Kola Abiola, the first son of Chief MKO Abiola has revealed how his mother, Simbiat Atinuke Abiola told her husband about General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB (rtd) before he officially declared his ambition.
Kola made the disclosure in a live interview programme ‘Political Stew’ on Television Continental.
He said: “Contrary to what is out there, my mother never told my father not to run or get into politics.
“My mother was only concerned about the timing and not my father’s ambition at the time.
“She told my father to drop his ambition until Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Nigerian Army General who was President from August 27, 1985 to August 26, 1993 finished his tenure before contesting for Presidency”.
Kola quoted Simbiat as saying “look, the way it’s being played now, I’m not sure it’s going somewhere”, in reference to the way Babangida was carrying out the transition to civilian rule programme.
“When he went out to pick the form (nomination for president) in Abeokuta back then, he didn’t tell me because he knew what the agreement was, so I equally acted as if I didn’t know he did but obviously it was all over the news.
“My father had his own way of doing things, he didn’t wait for that (IBB finishing his tenure); the rest is history now,”
President Muhammadu Buhari on June 12, 2018, the 25th anniversary of the 1993 presidential election, apologised to the family of the late MKO Abiola, and conferred the highest honour of GCFR on him.
The election, adjudged the most credible in Nigeria’s history and widely believed to have been won by the late philanthropist, was annulled by Babangida.
Abiola was arrested and detained by former military Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, after he declared himself the winner of the election at a rally in Lagos.
He died in detention on July 7, 1998.
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