How Abacha Violently Plotted To Overthrow Me – Babangida

Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has revealed how his close friend, the late General Sani Abacha, secretly plotted to violently overthrow his government, despite their strong relationship.

In his new book, *A Journey in Service*, which was launched on Thursday in Abuja, Babangida also discussed Abacha’s intense animosity toward the late Chief MKO Abiola, who was widely believed to have won the annulled June 12 election.

Babangida described Abacha as one of his major challenges during his lengthy transition to civilian rule, acknowledging that while Abacha had once saved his life and risked his own to help him take power in 1985, he viewed Abacha as a complex figure whose true motives were difficult to understand.

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In his book, specifically on pages 278 and 279, Babangida provides insight into the complicated relationship he had with Abacha during their time in the military.

He wrote: “Without question, one of my biggest headaches at this time was Sani Abacha. I knew that Abacha was ambivalent about a return to civil rule. But I thought, in retrospect now, naively, that he would support our transition to civil rule programme.

“As I said earlier, Abacha and I had come a long way. We were good friends, and he had indeed been nice to me. As I have said elsewhere, he saved my life once and also risked his life to ensure that I took over in 1985. I could never forget those details.

“But it’s also correct that he was a complex character. He was capable of bottling up a lot inside without giving a hint of where he was. And then, suddenly, the bottle bursts, and we begin to see a different person.”

He further said: “I obviously didn’t know everything about him! For instance, I was alarmed to discover that he and a handful of others mobilised negative opinions against me within the military, portraying me as the problem. That campaign was geared towards a violent military coup to remove me as President forcefully.

“But even more bizarre for me was my discovery of the loathing that Abacha had for the person of Abiola, whom I thought had a good relationship with him.”