Former Jigawa state governor, Sule Lamido, has narrated his bold confrontation with former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd), in in his new autobiography, Being True to Myself, launched on May 13.
Lamido revealed that he directly told Babangida to resign during the June 12 crisis following the annulment of the 1993 election results.
Babangida, initially surprised by Lamido’s request, later admitted he wished he had met him earlier.
The former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, revealed that he directly asked former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd), to step down during the June 12 crisis after the annulment of the 1993 presidential election won by MKO Abiola.
In an excerpt from his autobiography, Being True to Myself, launched on May 13, Sule Lamido, the national secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), recalled Babangida’s response, saying no Nigerian would dare tell him to resign to his face.
“I was at the Nicon Noga Hilton hotel suite (now Transcorp Hilton) when my phone rang one early morning. The voice identified itself as Col. Bamalli and said that the C-in-C wants to see you now. Being unfamiliar with the nomenclature, I asked, Who is C-in-C? to which he replied, Mr President.
“I said, but I am just waking up, I haven’t even had my bath. Unknown to me, Babangida was on the parallel line. I heard his voice, Kai Sule, ka zo yanzu (Hey Sule, come over right now”). I said, Yes Sir!”
Sule Lamido tells Babangida:
“You must resign” in June 12 As reported by The Punch, the former Jigawa state governor recalled that he was not convinced by Babangida’s justification for annulling the election.
He said during their meeting at the Presidential Villa, Babangida’s claim that Abiola couldn’t take office because the government owed him money came across as mere moralizing.
Lamido stated:
“As the National Secretary of the SDP, I told him, No, the SDP is done with any discussion with the federal military government concerning the June 12 elections. We shall not participate in any new election, as far as we are concerned. It must be June 12 or nothing else.
“Then he asked me, Sule, what do I do? In my naïve and innocent way, I told him frankly, Sir, you must resign and leave office. Immediately, I said that his countenance changed. I saw fire in his eyes; for some minutes, he was speechless.
“He (Babangida) looked at me straight and said, Sule, no Nigerian can dare say that to me. Even if it were madness, it is original, a reflection and a reflection of your true self.”
Continuing, Lamido said Babangida admitted he wished he had met him earlier, acknowledging that his previous impressions of him were mistaken.
