IBB'S EFFRONTERY ON NIGERIANS
By Babayola M Toungo

September 18, 2010


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General Ibrahim Babangida is an enigma of sorts who believes the sun rises and sets for him. The man believes the world revolves around him and, out of his benevolence, he could toy with the destiny of Nigerians anyhow he wishes to and at any time. After being forced out of office seventeen years ago, for the first time he has come out forcefully to state his barely concealed ambition of getting back to Aso Villa, an abode he reluctantly vacated in the first place. Though Babangida has been making inaudible noise on his political ambitions over the years, this is the first time he has clearly stated so. Unfortunately the press is lapping up to him and making him look like the man to beat in next year’s presidential election. I don’t care whether Babangida chooses to contest or not or whether he truly believes in what he has been saying over the years or not, but I don’t like being taken for granted by a person who I believe should hide his face in shame for the economic and political crimes he committed against Nigeria and Nigerians.

In a recent interview he granted the Hausa Service of the BBC which was reproduced in the Sunday Trust of April 18th, 2010, IBB, as the press have dubbed him, blamed our economic and social woes on what he called “newbreed” politicians who he said failed this nation, and therefore, for Nigeria to survive he must come out of retirement to take over the mantle of leadership from this class of politicians. If it were another paper, I would have discountenanced the story but knowing the Media Trust stable as a serious media organisation, I reread the story to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Babangida condemning newbreed politicians? Isn’t it ironic!

As part of his plans to perpetuate himself in power in the early 90s, IBB created a class of politicians that he himself christened the “new breed” and banned the then “old brigade” of politicians who he blamed for the failure of our political system and Nigeria’s socio-economic development at that time . IBB tried all the tricks in the books to make him stay in the Aso Villa but he was forced to retire to the comfort of his new mansion in Minna. In the said interview IBB claimed among other things that the Naira exchange rate to the dollar when he was forced to flee Abuja was 42 to 1 but he forgot to tell us what was the rate when he shot his way to power in 1985. There was no way the Naira could have competed with other international currencies with the level of corruption institutionalised by Babangida at that time. The word “settlement” took another meaning and otherwise perceived incorruptible Nigerians like the late Tai Solarin were pocketed by the self styled Evil Genius. Corruption took a life of its own during IBB’s government and seventeen years after he left office we are still battling with the scourge.

I have always maintained to my friends and political associates that Babangida is a coward and the guy just proved me right. When Abacha was alive Babangida lost his tongue and his “love” for the public and Nigeria; during the reign of the other Evil Genius Babangida helped to foster on the country, Obasanjo, IBB went into hibernation. He didn’t have an opinion on how the country was governed by these two or whether Nigerians were suffering or not. Now, suddenly IBB has found his tongue this time around when the de jure president is sick and the de facto (acting?) President more interested in impressing foreign interests to the detriment of the nation. I wondered where IBB was when Obasanjo, the man whose release from jail he facilitated and helped install as president, was running roughshod over everyone. Where was IBB when Obasanjo appropriated Nigeria and treated the rest of us as serfs?

Back to the issue of the failure of the so-called “new breed” politicians. I wonder where IBB situates himself these days. Is he part of the “old brigade” or what? Or is there a third way? The questions are pertinent because he condemned the “old brigade” back during his rulership. Now he condemns the “new breed” that he always bragged about under his programmed –to-fail transition program. So how does he qualify his political CV? “A HYBREED”? Certainly not “new breed”. May be an “ALL BREED!”

It is not for IBB to cast aspersions on our present day politicians because he is the architect of their creation. Not that I am holding brief for them, as they are indeed a colossal failure and an embarrassment to Nigeria and Africa. If the “new breed” or “younger generation” of Nigerians are unfit to rule the country today, it is because of the horrible political foundation laid by IBB back in 1985. He it was that flung the gates of our prisons wide open for corrupt politicians to go back home, greeted as heroes and victims, rather than the villains that they were proved to be by numerous military tribunals that convicted them based on hard evidence of corruption and abuse of office. Subsequently, he had the audacity to grant them general amnesty and even returned their confiscated loots back to them at the eve of his unceremonious departure from Aso Villa in 1993. Prior to this, Babangida had created and dismantled numerous political parties and associations at will with which he nurtured his celebrated “new breed “ politicians, who were quick to learn the act of Maradonic dribbles, settlement syndrome which has come to destroy even our much pride upon judicial system, media spin and massive corruption in governance.

He destroyed our cultural values and our globally acclaimed educational system which are pillars for human capacity and leadership development. That is why today we have half-baked graduates and leaders with questionable paper qualifications, who are completely empty upstairs. They are also lacking in conscience and moral rectitude, thereby subjecting the country to gross misgovernance, brazen corruption and inept leadership.

In a sensible society which has not been robbed of its self respect, dignity and honesty of purpose, the likes of IBB will be shamed and banished from the public domain. Unfortunately, this is Nigeria, where his evil legacy has been perpetuated overtime by his lieutenants and protégés and is now so endemic. No wonder he now thinks the atmosphere is ripe enough for him to stage a comeback. He is at home with the crowd! Time will tell if IBB will not end up in the belly of the same tiger that he has created and on which he now wants to go joy-riding.



Babayola M. Toungo

Kaduna - Nigeria

http://www.amanaonline.com/Articles/BmToungo/Toungo_101.htm

I'm happy others are seeing the hypocrisy of IBB.

IBB claims experience counts but the experiences I can remember of him are those of killing and maiming opponents, annulment of democratic process and putting the citizens under SAP and austerity measure while he looted our treasury. These definately are not good experiences.

So why is IBB boasting of the bad experiences he metted on Nigerians?