The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has disagreed with former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s characterization of former military President Ibrahim Babangida as one of Tinubu’s tormentors.
Osinbajo made the remark during the public presentation of Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja last week.
While reviewing the book, Osinbajo recalled how Tinubu, who was then a senator, opposed the dissolution of the Senate by the military government following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
He jokingly stated that Tinubu, once “tormented” by the military, including Babangida, for attempting to reconstitute the dissolved Senate, was now attending an event to honor one of his past tormentors.
However, Onanuga, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, refuted Osinbajo’s statement, arguing that Babangida was actually an inspiration for Tinubu’s political journey.
“I think the former Vice President got it wrong. I think Babangida was not really a tormentor of President Tinubu, don’t forget that President Tinubu said in his own extempore speech that he held Babangida as something, that he was the person that inspired him to get into politics.
“When Babangida came in, he was talking about new breed politicians and so on, and Tinubu like many of them were already technocrats or in private business and so on. All of them came out to participate in politics, that was what brought him in. So, he came there to pay homage,” Onanuga explained.
He further clarified that Tinubu’s real troubles began under General Sani Abacha when he and some of his colleagues attempted to reconvene the Senate in Lagos.
Onanuga also acknowledged Babangida’s recent admission that MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election but noted that the admission came too late.
