Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu has reacted to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s claim that Ibrahim Babangida tormented his principal during the military era.
Osinbajo made this comment at the public presentation of Babangida’s autobiography, “A Journey in Service”, in Abuja last week.
He recalled how Tinubu, then a senator, resisted the military’s dissolution of the Senate following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Osinbajo joke jokinly said Tinubu, who was then “tormented” by the military, including Babangida, was now present to celebrate one of his former tormentors.
On Channels Television Sunrise Daily, Onanuga corrected this narrative. He said: “I think the former Vice President got it wrong. Babangida was not really a tormentor of President Tinubu. Don’t forget that in his own speech at the event, Tinubu acknowledged that Babangida inspired him to go into politics.”
Onanuga explained that Babangida’s call for a new breed of politicians during the late 1980s and early 1990s attracted many technocrats and private sector professionals, including Tinubu, into politics.
He noted that Babangida’s demand for fresh faces resonated with many professionals, a move that changed the Nigerian political landscape.
In that context, Tinubu’s presence at the book launch was a tribute to the role Babangida played in his political journey.
Onanuga also clarified that Tinubu’s real confrontation with military interference began under General Sani Abacha when he and other lawmakers tried to reconvene the Senate in Lagos.
He also acknowledged Babangida’s recent admission that Chief MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election, but noted that this came too late.
These comments show the complexity of Nigeria’s political history and how past leaders still shape our present.