Nigeria, Feb. 24 -- It is difficult to dispute the fact that the story of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election has become jaded. It has been told over and over again so much so that it has become boring. Not even the latest interjection from the man at the centre of the storm, General Ibrahim Babangida, has added anything new or refreshing to the tale. The various accounts from the key players in the annulment remain a boring rehash of what improper reflection can do to an individual, group or institution.

The military of the Babangida era bit more than it could chew. The result was the cataclysm that was June 12. Those who plotted and executed the annulment were short-sighted. They could not see beyond their immediat...