Again Babangida Opens Up, Reveals Some of Abacha's Sins While in PowerYour support matters. Sustain independent journalism in Nigeria – contribute to Legit.ng. A former military head of state, General Ibrahim Bada Babangida (IBB), has alleged that the late General Sani Abacha deceived activists and politicians alike to get into power. Daily Trust reports that IBB made the disclosure during an interview with Trust TV. However describing Abacha as his "very good friend", IBB said the late retired general outsmarted politicians and activists to become the military head of state at the time. Read also 2023 presidency: Known looters shouldn’t rule Nigeria, says prominent PDP chieftain IBB also described Abacha's government as a smart regime that understood the power and electoral terrain and line of discussions among key stakeholders. PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG! He said: According to IBB, the dummy that was sold to the public and some quite notable individuals gave false hope to the people as they were expectant that Abacha would be handing over to a democratically-elected government. Read also I knew late Sani Abacha would not hand over power - IBB reveals IBB said: Also admitting that Abacha's military coup never surprised him, IBB said affirmed that he was a close ally to the late military head of state. He said: Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo seems to be a popular choice among many Nigerians for the 2023 presidency. General Babangida described Osinbajo as one who can communicate with citizens and inspire people, among other qualities. He also said that Professor Osinbajo is the best person to lead Nigeria in 2023. Read also 2023: 4 key remarks Makinde made about Tinubu's presidential bid Senator Anyim Pius Anyim recently visited prominent Nigerian leaders, President Ibrahim Babangida and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The presidential aspirant revealed that his visit was a form of consultation ahead of the 2023 general elections. The senator disclosed further that the leaders were rich in vision and have a good knowledge of Nigeria's history. Source: Legit.ng Details on how Nigeria secured its democracy in 1999 have continued to emerge even as the 2023 general election draws near One of such details have been revealed by a former military head of state, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida Babangida said he was so sure that the late General Sani Abacha was never going to hand over power to a democratically elected government Your support matters. Sustain independent journalism in Nigeria – contribute to Legit.ng. Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG! “Abacha’s government was very smart. They knew who were the most vociferous discussants about the election, about the coup, about June 12 and so on." "They started talking to them and sold a dummy to them and encouraged them to get rid of the interim government; ‘when we get rid of the interim government, we will bring you back to come and take over your democracy so that a civilian government would be installed." "I knew, we knew, that it wouldn’t be because the argument was: ‘Why should I risk my life only to come and hand over power to you?’ That was what happened.” “I knew it will come as a surprise because even though I was outside - outside the service - I knew what was going on."