Former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida said yesterday that he did not attend the ill-fated Nigeria@50 celebrations at Eagle Square, Abuja last Friday because he did not believe in spending so much money for an event that should instead have elicited sober reflection on the heroes and heroines that laid down their lives for the country. He spoke to reporters at his Hill Top residence in Minna. He said the amount of money spent on the event was outrageous and unnecessary. The event, he also said, was driven by an agenda that lost focus and direction as it forgot to give due honour to Nigerians who laid down their lives for the country and to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

Babangida said, “People have been talking about my absence at the celebration of independence and Nigeria at 50 anniversaries and I have this to say, that I don’t believe in the flamboyance attached to an event that would have focused more on what an average Nigerian should benefit in terms of developmental projects.”

Babangida’s absence from the event has been quietly pointed at by government officials to support the allegation in official circles that he was linked to the bomb blasts. Tackling that charge yesterday, Babangida said claims by some people that he could have been behind last Friday’s twin bomb blasts in Abuja during celebration of the Nigeria@50 were idiotic.

He said many people have inferred that he may have an idea of the impending bomb blast, which was why he did not attend the parade at the Eagle Square. He however expressed amazement that some Nigerians would link him with issues that he is far removed from.

He said it would be idiotic for anyone to think that he was involved in the car bomb episode. He said he has fought for the unity of the country and will have nothing to gain causing any form of disaffection in the country.

He said, “It will be idiotic for anybody to think that I who fought for the unity of Nigeria and still carries about the shrapnel from the war will have knowledge of the car bomb blast which took the lives of many Nigerians. I and many Nigerians who fought the war to unite this country will never want Nigeria to go through what some of us went through during the civil war as we fought very hard to keep Nigeria as one nation.”

General Babangida also said the arrest of his campaign chairman Dr. Raymond Alegho Dokpesi by the State Security Service [SSS] for suspected complicity in the bomb blasts was done based on the imagination of some people. He said, “When things like this happen Nigerians will cast their imaginative and fertile minds and this is the price we have to pay as politicians. Anyone who knows my High Chief (Dokpesi) will not associate him with such act as he is a patriotic Nigerian who will not do anything that will undermine the security of the country.”

The former military ruler also accused the Federal Government of security lapse for the October 1 bomb blast that claimed many lives. He said the federal government had no less than five days’ notice that a bomb will be planted at the square. He said the unfortunate loss of lives would have been avoided if government’s security operatives had moved in quickly to arrest the situation.

“The federal government was given at least a period of five days before the bomb went off near the Eagle Square but failed to act in time to check the bloodbath. In my own opinion, and I speak as a retired General, that there are lapses in our security network and somebody must be held responsible for that. Given the period of time the government was notified on the impending disaster, it could have responded swiftly to check it within the period of less than 24 hours to put down the attempt.”

He described as unfortunate a situation where the federal government cannot ward off an attack that has been duly made public by the perpetrators and intelligence operatives outside the country, adding that it was a show of incompetence on the side of government.

General Babangida who also expressed concern over the level of armament in the hands of members of the MEND group filmed from their enclave in the creeks by a foreign media organisation. He said the government is not doing enough in the area of protecting the country from armed insurrection.

“I saw a young lady Yvonne Ndege taking footage of armed members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in their den. And I saw the militants wielding weapons of different calibration. I speak as a General that has witnessed war and I know that such armament with the MEND group despite the amnesty program of the federal government which I thought has cleared off all weapons from the militants shows serious security lapse in the country.”

He said the federal government failed to locate and suppress such armed groups, saying “once again the issue of security has been compromised by those vested with the responsibility to maintain it.”

He warned that it was time for the government of Nigeria to put an end to the free movement of arms and ammunitions as he described as unfortunate a situation whereby weapons of such magnitude come into Nigeria undetected.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Ibrahim-Badamasi-Babangida/16770650357
http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4149%3Aibb-why-i-was-not-at-eagle-square&catid=2%3Alead-stories&Itemid=8&ref=nf

U where not at d Eagle Square simply bcoz u were planning for a sinful task.Moderfucckker

This is where you should appreciate a true leader.
Jonathan, slow as he is intellectually and mentally, has finally realize one his many mistakes
hence:
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/11805-50th-independence-jonathan-orders-probe-of-n66bn-budget-expenditure

what a waste

Ferrai stop your stupidity. You arew fond of pasting junks about Ibb here, stop being foolish. Ibb will fail WOEFULLY

many tanx for adding another 12 people to that honorary list of those that gave their lives for the country you fought to keep together so you could rob her blind, bravo your bombs worked wonders only this time you didnt want to take a shrapnel again.

Posted by: paddy_lo  

This  IBB thinks he is slick?

u wanna rule Naija but u dont go to her anniversary,who is he fooling

IBB that took us on a stupendous transfer of power programme that constantly shifted the goal posts and spent billions of Naira on?

an IBB that stole $12billion in oil windfall?,  .

Is now waxing philosophical about wasteful spending?. . .this guys must be delusional. . or think Nigerians are fools


OR BOTH, Afterall,


ferari90 opined thus:

This is where you should appreciate a true leader.

Now i 've heard it all!!!!!!

seanet02:

Ferrai stop your stupidity. You arew fond of pasting junks about Ibb here, stop being foolish. Ibb will fail WOEFULLY

Seanet, tell  me what you will do if you happen to go finishing and  after an attempt could not catch
a fish.
will you consider yourself a failure,bury your head in shame and go home
or try again and again and learn from your past mistakes?

<<<<<<<just saying>>>>>>>>>

What he means to say is: Why I was not at Eagle Square , Apart from the fact that I was planning to bomb the place, I also didn't like the way the money was being spent. LMHO

IBB's sudden accountability-attack is cringing.

He might have made some mistakes in the past
but remember :

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."
~Niels Boh

    VOTE IBB = VOTE an  EXPERT in good leadership

or VOTE GEJ=VOTE GRIDLOCK  , God forbid !!!any way its already happening

He said many people have inferred that he may have an idea of the impending bomb blast, which was why he did not attend the parade at the Eagle Square. He however expressed amazement that some Nigerians would link him with issues that he is far removed from.

Imagine the irony. Given his antecedents, who [i]else [/i]should we link to the blast?

ferari90:

Former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida said yesterday that he did not attend the ill-fated Nigeria@50 celebrations at Eagle Square, Abuja last Friday because he did not believe in spending so much money for an event.

Bros IBB, independence Bomb Blast, I sincerly understand what you mean, You would rather have the money in your various accounts home and abroad for your Evil political intentions to be actualized. Bros , shame no dey catch you? can you see that the world treats you like a plague.

IF you know what is best for you, you will consider a rat poison take cover shame.

wow.

honestly. jonathan has 0 control over his own government and doesn't show any attributes of a leader.

IBB is a sociopathic murderer and shameless thief and possibly the worst nigerian of all time.



though my support is MORE FOR Jonathan, i REALLY dont want either as my president.
I hope Ribadu can put up a strong enough fight against them but he seems too naive. or Buhari but he doesn't seem twisted enough to get ahead in nigerian politics today.

ferari90:

Seanet, tell  me what you will do if you happen to go finishing and  after an attempt could not catch
a fish.
will you consider yourself a failure,bury your head in shame and go home
or try again and again and learn from your past mistakes?

<<<<<<<just saying>>>>>>>>>

Only a fool will spend 8 years sitting at a river bank trying to catch a fish and fail
and then return back to the same river and boast of being the only one qualified to catch fish in the same river.
Only a fool

<<<<<<<just saying the truth>>>>>>>>

What did IBB think we would be expecting from him "FELLOW NIGERIANS I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT MY ABSENCE AT THE VENUE OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS, I THOUGHT THAT THE IDIOTS I RAISED A $100M DOLLARS WOULD HIT THE EAGLE SQUARE", nonsense

Ferrari pls spare us ur bullshit, I am frm Edo state where we were advised that if a child failed a class he should be allowed to repeat and when he repeated he performed even worse!!!

A vote for IBB can not be a vote for expert in GOOD leadership, but wld instead be a vote for expert in TERRIBLY WICKED leadership.

denitro:

Only a fool will spend 8 years sitting at a river bank trying to catch a fish and fail
and then return back to the same river and boast of being the only one qualified to catch fish in the same river.
Only a fool

<<<<<<<just saying the truth>>>>>>>>

Yesss He will sit there for 8 years and more if the law permits
why not? if no fisherman has been competent enough to catch a fish from that river.

Remember even a certain "LUCKY" Local fisherman is trying to use poising to catch the fish we need ALIVE, Dumb!!!!

>>>>>>still saying<<<<<<<<<<

[size=18pt]GEJ is now probing himself over waste of 1st October 17Billion naira gone down the drain[/size]

How about speaking from Hilltop White House? Lion wey dey mercy for sheep,

A Very Very Very lame excuse!

The evil man had evil plans for that place that was why he avoided the place.

Onitsha mainmarket didnot notice the absence of one trader