Abiola, June12 And The Paschal Question
A personal perspective of The Resistance By Dare Babarinsa On July 7, 1998, they brought Chief Moshood Abiola home in a body bag. That was not what we expected, but that was what we got. The they was the military junta led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Abubakar had become head of the junta following the sudden death of his boss, General Sani Abacha, on June 7, 1998. Excited Nigerians, rejoicing at the sudden death of the tyrant, had dubbed the event miracle ‘98. Abubakar, a suave and morose military officer, went ahead to brighten the political space, but then inexplicably delayed in freeing Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who had become Abacha’s most famous prisoner. Also detained like Abiola were scores of political and military leaders including General Olusegun Obasanjo, the soldier who ended 13 years of military rule when he handed over power to elected President Shehu Shagari in 1979, and Beko Ransome-Kuti, the physician chairman of Campaign ...