We are indeed living in very interesting times. It is said that if one lives long enough one is bound to see it all. This is a great time of seeing signs and wonders. Nigeria’s disgraced maximum ruler and dictator extraordinaire General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is today croaking all over the place that there is too much power in the centre, shouting in the same vein that there must be devolution of powers. That’s the same man who during his eight lamentable years of misrule thundered that “we are not only in government but in power!” Like Paul on the road to Damascus, the man called IBB has apparently turned full circle.
But no Nigerian should be deceived. The ageing fox wants to get back into positive public consciousness; whence the positive somewhat progressive noises he is deigning to make. In my book, Babangida is the singular most crucial factor in the ruination of Nigeria. At every point in the nation’s history, he has been on the odd side of total negativity. In his website, he crudely advertises himself as “Nigeria’s best president.” What a laugh! A “president” nobody elected, he was always mediocrity in overdrive and could only carry on making use of the contradictions such as a conservative neo-colonial patchwork named Nigeria could offer him.
To give him his due, Babangida needs to be quoted at length on his latest effusions. At the Third United Nations Peace Day Lecture Series in Minna, Niger State, organized by the Abdulsalami Abubakar Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development in association with the Niger State government, Babangida said: “I want to say that I am now born again and I am in support of those who are calling for the establishment of state police. This will strengthen our efforts in maintaining law and order.” In the curious lecture entitled “The Review of the Constitution and the Stability of Nigeria”, the Maradona of Minna was indeed effusive, saying: “It may surprise you when I said I am now a born again in the support for local police. I support the idea so that we have a federal and state police. I want to see a situation where the maintenance of law and order is strengthened. I honestly believe that there is too much power and responsibilities at the centre.”
Without any bearing on irony General Babangida argued that the federal government should concentrate on defence, security, foreign affairs and economic management instead of running secondary schools which ought to be left in the care of state governments and the private sector. He mouthed the usual phraseologies in regard to allowing minority rights. He stressed that the INEC should only be saddled with the presidential election while the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) should conduct national and state legislative elections.
He did admit that he enjoyed maximum power during his eight-year tenure, even as he gave himself a pat on the back for instituting the late Abdulrahman Okene committee on the devolution of power back in 1989. He also made a case for the jettisoning of the Federal Character in favour of merit.
It is cool by me to feel sorry for Babangida now that he is being wiser in hindsight. As they say, it is never too late to learn. We must always make allowances for truly repentant souls. But given his reputation, Babangida has never ever in his life been a man of his word. His duplicity is legendary. When he says “Good Morning”, please endeavour to look up for the setting sun!
Babangida built his career in the military as a maker of coups. After the sacking of the First Republic and the killings of the likes of Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in what became tagged as “Igbo coup”, the wily Babangida was an enthusiastic recruit of the so-called Northern revenge coup. Ever since then, it has been all downhill for the Nigerian nation while Babangida and his cohorts milked the nation dry as rulers and oppressors who were “not only in government but in power”. He donned the toga of “Military President” when foreign powers helped him to topple General Muhammadu Buhari in a 1985 palace coup. In his time, corruption became an official public policy while 419 became the rule rather than the exception. He toadied up to conservative undertakers such as Britain’s Margaret Thatcher and hopelessly devalued the Nigerian currency. Education collapsed as literally all the lecturers fled abroad. Brain drain sapped Nigeria like Babangida’s sedulously imbecilic Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). He took the country on a wild-goose-chase in the name of an endless transition-to-civil-rule process which somehow culminated in the election of Chief Moshood Abiola as president in 1993. But wham! Babangida annulled the election, and he was concomitantly disgraced out of power in a most shameful manner. But then, shamelessness is their forte…
Now he wants to come back by making some noises from phrases he crammed from the popular press. He had an opportunity in 1999 to put Nigeria back on the right course when his townsman General Abdulsalami Abubakar deigned to transfer power to the civilians. Nigerians expected true civilians such as late Chief Bola Ige, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Chief Olu Falae etc to jostle for power in the bid to return the country on the path of valid democracy. Babangida and his cohorts said No and fetched General Olusegun Obasanjo back into the fray. After eight wasted years, Obasanjo foisted ailing Yar’Adua on hapless Nigeria. Now IBB wants to come back to take over with his queer promises. As I wrote in a poem, “We shall vote with stones…”
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });