Former presidential aide Laolu Akande has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to establish a Truth Commission to fully investigate and document the events surrounding the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Speaking on the “My Take” segment of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Sunday, Akande emphasized the need for national reflection, justice, and healing.
Akande’s remarks followed the recent launch of former military president Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, which offered fresh insights into the controversial decision to annul Nigeria’s most credible election. The book launch, attended by Nigeria’s political elite, doubled as a fundraising event for the IBB Presidential Library.
Reflecting on Babangida’s revelations, Akande recalled his previous interview with the former military ruler, during which Babangida hinted that his book would finally address the annulment. The autobiography reveals that General Sani Abacha, rather than Babangida himself, was the key figure behind the official statement that nullified the election won by Chief MKO Abiola.
However, despite the high-profile nature of the event, Akande lamented the glaring absence of any mention of the victims of the annulment and its aftermath.
“So, amidst the speeches, jokes, and banter that we saw on Thursday at the event here in Abuja, there was not a single word about the fate of the victims and their families, especially those who have died. Besides the well-known names, there are several other unknown Nigerians that died in many protests that greeted the annulment and the subsequent unwholesome acts, especially between 1993 and 1998. To be sure, the annulment brutally crushed the Nigerian people. It aborted the hopes of the whole nation.”
Akande stressed that while Babangida’s account provides some long-awaited answers, Nigeria must not wait another three decades to acknowledge and compensate the victims of the political crisis that followed. The wounds inflicted by the annulment, he noted, demand national therapy, much like South Africa’s post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“Now that we’ve heard the story from IBB, shouldn’t we spare a thought for those who died or who are significantly battered by the annulment and devastating chain reactions that followed it? We didn’t hear any of that on Thursday. Not at all. And that was very sad. Nigeria waited for 32 years to have the insight that IBB has supplied us. But we shouldn’t have to wait any further now to do the right thing and compensate the victims and provide national therapy. We need that national therapy because of what happened to our conscience, what happened to us as a people when June 12 was crushed.”
Calling for decisive action, Akande recommended that President Tinubu—himself a direct victim and triumphant survivor of the June 12 saga—should take the initiative to establish a Truth Commission.
“We need a Truth Commission such as the one we had after Apartheid in South Africa. We ought to know the truth. Obasanjo made an attempt with the Oputa panel, but that was too generic. So, we want to suggest to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, himself a victim but a triumphant survivor of the destruction of the June 12 saga, that he should establish a Truth Commission. That way, we get all the sides to what happened in full, and we can take a formal decision to let bygones be bygones.”
The call for a Truth Commission resonates with a broader national conversation about accountability and historical justice. With Babangida’s revelations now public, the demand for a formal reckoning with Nigeria’s political past is gaining momentum. Whether President Tinubu will heed this call remains to be seen, but Akande’s appeal underscores the urgent need to confront Nigeria’s history with honesty, justice, and a commitment to national healing.
