[img]http://thewillnigeria.com/thumbnail.php?file=Atiku_babangida__462033931.jpg&size=article_medium[/img]
PHOTO L-R: FORMER VICE PRESIDENT ATIKU ABUBAKAR AND FORMER MILITARY DICTATOR, IBRAHIM BADAMASI BABANGIDA.

Why is the North giving us bad leaders who are either stealing our country dry or too sick to govern? After fifty years of failed leadership produced mainly by the North: Gowon, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Atiku, Yarâdua, we urgently need a breather from the crooked, dim and spent mob that over the period, collectively and systematically brought Nigeria down to her knees, destroyed our hopes, and turned our prospects as a people into painful despair. I do not think the North is short of quality materials. After all, while the South gave us Awo and Zik, the North produced leaders in the mold of the Sarduana and Murtala Muhammad. So why are characters like Babangida, Buhari, Atiku still fronting for the North now that Nigeria has reached the edge of the grave they dug for her? Does the North so desperately want our quick demise?


All that Babangida, (nicknamed IBB), has to show for his over eight years in power in Nigeria, is private colossal wealth, and the edification of corruption in our body politics. The book, The Sink, by Jeffrey Robinson, an American writer, says it all about Babangida. "Of the $120 billion siphoned out of the Nigerian treasury into offshore accounts by dishonest politicians, $20 billion is allegedly traceable to IBB directly as president from 1985 to 1993." The Wolfsberg Principles, an initiative of 11 banks and institutions across the world to fight serious international financial crimes, traced another $3 billion of our stolen money to Babangida’s accounts abroad, and $4.3 billion to Abacha's. The World Bank and other international sources of information allege that his total loot from the Nigerian treasury is over $35 billion. Now he is threatening to use a fraction of that money to return to power and a figure of N400 billion has been mentioned by his cronies as his campaign chest.


The Gulf war oil windfall is Babangida's often-referenced loot. Abacha set up a panel headed by the highly respected economist, Pius Okigbo, in October, 1994, to reorganize the CBN. Okigbo's panel discovered that $12.2 billion of the $12.4 billion accruable from the Gulf War excess crude oil sales was frittered away or unaccounted for, through nebulous or phantom projects that could not be traced. Only $206 million was left in the account. According to Okigbo, "disbursements were clandestinely undertaken while the country was openly reeling with crushing external debt overhead. These represent, no matter the initial justification for creating the account, a gross abuse of public trust. "

John Fashanu, in a private investigation published in African Confidential early in Obasanjo's regime, discovered an alleged $6 billion debt buy-back scam by IBB between 1988 and 1993. Another $14.4 billion disappeared into off shore accounts as currency stabilization and debt buy-back scheme that actually cost $2.5 billion. One of the front-companies used, Growth Management, based in London, bought the debt for 10 cents per dollar and resold to the government at 45 cents to steal 35 cents per dollar. Fashanu was trying to recover about $17 billion for the Nigerian government only for the CBN to say they had no records of the deals. The records are out there abroad but cleaned out at home to conceal the (theft) deals.

Babangida was ruthless in the way he amassed his colossal wealth. First is the illegal self-allocation of free oil, sold on the spot market. Then he initiated the corrupt culture of maintaining a huge monthly security vote virtually as personal pocket money. Rather than repair our refineries, let alone to work at maximum capacity, IBB built private refineries in Cote d' Ivoire and the Republic of Benin, where he took our crude to refine and sell back to us as fuel.

Luscious contracts for the construction of Abuja were awarded to front-companies of his and his cronies, including Julius Berger and Arab Contractors that between them virtually single-handedly handled the construction of the new Federal Capital. The security danger of foreign companies solely constructing a country’s capital and having access to its structural secrets, including possible Presidential underground escape routes and military arsenal volts, is mind boggling to say the least, but that is an issue for another day.

Although Babangida used mostly fictitious names for his numerous accounts abroad, EFCC could zero in on some of the accounts by following up on the dusts raised early in 2003 over the financing of his GLOBACOM. Documents on the loan supposed to have been granted on 9 February, 2001, were dated 28 August, 2006. The original loan letter has not been presented. Apparently, Paribas Bank, based in Paris, was managing a slush fund from which investments in excess of US$400 million was made to buy into Alcatel (Globacom’s technical partners), Bouygues Telecoms, Peugeot and Total finaelf.

Alcatel and Parabel National of France were worried at the time that their invoices for the telecom project were being inflated to launder funds by the supposed private owners of the sources of funds and that private cheques were being issued to finance the staggering project without recourse to borrowing from banks. They suspected illegal laundering of funds and threatened to withdraw collaboration on the project while alerting Interpol to investigate the sources of the private cheques being issued to finance the project. IBB could not participate in Obasanjo’s 2003, inauguration ceremonies, because he was allegedly out of the country sorting out the Interpol queries on the Alcatel’s slush account alert, at the time. Even now, the telecoms’ financing details through Siemens etc, could be investigated by the EFCC tracing ghost cheques to issuing private sources of funds and their local and international banks to unravel possible laundering of funds.


There is this strong allegation among the rank and file of the armed forces, and members of the defense correspondence of our newspapers attached to the seat of power, that Babangida arranged, in the last couple of weeks before leaving office, for several armoured vehicle loads of newly printed naira notes to be delivered daily to his new Minna palatial abode obviously with the connivance of Abacha, perhaps as his mentor’s retirement benefit. Abacha and Babangida had several serious financial problems with Abiola but one of them takes the cake. It was over some foreign war booty amounting to US$215m.

It is alleged that Babangida had asked Abiola to help launder it when Babangida was in office but Abiola was not interested.
Babangida allegedly side-stepped Abiola and eventually prevailed upon a member of Abiola's family in the custom of family friendship, to rescue the situation. Then the person suddenly died. It is further alleged that Abiola was asked to return the money and he truthfully and honestly said he knew nothing about it and even if there was such a thing, he had no authority over the matter. Then he was asked to pressurize the children of the deceased to play ball. Abiola refused, arguing that he had no legal or moral right to do so. The kids of the deceased wanted Abiola released but Abiola was too principled to succumb to blackmail so the powers that be decided early after his arrest, that he would die in detention for declaring himself president.


Perhaps you would want to join me to play the prude accountant, generous with figures. Let's pretend that Babangida was a General throughout his service years in the Nigerian army. Again let's assume he spent 30 years in the army and was paid N100, 000 monthly (actually, salaries of Generals were less than N10, 000 a month until recently) and he saved every kobo of his salary. He would be worth about N35, 000,000 plus interest in the bank today. But Babangida's 50 bedroom palatial abode in Minna is alleged to be conservatively worth billions of naira and he does not owe any bank on it. The largest, most prestigious housing estate in Alexandra, Egyptâ's leading holiday resort town, is alleged to belong to Babangida. Even Egyptians cannot afford his rent, which is alleged to be in dollars. All his tenants are rich foreigners and the staff of multi-national companies operating in Alexandra. The estate is alleged to have its own airport, which Babangida uses when he visits in his private jet.

Babangida is alleged to own several other housing estates around the world, including houses on Bishop Avenue in London. He uses his London houses, it is alleged, as guest houses or gifts for people on his compromise list. He is considered generous with gifts of cars with their boots stuffed with naira notes when he wants some jobs done.

In the area of managing the national economy, Babangida bestowed his adroitness and moral degeneracy. His economy was dominated by male-wives, particularly in the banking and oil sectors. Women often brag about the efficacy of ‘bottom’ power. Feminine men sometimes flaunt it too as their passport to economic liberation. Between them and the suddenly very lucrative 419 business of the time, industry was complete. IBB's chiefs, allegedly colluded with 419 criminals to create the over-night semi-illiterate money-bags without class or shame, (including the 150 members of the National Assembly, that in 2005 sent IBB a birthday card), and who together now form the bulk of his supporters and campaigners, to return him to power. Babangida (sapped) or totally wiped the middle class out of existence with the destruction of the naira, which he did by fiat in 1985, when he down graded the naira exchange rate from about N2 to N18 to the dollar. By the time he was forced out of office in 1993, the naira was exchanging at N60 to the dollar. Society was reduced to two social classes of either the very poor or the rich rogues. Babangida should be heading for Kirikiri not Aso Rock because the fight against corruption is a sham otherwise.



http://www.igbolandforum.com/index.php?topic=675.0

so this is how Adenuga made his money , , ,ehh, where the hell is EFCC when u need them the most.

Nigeria operates in ethnic distrust. It is impossible to get the best from each side to rule at the center, at such we have to settle for a middle ground-a conglomeration of b-a-stards from every part of Nigeria.

The same system that is incapable of bringing quality leaders from the south will not produce the best from the north. Is OBJ, GEJ the best from the south? Was Yar'adua the best from the north?

For example El-rufai is an excellent candidate but Sambo or Lamido stand a better chance than him.

Did any region of Nigeria produced any good Leader?

I want to also ask, is the south east capable of producing quality leadership? A zone that can't manage the office of the senate president successfully. Back to the topic, have you not heard of Sar'dauna of sokoto, Aminu kano? These are all leaders in the mould of Awo

Is Nigeria incapable of producing quality leaders herders?


Look, I know a huge chunk of our respected and most trust worthy public servants came from the North. That people like you voted PDP because of Jonathan shouldn't be a reason to start casting an entire people as non productive,

When it comes to public servants, the North has done more officially (note officially) than other regions,

All that Babangida, (nicknamed IBB), has to show for his over eight years in power in Nigeria, is private colossal wealth, and the edification of corruption in our body politics. The book, The Sink, by Jeffrey Robinson, an American writer, says it all about Babangida. "Of the $120 billion siphoned out of the Nigerian treasury into offshore accounts by dishonest politicians, $20 billion is allegedly traceable to IBB directly as president from 1985 to 1993." The Wolfsberg Principles, an initiative of 11 banks and institutions across the world to fight serious international financial crimes, traced another $3 billion of our stolen money to Babangida’s accounts abroad, and $4.3 billion to Abacha's. The World Bank and other international sources of information allege that his total loot from the Nigerian treasury is over $35 billion. Now he is threatening to use a fraction of that money to return to power and a figure of N400 billion has been mentioned by his cronies as his campaign chest.

Abacha also used Nigeria's money to build a personal refinery in Sierra Leone, while removing the "fuel subsidy" and running down our local ones. Huge funds were allocated for their repairs, but all vanished without trace. Abacha and his cronies made serious money by directly importing fuel themselves and selling forex to themselves at a much lower rate than the CBN's, effectively, Nigerian's were subsidising Abacha and his locusts to siphon dollars straight into their accounts. To complete the circle of raw theft, Abacha also set up the PTF which was headed by Buhari (to this day, Buhari swears Abacha never stole a dime) to disburse "fuel subsidy" funds. Buhari gave the PTF estate at Wuse away to a contractor in a sweetheart deal. . .

God de.

Just making a baseless argument. Is this your justification for the subsidy removal. Buhari is and still remain a corrupt free man. Prove it, if you can

Beaf:

Abacha also used Nigeria's money to build a personal refinery in Sierra Leone, while removing the "fuel subsidy" and running down our local ones. Huge funds were allocated for their repairs, but all vanished without trace. Abacha and his cronies made serious money by directly importing fuel themselves and selling forex to themselves at a much lower rate than the CBN's, effectively, Nigerian's were subsidising Abacha and his locusts to siphon dollars straight into their accounts. To complete the circle of raw theft, Abacha also set up the PTF which was headed by Buhari (to this day, Buhari swears Abacha never stole a dime) to disburse "fuel subsidy" funds. Buhari gave the PTF estate at Wuse away to a contractor in a sweetheart deal. . .

God de.

Hahahahaha hahahahaah, The Irony, Don't worry, we will say the same of Jonathan too, (Hey, I'm not in support of IBB and co)

9jaganja:

Hahahahaha hahahahaah, The Irony, Don't worry, we will say the same of Jonathan too, (Hey, I'm not in support of IBB and co)

Silly.
Why not go ahead then? Whats stopping you?

What is the purpose of your post if you aren't in support of IBB and co? The exhibition of zero content?

macjive01:

so this is how Adenuga made his money , , ,ehh, where the hell is EFCC when u need them the most.

what most of us still fail to understand is that adenuga doesn't own that.it's not dangote, otedola et al's money.these men are fronts for ibb, atiku, obasanjo, tinubu et al.

Beaf:

Silly.
Why not go ahead then? Whats stopping you?

What is the purpose of your post if you aren't in support of IBB and co? The exhibition of zero content?

Same steps IBB and Abacha took, your GEJ is taking loooll, Do I have to be in support of IBB to criticize GEJ? Hahahaha zero content!! clap for yourself in slow motion,

You basically outlined what IBB and co did, but you forgot that your GEJ who wants to remove subsidy next year without good standing in refineries is doing the same! We will import oil from his oil cronies and they'll get richer and richer,

Have you ever wondered why GEJ called IBB his mentor? AHAHAHAH He is following his foot steps, O LE KU!!!!

9jaganja:

Same steps IBB and Abacha took, your GEJ is taking loooll, Do I have to be in support of IBB to criticize GEJ? Hahahaha zero content!! clap for yourself in slow motion,

You basically outlined what IBB and co did, but you forgot that your GEJ who wants to remove subsidy next year without good standing in refineries is doing the same! We will import oil from his oil cronies and they'll get richer and richer,

Have you ever wondered why GEJ called IBB his mentor? AHAHAHAH He is following his foot steps, O LE KU!!!!

Lol! You are a real dufus! Abacha and IBB built refineries with our money in foreign countries, but you seem to have missed that huge point. Removing the subsidy by contrast, is an academic and economically strategic exercise, but I don't think you can grasp such minor details. Better minds would have asked for details about the refineries in question, but I understand that weed fries the brain and makes it pop out only zero content.

Just like the SE SS SW and other regions are incapable of producing quality leaders.

You sef check am, SS produced a president and they gave us the most clueless, mor0nic and Retardeed president ever

who was chasing Oyinbo women dick in hand all over Australia

dayokanu:

Just like the SE SS SW and other regions are incapable of producing quality leaders.

You sef check am, SS produced a president and they gave us the most clueless, mor0nic and Retardeed president ever

who was chasing Oyinbo women Joystick in hand all over Australia

^^ NO MATTER HOW BAD U TRY TO DEPICT GEJ, OUR PRESIDENT, OBJ IS A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW FOR MOST CLUELESS, MORONIC AND RETARDEED PRESIDENT. BARE THAT IN MIND. 

Beaf:

Lol! You are a real dufus! Abacha and IBB built refineries with our money in foreign countries, but you seem to have missed that huge point. Removing the subsidy by contrast, is an academic and economically strategic exercise, but I don't think you can grasp such minor details. Better minds would have asked for details about the refineries in question, but I understand that weed fries the brain and makes it pop out only zero content.

I won't get into wordplay with you as I often regret my own badmouth within my conscience,

The below is what your above post means to me,

9jaganja is a dufus because of the following: Abacha and IBB built refineries with "our" money in foreign nations, removed fuel subsidy and started importing fuel from their own refineries,
but the difference with Jonathan's removal of fuel subsidy is that it is an economically strategic exercise even though we don't have well functioning refineries.

Abacha and IBB set up funds (ptf etc, ) after the removal of fuel subsidies, Jonathan is setting up "sovereign wealth fund" in line with removal of fuel subsidy,

Abacha and IBB allocated money to be used for renovating our refineries after removal of fuel subsidies, "Jonathan is also promising 'orient refineries" which are yet to even start and subsidy will be out next year

All the above is why 9jaganja is a dufus and a pot head , The similarity between the IBB (FOREIGN PUPPET) and GEJ (foreign toilet) is above,

Same economic measure that drove down the economy,

YES BEAF I'M A DUFUS! What other name do you have in you book?

I like the whole concept your post.Your post is covering most of all the important aspect relatated to this topic.

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plumber  Paterson
Plumbing Kearny  NJ

i wanted 2 give reasons y the north have d set of clueless governors it has but i see d poster has a diff tin in mind. The northerners didnt vote in d pple u mentioned. The northerners wud prefer buhari, sls,. Wen buhari lost, i said 2 myself, d burden of power nw lies in d south.

crap, which region in nigeria has been capable of producing good leaders??
btw, there are potentially great leaders in all regions of the country, however, only few of them have been opportuned to lead - current ones include the likes of fashola(sw), okonjo(se), sls(nw), ribadu(ne), utomi(ss),

The best leaders can be found in any part of the country, gentlemen. It shows how useless our leaders and people have become that someone will post this topic. I wonder why the moderators allowed this.

For the posters information, the best leadership material I can lay my hands on presently in Nigeria is from the NORTH.

He is no other person than Sanusi Lamido(the present CBN Governor).

I say this not because I agree with most of his economics policies ideologically, but I have seen he is PATRIOTIC AND FEARLESS. That is the leader Nigeria needs. We need a Putin in Nigeria. Someone that can be guided at all times by the greater interest of Nigeria. Someone that can look anybody in the eye and say the truth.

I am Igbo, except maybe Ngige, I don't see any good Presidential material in the East. Except oldman Tam David West, none from the South South. I cannot presently get any from the South West (Fashola has disappointed me by allowing Tinubu to mislead him).

Let us Name our candidates because 2015 is very near the corner.

Change the title to 'Is The North Nigeria Incapable Of Producing Quality Leaders?
There is certainly a dearth of quality leaders or rather they get outmuscled before they can seek offices

Meritocracy should be applied to Nigeria rather than this dem-all-crazy

@dayokanu

it's a time we the youth of this nation start facing the reality, Jonathan came into power with a fair mind and his motion was noted,first he was focusing to balance all the unbalance political issues our pass president's left.the northerners have notice his view as a view that can bench them northerner not to produce a president in this country in future now they came up with boko haram to discredit him,well i used to blame GEJ but i sat down and analyzed what is going on in our politics i came in conclusion that we need to wipe away this old fools call northern leaders,though GEJ is dull i am sure if someone radical is there and gain the support GEJ have so far gain from the SE/SS he would just got ibb,atiku,buhari,and co arrested and eliminate them for holding this country ransomed,please we need to stop blaming GEJ let support him and encourage him to do well.

When the South produce a  credible candidate like Olu Falae, did u vote for him?

When Gani Fawehinmi (South) contested for Presidency, did u vote for him?

What of Wole Soyinka? did u vote him?

The Southerners are too proud of themselves, they like to take the Northerners for a ride. If a goat contested under the platform a PDP or ACN he is likely to win any election from South.

Gen Buhari is the most credible and honourable nigerian to lead now.

The nrth is capable of bringing bumfools as the list up there, the nrth iz a mixtape of wack artiste scrambling 4 a record label, buh d markt aint buying.
The nrth only av 1thing 2b proud of and that iz religion comotion.

9ja_I_hail:

@dayokanu

it's a time we the youth of this nation start facing the reality, Jonathan came into power with a fair mind and his motion was noted,first he was focusing to balance all the unbalance political issues our pass president's left.the northerners have notice his view as a view that can bench them northerner not to produce a president in this country in future now they came up with boko haram to discredit him,well i used to blame GEJ but i sat down and analyzed what is going on in our politics i came in conclusion that we need to wipe away this old fools call northern leaders,though GEJ is dull i am sure if someone radical is there and gain the support GEJ have so far gain from the SE/SS he would just got ibb,atiku,buhari,and co arrested and eliminate them for holding this country ransomed,please we need to stop blaming GEJ let support him and encourage him to do well.

SOURCE, please! Moreso, can you tell us when Boko-Haram started?

Pls letz b fair to the topic, if u say nrthenerz r incapable then am wiv u, hw can u defnd a region that has bin in power 4 wat only God knws hw long, yt we have been told storiez upon storiz, hw d muni haz been shard, names we hrd ydy r stil headlinerz today, it shw hw lack of education has really aided in burying the gud youthz (boko haram) in leading the way.

The North has more capable and incorruptible leaders than the southern regions of Nigeria.

The governor of the apex bank is the best so far and he is from the northern region of Nigeria.

The most incorruptible Nigerian political leader was Mallam Aminu Kano and there are still people like him in the north today.

Is the South incapable of not producing greedy, selfish and utterly tribalistic buffoonish leaders the likes of Adedibu, Arisekola, Tinubu, Fayosa, Oni, Oyinola, Aregbesola, Ibori, Uduaghan etc  

even as a southerner i still rather trust a northern ruler over someone from south.
since 1999 we been basically ruled by southerners with a year or so of a northerner and look at the state of the country.

even as a southerner i still rather trust a northern ruler over someone from south.
since 1999 we been basically ruled by southerners with a year or so of a northerner and look at the state of the country.

Good talk!!!