Revisiting June 12 crisis: how Tinubu foiled budget presentation by Shonekan, by Gboyega Amoboye

The June 12, 1993, political crisis is a contemporary history. According to historians, there are three major sources of history: written, oral or remembered, and dug-up history. The history of June 12, 1993, satisfies all these three conditions.

That revisionists now attempt to rewrite this history is very unfortunate, especially because journalists who covered the entire June 12 episode are still around to “put the ball back to the centre.”

As one of the privileged recorders of that history, I felt uncomfortable when a former Governor of Jigawa State, Hon. Sule Lamido, recently attempted to rewrite the history of the June 12 struggle. He accused one of the pillars of the struggle, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of lobbying General Sani Abacha for a political appointment after Chief Ernest Shonekan’s Interim Government was sacked on November 17, 1993, after just 82 days in office. This was following a court order by Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, who ruled that the winner of the June 12 presidential election be sworn in as recognized by law.

Instead of implementing the ruling, General Abacha gatecrashed into the State House and proclaimed himself Head of State.

It might be recalled that when Shonekan was Head of State, the National Assembly, as the most significant symbol of democracy, was in session. The Senate President was Iyorchia Ayu, later replaced by Senator Ameh Ebute, while Senator Bola Tinubu was the Senate Leader.

It is significant to note that while members of the civil society, trade unions, human rights activists, and student bodies were fighting Shonekan outside the walls of the National Assembly, the Senate was fighting him from within.

The final battle the Senate had with Shonekan was the boycott of his budget presentation. On that day, Shonekan arrived at the temporary chamber of the House of Representatives in Area 10, Garki, only to meet a virtually empty chamber due to a total boycott by senators. Only a few members of the House of Representatives were seated, and the session was presided over by Speaker Agunwa Anekwe instead of the Senate President. To make Shonekan comfortable, civil servants were drafted into the chamber to occupy the empty seats of senators.

At the end of his presentation, I asked Shonekan how he felt about the boycott by the Senate. He replied, “When I came, I met people and presented my budget.”

It should also be noted that as the Senate Leader, Bola Tinubu was the chief lobbyist and mobilizer against Shonekan and his interim government. Following Abacha’s seizure of power, instead of swearing in Bashorun MKO Abiola as directed by Justice Akinsanya, the battleground shifted to the formation of NADECO, in which Bola Tinubu was not only very active but also a major financier.

On page 162 of a book published by NAPOC, Aborted Third Republic, President Bola Tinubu narrated how he took four years’ leave of absence from Mobil Oil to contest for the Senate in 1992. He said, “The day we were to be inaugurated, I was picked to speak for the SDP. I was frontal with the military government that they have a great opportunity to return Nigeria to democracy. We have been elected, and there is nothing you can do about it; you have to find a way to inaugurate us and then plan your exit.” He added that after his address, General Ibrahim Babangida came down from the podium and gave him a handshake, which was uncommon with military personnel, saying, “I like your courage and boldness.”

On how NADECO was funded, Bola Tinubu said, “We were the financiers. I had some investments then. Pa Alfred Rewane was one of the financiers. I had two filling stations in London, which my wife was managing.”

One would conclude that it was either Sule Lamido was ignorant of this sacrifice by Tinubu or was dishonest with the truth. Even though politics may be a game of mudslinging, a gentleman’s failing must always lean on virtue’s side because truth is not only constant but also supreme.