti-democratic elements who will explain their roles someday, Afenifere insists that Babangida bears the sole responsibility for the annulment of the June 12 election, as the buck stopped on his desk.”
The group said that since Nwosu had declared that Abiola won the election, “his victory must be gazetted and he should be recognised post-humously as an elected president of Nigeria with all the honours that go with it.”
The News Agency of Nigeria quotes Falae as saying that Nwosu’s declaration of Abiola as the election’s winner is belated. Falae, who spoke on the telephone said, “What can Nigerians do with that information now?” Nwosu was just telling us what we already knew. Nigerians knew that Abiola won. NADECO also fought to revalidate the election. Abiola was our president. His formal declaration will not change anything. It only amounts to a mere academic exercise, medicine after death and an empty gesture.
“The only purpose it serves is, perhaps, to now see Abiola as the winner of the election instead of the presumed winner some people used to call him.” He described those indicted by Nwosu on the annulment of the election as being responsible for the “agony and destruction” the country was passing through.
Sagay said Nwosu was “worse than a coward” and had achieved nothing. He said, “I condemn Nwosu without any reservation. If only he had said all these at the time the country needed the information most, it could have changed a lot of things. Nwosu is worse than a coward. He collaborated with Gen. Ibrahim Babangida to suppress the general will of the people. If he had not been a coward, he could have escaped from the country to announce the result. The announcement of the result, this late, will not change anything now.”
Sagay suggested that Abiola should be honoured by the government through the declaration of June 12 as “Abiola Day” and the naming of some monuments after him.
Although Tsav agreed with Nwosu on his position on June 12, he, however, said that he should have opened up earlier than now. He said, “The problem we are having in Nigeria is that most of our leaders are always afraid of telling the truth, behaving like cowards. Can all what he had said now bring Abiola back to enjoy his mandate? In the process of revalidating the election, Abiola lost his life, his wife.
“So many people were either killed or maimed while properties whose value could not be estimated were destroyed. So what he had said was merely for academic purpose and nothing more.”
He called for the declaration of Abiola as president, posthumuosly, and June 12 as Democracy Day “so that Nigerians will know that their hero is eventually immortalised.”
Keyamo told NAN that it was dishonest of Nwosu to have delayed his comment till 15 years after the conduct of the election. He said the former NEC boss had also ridiculed himself by absolving Babangida of complicity in the annulment of the election.
An aide to the late Abiola, Chief Olu Akerele said that Nwosu’s attempt to rewrite the history of the June 12 election had failed woefully, adding that It was now clear to all that he wrote the account of the election under the influence of some “faceless paymasters”.
“History and posterity will not forgive him for trying to twist the truth to launder Babangida’s image. Those of us who are witneses to the sordid annulment of the election looked forward to a credible book on the undercurrents that led to the annulment of the election, with courageous mention of the dramatis personae in the entire saga. But Nwosu has ended up dashing our hopes.
