Nigerians must be careful
By
Ibrahim Babangida, more that any soldier dead or alive, has participated in every coup d’etat except in those against himself as head of state, remains an enigma in the nation’s political firmament. Considering his capacity for devious manipulations in his current attempt to step inside, having stepped aside when he boxed himself into a cul-de-sac in an era when economy was sapped to its bones, when murder and assassinations were rife, when we were taken through a labyrinth of political transition which ended in chaos; one would not be wrong if one says that if Nigeria does not put paid to the pranks of Babangida on this nation, Babangida might end this country presently known as Nigeria. Let us recall that IBB achieved his ultimate goal of ruling Nigeria through a successful counter coup in 1985 when he shoved Buhari/Idiagbon military contraption aside, and ruled Nigeria for about nine years between 1985-1993, during which time with the support of his loyal supporters, he took Nigeria to the brinks. He had the uncanny ingenuity even after eight years of misrule to keep the options open for the future by merely stepping aside, so his attempt to step back as the ruler of Nigeria is to fulfill that dream.
Nigeria in its short history has passed through many difficulties, the era of Babangida and Abacha were more problematic that the civil war days, yet Babangida still wants to rule this country again, it means that if Abacha were to resurrect today he would again be angling for a piece of the action, to come back and rule Nigeria. Nigeria, therefore, having experienced these traumatic difficulties still remains one nation only through the share grace of God, yet this past ruler still nurtures the desire to continue with the rape of Nigeria.
As an individual, IBB looks cheerful, radiant and friendly. He is a good family man and he is generous to fault, but as a ruler he was cunny and profligate with the resources of the nation. Under IBB, between 1985-1993 the economy nose-dived in the era of SAP and it has never recovered till this date, although with the support of his acolytes he termed this a re-engineering process, whereas it was the beginning of the impoverishment of the masses outside the corridors of power. Sycophancy and corruption were the order of the day, our schools and universities decayed and collapsed, so were the infrastructural facilities. It was an era of political experimentation; IBB was the apostle of new breedism, a euphemism for generational polarisation. It was an era of zero party system and Option A4, Nigeria became the laboratory for experiment and Nigerians were the guinea pigs with dire consequences for the people. There was widespread public antagonism against IBB based on the unfortunate experiences of the people in the mismanagement of the economy, the image of Nigeria at the international arena reached its lowest ebb, and the unfortunate annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election when protesting Nigerians were mauled down in the streets. The winner of the fairest and freest election in Nigeria, Chief MKO Abiola, was not only denied of his victory, he was railroaded into the prison where he eventually died. Those were the unforgettable years when IBB trampled on the rights of Nigerians like a military conqueror, having boxed himself into a corner he decided to step aside, but sensing that the memories of Nigerians are very short, he is doing everything to step inside now.
Babanginda’s attempted re-entry into the political arena was flagged off with the Jos convention through which his numerous supporters between 1985-1993 attempted to resuscitate and oil his awesome political machinery, it was the gathering of former military and civilian members, governors, commissioners and ministers, board members and others who made it rich under the IBB regime whose primary aim was to polish and refurbish the image of their erstwhile master and ruler with ultimate aim of selling him for the year 2003 presidential election. In his usual maradonic fashion, IBB’s political machinery resurrected through three different political associations namely the National Solidarity Association, National Frontiers under Aikhomu and Ume Ezeoke and the United Nigerian Development Forum under retired Brigadier-General Lawal Jafaru Isa and others which would easily fuse and merge into a formidable fighting machine in support of IBB. The common thing about all these associations is that they are peopled by IBB’s acolytes; the timing of the three associations within a limited time frame speaks volumes on their intended future complementarity. Just as five parties called on Abacha to be their presidential candidate, these might repeat that feat.
In their effort to recruit party faithfuls, the carrot of positions such as presidency, vice presidency, ministers and others are being dangled all over the country, since they know that Nigerian politicians are prepared to do anything to secure juicy positions. So far, very little is being said about policy issues, rather the sharing of positions and offices are more alluring to greedy politicians. It must be further stressed that the personnel in these political associations are very rich, our streets are already inundated with IBB posters, fez caps and T-shirts with Babangida inscription for 2003 presidency, but in keeping with his usual stealth and diversionary tactics, Babangida still denies his interest in the presidency. Nobody can deny the fact that Babangida is the master of political manipulation, he is reaching out to all his friends and foes in every geo-political zones. Of particular interest is the position of Afenifere who battled IBB in defence of the rights of MKO Abiola, but if the elite can compromise their positions for a pot of porridge, it is doubtful if the masses can be easily taken for a ride.
IBB, a brilliant political strategist, is trying to ride to power on the crest of different or shortcomings exuded by different political interests against the government of Obasanjo; in fact, Babangida will stop at nothing to use the gullible South to wrest power form the South. In his desperate search for a way to step back to governance, people who make every imaginable complain against any aspect of Obasanjo’s government must be wooed to join his crusade to continue where he stopped in 1993 when he was forced out of Aso Rock under questionable circumstances. Obasanjo and Babangida are two of a kind, both generals in the Nigerian Army, ruled Nigeria as heads of state 1976-1979 and 1985-93 respectively. This is where the similarity ends. But the contrast is legion; while Obasanjo managed his transition programme honestly and faithfully by handing over to a civilian president on the appointed date; IBB took the nation through a rigmarole and a maze of expensive political transition only to annul the freest and fairest election ever held in the country and consequently handed over to one of the worst and crudest dictators in Africa. While Obasanjo paid a costly price by serving a four-year prison sentence as a redemption for the collective sins and irresponsibility of military misrule in Nigeria, IBB has lived a life of recluse in his Minna mansion and has neither purged himself of all the atrocities he committed against Nigerians, nor apologised for the evil and misrule that he foisted on this nation. Babangida has a lot of explanations to make for billions of dollars earned from oil windfall during the Iraq-Kuwait wars, which were declared missing. It must be finally stressed that the strategists for the stepping back of IBB are not propelled by the love of the masses whom they have impoverished in the past, rather these men wish to recoup their earnings and pursue personal agenda of self-aggrandisement. Nigerians must take care or else it might be misled by IBB and his friends into a journey of no return, a path of self-immolation in which Nigeria as it is today might become a historical reality.
November 2001