When former President Muhammadu Buhari failed to attend General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s (IBB) book launch, tongues wagged. Was it a deliberate snub? A political statement? A refusal to rewrite history in a room filled with old adversaries? The truth, as always, lies buried in the corridors of power, shaped by events that define a generation.
To understand Buhari’s absence, one must revisit August 27, 1985 a day that altered the course of Nigerian history. Buhari, then Head of State, was overthrown in a palace coup led by none other than IBB, his trusted ally turned adversary. But this was no ordinary coup. It was personal.
Buhari wasn’t just removed from power; he was locked away in solitary confinement for nearly three years. Worse still, while in detention, his mother fell gravely ill. Repeated pleas to visit her were denied. She died without seeing her son one last time. To Buhari, this wasn’t just political maneuvering it was betrayal at its most ruthless.
IBB didn’t stop there. He dismantled everything Buhari’s regime stood for, reversed his policies, and systematically purged his loyalists from the military. When the book launch came around decades later, how could Buhari possibly sit in the front row, nodding politely, as history was retold by the man who cut short his rule and denied him a final goodbye with his mother?
Another layer to this political drama is the ghost of June 12, 1993 the annulled election that remains one of Nigeria’s most controversial political events. At the launch, IBB’s book placed much of the blame for that decision on General Sani Abacha. Buhari, who had served under Abacha as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, never disowned his former boss. In his worldview, Abacha wasn’t the villain IBB portrayed him to be. Attending the event would have meant sitting through yet another revision of history, one that Buhari simply did not agree with.
Beyond personal and political grudges, there’s also the question of Niger State Babangida’s home turf. Despite the overwhelming support Buhari received from the state during his presidency, he was accused of neglecting it in terms of federal projects and visits. Some saw this as a calculated payback against IBB and the old guard that had once undermined him. If the book launch was meant to be a grand political reunion, Buhari made it clear he wanted no part in it.
Make no mistake, Buhari’s absence wasn’t due to a scheduling conflict or mere indifference. It was a statement. In Nigeria’s power circles, where every handshake, every seat at the table, and every public appearance is loaded with meaning, Buhari’s decision to stay away spoke volumes.
It was a refusal to be part of a gathering that sought to repaint the past in kinder colors. It was a silent but powerful rejection of a narrative that didn’t align with his truth. And above all, it was a reminder that in the world of power and politics, some wounds never truly heal.
In the chessboard of power, some moves are never forgotten, and some players never forgive.
Stephanie Shaakaa
University of Agriculture Makurdi
Benue State.
