Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State and ex-National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), has revealed that he directly told former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), to resign during the June 12 political crisis following the annulment of the 1993 presidential election won by MKO Abiola.
In his newly released autobiography, Being True to Myself, launched on May 13, Lamido recounted a tense encounter with Babangida during the height of the crisis. In Chapter 7, titled “June 12 Consumes IBB”, Lamido detailed the early morning summons he received to meet the then military president.
“I was at the Nicon Noga Hilton (now Transcorp Hilton) when I got a call from someone identifying as Col. Bamalli, saying the Commander-in-Chief wanted to see me immediately,” Lamido wrote. “Unaware Babangida was on the call, I asked who the C-in-C was. Then I heard Babangida himself say, ‘Kai Sule, ka zo yanzu!’ (Hey Sule, come over right now!). I replied, ‘Yes Sir!’”
During their meeting at the Presidential Villa, Lamido said Babangida’s justification for annulling the election — including a claim that the government owed Abiola money — seemed weak and unconvincing. As National Secretary of the SDP, Lamido said he firmly rejected any proposal for a new transition arrangement.
“I told him the SDP would not be part of any fresh election. For us, it was June 12 or nothing,” he stated.
Lamido recalled that when Babangida asked him what should be done, he responded boldly, “Sir, you must resign and leave office.” The remark, he said, stunned the general.
“Babangida looked at me with fire in his eyes. He was speechless for several moments, then said, ‘Sule, no Nigerian can dare say that to me. I know Nigerians. I never thought you could be that daring.’”
However, Babangida reportedly commended Lamido’s sincerity, saying, “Even if what you say is madness, it’s original. I can see you are genuine.” He also admitted he had misjudged Lamido and wished they had met earlier.
Lamido also described how intense negotiations between Babangida’s team and members of the SDP and National Republican Convention (NRC) eventually led to the formation of the Interim National Government, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan.
He said Babangida chose Shonekan, a respected businessman from the Southwest and former chairman of United African Company (UAC), as a way to appease the Yoruba and gain British support. Despite this, Lamido claimed neither the SDP nor NRC was involved in choosing Shonekan.
He criticized elements within the Yoruba political class for trying to appropriate Abiola’s victory, saying, “Although many of their politicians didn’t participate in the elections, they now wanted to hijack the mandate and make it a Yoruba affair.”
Lamido maintained that the choice of Shonekan was Babangida’s way of showing that the annulment wasn’t due to Abiola’s ethnicity, but rather part of a broader political calculation.