In a two-page letter dated 9 December and addressed to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Babangida said he was stepping down for two other contestants on moral grounds. The two aspirants were General Aliyu Gusau (retd), former National Security Adviser (NSA) and Umar Yar’Adua, Governor of Katsina State. Couched in a magnanimous tone, the letter read: "I wish to convey to you my decision to withdraw from the PDP nomination process. The reason grows out of a moral dilemma I faced as soon as Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua and General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau entered the race. I have been wrestling with this for quite some time and now came to this decision. Those who know me know my relationship with the Yar’Adua family. The patriarch, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua, took me as his adopted son, and with his son, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, instilled in us that nothing should be done by either of us that would give the impression that there is a strain in our relationship. To me, this extends to his younger brother, Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua whom I take as my younger brother. Whenever I see him, I see the late General Yar’Adua," wrote Babangida. He recalled that Yar’Adua came to seek his support after the governor had obtained the nomination form. Babangida claimed to have freely given his support. With Gusau, Babangida said he has a long-standing friendship which would be 40 years next March. He also said Gusau had approached him for support. On account of these, Babangida claimed, he was withdrawing from the race as a way of preserving his relationship with the two men. "So on personal moral grounds, I would rather allow these two gentlemen to continue their ambition in the PDP. I value many years of harmonious relationship,’’ he added.
Perhaps, to remind Nigerians that he was not a quitter, Babangida hinted that he would press for his presidential ambition on another platform. "Mr. President, I wish to inform you that I shall explore other options in due course, to advance my commitment to democracy and the Nigerian nation."
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In his response to the letter, Obasanjo claimed to have been ‘surprised and pleased.’ "I am at once surprised and pleased at your letter intimating me of your desire to withdraw from contesting the presidential primaries of our party, the PDP... I do understand and appreciate your dilemma at having to give your support to two close people at the same time for the same office. This is even easier handled than having to compete with both of them at the same time," Obasanjo wrote.
The President’s response may have suggested empathy, but observers contend it was laden with derision. Obasanjo, said sources, had decided to instal Umar Yar’Adua as the PDP presidential flagbearer. Ahmadu Ali, National Chairman of the party, confirmed that a choice had been made when he described last Saturday’s presidential primaries as ‘mere coronation.’
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Observers have continued to question the charitable tone of Babangida’s letter, which was thought to be at variance with his character profile. Babangida was the one that annulled the 1992 presidential primaries in which the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua contested on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). Yar’Adua, who won the party’s ticket, was the elder brother of the governor of Katsina State, against whom Babangida does not want to contest because of a long-standing relationship! Babangida’s sudden bout of morality and loyalty to friends is also being questioned over the execution of Major-General Mamman Vatsa, his childhood friend and bestman at his wedding. Vatsa, then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was killed in 1986 for alleged involvement in a coup plot. Similar questions on his commitment to friendship are being raised in the case of the late Chief MKO Abiola, whose victory in the 1993 presidential election was annulled by Babangida.
Sources, however, revealed that Babangida withdrew to avoid the ignominy of being screened out of the primaries and by extension, a loss of his mystique. PDP sources told this medium that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had disqualified Babangida even before the party’s presidential screening committee, headed by Chief Bayo Akinnola, started its work. "It would have been easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Babangida to sail through the screening exercise. The party leadership had already barred him from contesting even before the Bayo Akinnola screening committee was set up," claimed a PDP chieftain. Colonel Habibu Shuaibu, Chief of Staff to Babangida, confirmed this view in a telephone chat with TheNEWS. "Babangida left the PDP presidential race because there is no level playing field in that party. The President’s men told my principal that no matter his popularity in the party, he can’t fly the party’s flag because Obasanjo does not support him. Is this democracy or militocracy?" Shuaibu asked in palpable frustration.
With the ground shifting under Babangida’s feet, Shuaibu said the former president decided to opt out of the screening exercise, after consulting with his associates and supporters.
Signs, though fatally ignored, that the party was uncomfortable with Babangida’s ambition became bolder about two weeks ago. Speaking in Washington DC, United States, Nasir el-Rufai, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told Nigerians in the US that the federal government would stop Babangida’s presidential bid. "Babangida wants to come back to power, but we will not allow him," el-Rufai declared. While Babangida’s supporters argued, somewhat rightly, that the minister was not the PDP, many knew that he was speaking the President’s mind, especially given the minister’s closeness to Obasanjo.
Former National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Solomon Lar, reasoned that the former military president should have jumped before he was pushed out of the party.
"Babangida’s withdrawal was a bit belated. I expected him to have written his withdrawal letter earlier than this to Obasanjo, because the PDP has been turned into a garrison," Lar told TheNEWS.
Babangida’s problems have been compounded by his newfound penchant for throwing darts at the Obasanjo administration. In a lecture to mark his 65th birthday last August, Babangida painted an unflattering picture of the Obasanjo presidency. ‘‘Issues that had long been presumed resolved have once again come to the fore with greater clarity and compelling stridency. Minority rights are being expressed with increased militancy. Primordial cleavages have resurfaced and sometimes threaten the foundations of national cohesion. Faith and creeds long held as belonging in the realm of private experience have resurfaced to make public claims on the loyalty to the state and constituted authority. Ideas and views long suppressed and even held as taboo are now being openly canvassed, as previously silent section of the national community have found new voices and fresh impetus,’’ Babangida said. Yet the former president had not expended all his ammunition. Next to be assailed was Obasanjo’s handling of the economy, which Babangida alleged had punctured hopes and dreams as well as spawned agony.
‘‘I also see the pains of dashed hopes, the agony of thwarted dreams and regrets of expectations not met. Therefore, over and above the various prescriptive models for further leadership that are being variously canvassed in the popular media, I would rather simply define the challenge of immediate next national leadership as thus: to make a whole again. To that, I am committed,’’ declared Babangida. Before Babangida’s memo to Obasanjo last week, TheNEWS had exclusively reported a meeting between the duo in Aso Villa. The meeting, which held on 15 November at the instance of Babangida, was called to inform the President of his intention to officially launch his campaign in Katsina, capital of Katsina State. But to his chagrin, said sources, Obasanjo bluntly told Babangida to bury his dream. Babangida was said to have retorted that he was in the race to safeguard democracy, because he is the only one who can keep the army in their barracks.
But his explanation failed to convince his host, who told Babangida that Gusau was his choice because the latter is accepted in the military. The meeting, which was scheduled to last 30 minutes, ended after 10 minutes of hot exchanges between the two men. The two men had earlier met in May. On that occasion, Obasanjo was said to have told Babangida to shelve his ambition and back Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State. Sources said Obasanjo suggested Duke because he rated him as honest and that he could be trusted to sustain the economic reforms of his administration. Expectedly, Babangida left the meeting disappointed.
Obasanjo’s coldness to Babangida’s bid, according to Aso Rock sources, is not unconnected with his eight-year misrule as military president, which makes it such a moral burden for President Obasanjo to, after years of wagging war against corruption, back him to take over in 2007. Notable among the odds stacked against Babangida is the Okigbo Report. In 1994, Pius Okigbo, the late economist, chaired a panel set up by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, to strenghten the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Okigbo’s findings showed among other things, that $12.2billion of the $12.4 that was realised from the sale of excess crude oil during the 1991 Gulf War, was squandered by the Babangida junta. Even the $206 million that was accounted for was, according to Okigbo, frittered "on what could neither be adjudged as genuine projects nor truly regenerative investments." A breakdown of the projects shows that the Nigerian High Commission in London was allocated $18.2 million; Nigerian Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia gulped $14.99million; Nigerian Embassy in Iran was allocated $2.76 million; Niger Republic, $3.8 million; Pakistan, $3.8million; Israel, $13.67 million; Liberia, $1 million and Ghana had $0.5 million. Curiously too, IBB and his wife, Maryam, according to the report, spent $9.94 million on frivolous trips, while a hefty $23.98 million was expended on Dodan Barracks and Aso Rock Villa. Also, a documentary titled Nigeria’s Journey To Nationhood gulped $2.92million of the windfall. "These disbursements," said the Okigbo Report, "were clandestinely undertaken while the country was openly reeling with crushing external debt overhang. These represent, no matter the initial justification for creating the accounts, a gross abuse of public trust."
Aside from this, Babangida is also thought to be bad news for a number of reasons. Also hanging on him is the murder of Dele Giwa, founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch. Since 1986 when the journalist was killed via a letter bomb, fingers have continued to point in the direction of Babangida as the mastermind, an allegation that would have been a huge political baggage. Gani Fawehinmi, Giwa’s lawyer, insists Babangida has questions to answer. And he has promised to drag him to the court. But Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, former Lagos State Police Commissioner, absolved the Minna-born General of any complicity. "I was serving in Force CID, Alagbon Close, Lagos, when Dele Giwa was brutally murdered. I personally investigated and even made some arrests. It was malicious to link Gloria Okon to IBB or Mrs. Babangida with the Giwa case. Honestly, the murder of Giwa has been overtaken by events. If we must hold IBB for the death of Giwa then we should also hold Obasanjo responsible for the unsolved politically-motivated killings we have witnessed in the past seven years," argued Tsav.
There is also the touchy issue of the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, presumably won by the late Chief MKO Abiola. Though Obasanjo was not favourably disposed to an Abiola presidency, many in the PDP reckon that the annulment would have made Babangida unappealing to voters, especially in the South-West. And the president was not prepared to take the risk of watching PDP lose again in his home base.
Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, Abiola’s daughter, gave a hint of what Babangida would have contended with. "We hold Babangida responsible for the death of my father because if that election was not annulled, my father wouldn’t have died in mysterious circumstances. Today, all lovers of democracy and the Abiola family are crying to God for the law of Karma to catch up with him. Indeed, Babangida’s humiliation from the PDP is a proof that God has started hearing our prayers," she said. Obasanjo’s dislike for Babangida was also said to have been deepened by some PDP elements who campaigned that he would be a hard-sell to women because of Vatsa’s execution. The reasoning, said a source, is that a Babangida ticket would have generated opposition from women groups because of the belief that the Babangida government executed many military officers on charges of coup-plotting, making widows of many women. The arrowhead of the campaign is Hajia Sufiya Vatsa, Vatsa’s widow. In a letter addressed to Obasanjo, Sufiya said her husband was unjustly killed.
"...Although there was no evidence linking my husband with the phantom coup, he was convicted and sentenced to death by the Special Military Tribunal which purportedly tried him and other coup suspects. My husband’s appeal to the Armed Forces Ruling Council against his illegal conviction was yet to be considered when the head of state, General Babangida, secretly executed him with other coup convicts," wrote Sufiya.
She also averred that the treason and other offences (Special military Tribunal). Decree No. 1 of 1986 under which Vatsa was tried was enacted on 6 January, several days after his arrest. Sufiya’s letter was triggered by General Domkat Bali’s exclusive interview with TheNEWS. Bali, Chief of Defence Staff at the time, accused Babangida of killing Vatsa out of malice. "My regret is that up till now, I am not sure whether Vatsa ought to have been killed because whatever evidence they amassed against him was weak. My only regret is that I could not say don’t do it..." Though Bali’s outburst may have vindicated Sufiya, analysts, however, believe the former CDS was playing to the gallery. They wonder why Bali who announced the execution of Vatsa and others without hesitation would, 20 years later, condemn the killing. Opposition to Babangida’s bid also came from abroad. Last month, Maryam, Babangida’s wife, visited the US to drum support for her husband. In a separate meeting with select US government officials in Washington DC, Maryam was told that George W. Bush, the US President, could not back her husband’s quest. Rather, they advised Babangida to apologise to Nigerians for cancelling the 1993 presidential election. Those present at the meeting included Mr. Herman Cohen, former American Assistant Secretary of State for Africa; and James Addo of the African Development Foundation (ADF).
The cold reception from the Americans did not surprise Babangida, who as military president, was refused a request for a state visit to that country. In a March 1989 memo sent by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Princeton Lyman, read: "I am sorry to say that we can no longer play low key on Babangida’s desire for a visit which I would have preferred to do. Septel reported a most eager request to visit the US from Babangida himself in a secret meeting with Jeb Bush (now Governor of Florida) which frankly caught us offguard."
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is: Can Babangida actualise his ambition of succeeding Obasanjo outside the PDP considering the might of the party? Shuaibu is confident of Babangida’s victory. "Babangida is an institution in his own right. Any party he joins will wrest power from the PDP in 2007," he boasted. General Chris Garba, National Coordinator of IBB Project 2007, agrees with Shuaibu. "Since it is now clear that Babangida cannot get the support of the PDP, we have started exploring plan B which is to provide an alternative platform for IBB. It is whichever party he joins that will coast to victory," boasted Garba. He also told newsmen that only IBB has the structure and clout to succeed Obasanjo. Yet, there is evidence of disarray in IBB’s camp. While Shuaibu is advocating the movement of IBB’s supporters to another party on which their principal would pursue his ambition, Dr Godwin Daboh Adzuana believes that they should pitch their tent with another front-runner for the presidency in the PDP.
In a statement signed by Daboh, on behalf of the National Consultative Forum for IBB, the organisation called on IBB’s supporters to throw their weight behind Yar’Adua at last Saturday’s primaries. Daboh said the group prefers Yar’Adua to Gusau because a Gusau in Aso Rock would further militarise the polity.
"We are of the very strong view that the bitter experience Nigerians who have been yearning for entrenchment of true democracy have had with President Obasanjo and Dr. Ahmadu Ali in the last seven years during which they have completely militarised our polity, we must not allow another military leader to rule Nigeria again," read the statement. Yet, like Obasanjo and Ali, Babangida, whom Daboh backs, is a retired soldier! But Gani Fawehinmi, radical Lagos lawyer, said any party that fields Babangida would fail. Already Babangida’s supporters are working on a rainbow coalition as platform for him to realise his ambition. The Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), founded by Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State, and the National Democratic Party (NDP), established by Alhaji Habu Fari, are said to be the boldest faces of the coalition.
If the coalition succeeds in galvanising support for the General, analysts fear that he would have a mountain to climb in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This is against the background that the commission has already stipulated 22 December as deadline for the submission of the names of presidential candidates by political parties. Many political analysts spoken to late last week affirmed that Babangida’s dream of ruling Nigeria once again is as good as dead. They noted that without the huge platform that the PDP represents, IBB, no matter how much he is egged on by his ambitious supporters, will not muster the courage to contest, because he could be easily defeated and humiliated. "IBB knows that it is the wish of some people to demystify and humiliate him, but he will not give them that opportunity. He will never contest unless he is sure of winning," a university don expressed. He described IBB as an opportunist, "who never really loved the PDP, whose core loyalists (like Governor Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa) have since joined the DPP, but was keen to seek the PDP’s presidential ticket because it provided him the greatest guarantee of victory.’’ Despite the assurances of his supporters, the Babangida magic may remain a myth if the coalition fails to beat INEC’s deadline. Yet, the prevailing belief is that the General has been frozen out of the race. Forever.
A Crash Foretold
For eight months, TheNEWS wrote stories predicting an end to General Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential ambition
By Olusola Olasebikan
The media, apart from its duty of educating, informing and entertaining the public, is capable of making accurate predictions. [i]TheNEWS[/i] demonstrated this capability when, for eight months, it published stories predicting that however hard he tried, General Ibrahim Babangida’s presidential ambition would hit a dead end. It all began in the cover story of the 10 April edition entitled ‘‘The Final Clash,’’ followed by the 3 July 2006 cover story, entitled "I Won’t Back You, OBJ Tells IBB." As reported in that edition, the Minna-born General had met President Olusegun Obasanjo with the hope of receiving his blessings to run for the 2007 presidency. But his hope was dashed. Obasanjo was said to have disappointed his guest when he told IBB to forget about his ambition and team up with him to find a younger candidate.
He told IBB point blank that it would be unwise for him to run. He reminded the General that he is not liked by the international community. "You know that you cannot travel to the US today," he was quoted to have said. A top source in the presidency corroborated this when he hinted that "Baba told IBB that there was no vacancy for him in PDP, as the party hierarchy had fashioned its succession plan after the American political system where governors are often positioned to succeed an outgoing president." The second story, entitled ‘‘Targeting IBB" was published on 25 August 2006. That was when the retired general decided to use the occasion of his 65th birthday lecture held at Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Sheraton Hotel to sell himself to Nigerians. The attempt also failed. Apart from being snobbed by some prominent invited guests, especially governors, the story showed how Babangida’s son was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over his investments in Globacom. The Federal Government, according to the story, wanted to present IBB as an irredeemably corrupt figure. On 30 October 2006, TheNEWS came out with another cover, "IBB’s Campaign In Disarray." Here, another roadblock presented itself in far away United States of America, where IBB’s wife, Maryam, had attempted to drum up support for her husband’s dream. During that campaign, Maryam reportedly held meetings with select Nigerians and US government officials in Washington DC.
The US officials were said to have told her the project was unworkable. They, instead, advised her gap-toothed husband to apologise to Nigerians for past atrocities against them. According to Herman Cohen, former American Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, IBB is a hard sell in the US. With Cohen’s advice, IBB’s campaign in the US appeared to have hit a stone wall. Even back home, his campaign vehicle seemed to be on a fast lane to imminent crash. For instance, shortly after picking up his nomination form at the PDP secretariat in Abuja, elements opposed to Babangida’s ambition sprang out from different corners, protesting his entry into the presidential race, as various placards reminding of his misrule from 1985 to 1993 were on display. Questions were also posed in some banners, asking for answers in respect of the murder of Dele Giwa. The drama proved to be microsmic of the longer broadsides that had continued to assail the former military president. Left, right and centre, bombs were dropped and craters formed by his political enemies, even as his faulty political machine wobbled along. Less than 48 hours after IBB picked up his PDP nomination form, Governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe State described IBB’s desire to return as Nigerian president as an "insult on the intelligence of Nigerians."
Another cover story was published in TheNEWS of 27 November 2006, entitled "No Way For IBB." With the pigheadedness of an armoured tank driver, Babangida picked up his presidential nomination form on 8 November 2006, but TheNEWS catalogued all his atrocities, which the PDP threatened to use against him via its Code of Conduct for those seeking elective offices. The 15-page document outlines the desirable qualities an aspirant must possess: patriotism, integrity, ethno-neutrality, tolerance, rule-driven, commitment to community/constituency service and leadership. This magazine reported in that edition that the PDP leadership might indict IBB under the integrity clause, using the Pius Okigbo report on the missing $12.4 billion Gulf War oil windfall. In addition, the source affirmed that the premeditated execution of General Mamman Vatsa in 1986 over an alleged coup plot was another pitfall for the evil genius. The last was a story, "Breaking His Ranks" which appeared in the 11 December 2006 edition. Here, TheNEWS predicted that the entry of Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, the former National Security Adviser, would take the shine off IBB’s ambition. IBB would go on to confirm just that when he mentioned Gusau’s entry into the race as one of the reasons he threw in the towel!
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