Why Babangida Craves to Rule Nigeria Again

By  

Abdul A.D. Sadiq

Saturday, May29, 2004

antifalse_adal@yahoo.com

This needs no introduction or preamble. The only reason why Babangida craves irresistibly to rule Nigeria again is because his hands is so steeped in blood and his pockets full of stolen booty that he is eternally afraid, that all his past gory misdeeds will find him out and be exposed, so that he goes to a lifetime of prison, which his crimes against Nigerians and against humanity deserves. He is afraid that a man of conscience may rise at the helm of affairs in Nigeria tomorrow and demands an account from all the thieves who have ever ruled Nigeria and their collaborators. That is why he cannot sleep in peace, despite the seeming security that his ill-gotten booty seems to provide. The eternal punishment of a wicked man is that he can never smell peace. A wicked thief is the bridegroom of perpetual insomnia. Fear is his bedmate, as his eyes can never close in sleep nor his conscience rest. The wicked thief while he held sway in the courts of power sent grief to many a man. He is forever afraid that those upon whom he inflicted untold harm, will turn full circle and give him a rejoinder of his wickedness. That is why IBB must forever be in the vanguard to be in power or buy those in power as to continue to postpone his exposure and the account which he must necessarily render to Nigeria and Nigerians. Dele Giwa one of the victims of IBB’s high handed Machiavellic somersaults, had it that the evil done to man by man can never go unpunished. If not now, it will be later, If not by man, certainly by God. I urge IBB to keep on postponing a day of reckoning that must come. He should know that all Nigerians are not corruptible and all of us are not immoral. Neither do all of us have very short memory span. We may be cowards but we are not stupid.


Ibrahim Babangida bears in his person all those crooked attributes of a terrible leader. In an ambient where honour, justice, truth, ethics and all that is good, true and beautiful reigns, this man will forever be buried in shame and irrelevance due to his avid propensity to steal and strip his country naked of all her resources. If IBB is not a common thief, he should rise up in the courts of public opinion and tell the world the source of his stupendous loot, with which he is ready to buy up the ethically compromised individuals that are presently drumming up a wooden apology of a campaign to re-hoist him on the hapless Nigerians.

IBB was a terrible liar. And liars have never made good leaders. In civilized societies liars are mourned with derision. Richard Nixon went down in history as the first American President to resign because he wanted to gain an undue advantage over his opponents, and he lied in the process. Today, the name Nixon in American politics or social life reeks with maladrous stench of doublespeak. Though he mustered enough honour to resign the office, which his crookedness dishonoured. In Spain in 2004, the electorate threw out the government of Aznar because he lied to them in relation to the terrorist attacks that ripped that country asunder on March 11th 2004. But IBB lied to Nigerians from the first day he shot his way to power until the day he was forced out of it. He lied to Nigerians about the $12.4 billion Dollars 1st Gulf war oil windfall, which he stole. He lied to Nigerians about an unending transition which gulped over 40 Billion naira, and which he so carefully orchestrated to hand over power to the butcher that was his hatchet man; namely Abacha. He lied to Nigerians about the IMF loan, which after organizing a charade of a debate, he went on to please his IMF masters and took the loan which Nigerians never wanted and which I am positive ended up in his numbered account somewhere in one of these tax havens in Europe or the Carribean. He lied to Nigerians about the Peoples Bank, which was a bait to bridle Tai Solarin; one of his harshest critic. He co-opted his wife in this stealing spree. He never accounted to anyone the source of funding of Better Life for Rural Women, championed by his wife, which was another front for the frittering away and stealing of our resources while hapless old women from the villages were rented to sing the praises of stealing family concern headed by IBB.


Babangida’s achievement while in power is a litany of negatives. Under his watch, corruption was liberalized in government. Lies was elevated to the fine art of statecraft. Butchering of opposition which he commenced was perfected by his most trusted lieutant Abacha. Under him, Nigerian economy was a haemorrhaging patient, which was bled dry by IBB and his cronies. Nigerians suffered unprecedented hardship while he created a lot of directorates to settle his otherwise, would be opposers. His became a government of settlement, where under shady names, national and public utilities and concerns were auctioned off to his empire under the ruse that was privatization. IBB bought supporters to his rape of Nigeria with fat paychecks. Under him Defense and Police budgets enjoyed precedence over education, health care and Agriculture, as to intimidate his opponents or those who may consider mounting an opposition to his abuse of Nigeria.

Today there are so many that are sweeping round, begging the erstwhile thief to stage a comeback. Among these wandering minstrels are some of the very psychophants that begged Abacha to translate himself to a life President, simply because a mismanaged Nigeria conduces to their plunder of the spoils that fall out the dictators table. I am yet to see a gentleman without blemish who has ruled Nigeria in recent times. Obasanjo is no less a thief than IBB. The source of the wealth with which he established Ota Farms are as unknown. He could not have earned that kind of money in a life time of service in the armed forces on his legitimate salary. He has not told Nigerians where this money came from. It is equally most disheartening that none of the Presidential aspirants in the last election made honesty a part of their credentials save Ekwueme and Ojukwu. Ojukwu stated that he never stole public money while in office, rather he used his inheritance in service to his people under the most difficult circumstances. This was an inheritance that was potent enough to secure him a lifetime of unparalleled pleasure and convenience in any country of the world. But he loved his people to the extent that he laid down his inheritance for their wellbeing.

But IBB before he stepped aside commissioned a biography of himself written by one of the millions of psychophants milling around him in Aso Rock. That book most unfortunately was titled For Their Tomorrow, we gave our today—The irony of this book tells it all. IBB stole the tomorrow of Nigerians yet unborn. I am yet to see what IBB sacrificed for the wellfare of future generations of Nigerians.


Today, many Nigerians are refugees leading lives of comfortable slavery in Europe, America and all over the world, simply because men like IBB and Abacha ruled Nigeria. I challenge all the inglorious idiots campaigning for this desecrated piece of humanity, to state one credible institution that IBB established which still functions and was not tainted by corruption under him. Under IBB education became bastardized as students learnt to spent one month in school and nine months on strike. Agriculture despite DFRRI was just a lip service paid to embezzlement. The Air Commodores that manned that ministry were equally parts of the basket case that was the IBB government. What was IBB’s achievement while at the helm of affairs in Nigeria? Nothing positive. Infact, the single most destructive experience that Nigeria of the 20th century had was to have been ruled by IBB and Abacha. Yet some mentally challenged folks are clamouring for his comeback. What was his level of education to warrant him to rule Nigeria? IBB was nothing but an Agbero from the barracks, who only knew how to plot coups, betray friends and deal decisively with opposition. His allergic to intellectuals and their contributions was the only thing that culminated in the murder of General Maman Vatsa; the Soldier poet and one of the most beautiful minds to don the uniform of the Nigerian Army Officers corp. His revulsion for opposition or criticism saw Dele Giwa parcel bombed out of existence. This is the kind of Dracula and monster that people want to rule Nigeria. I bet my life on the fact, that if a free and fair election takes place in Nigeria, that IBB will never smell the corridors of power. I am still bowled over by what he thinks he can achieve if given the power. He could not achieve all those while he was a sole administrator of Nigeria for as long as he wanted. What then would he achieve within a constitutional time frame, against the backdrops of the checks and balances of the other arms of government.

IBB confessed with his mouth, while he was the head of State that the Nigerian economy has defied all known solutions, while touting himself as the evil genius. A short comment will be apposite here. Why wouldn’t the Nigerian economy defy All known economic solutions, when the man that is supposed to cure it of the cancer besetting it was busy administering the poisons of embezzlement on her weak frame. While Nigerians were been asked by this inglorious dictator to tightened their belts and embrace SAP, this guy was busy sending the Gulf War Oil windfall into his numbered accounts in Switzerland. While he rapaciously plundered the Nigerian ivory tower denying the education sector of the requisite funds, and transforming our educational products into certifiable functional illiterates, his children were busy soaking the best of Western education outside Nigeria, with the Nigerian tax payers money. While our hospitals degenerated into not only mere consulting clinics during his tenure, but a place where people go to die, this man took a celebrated trip to France for an orthopaedic surgery to a leg that was there before he became president. This is the man who has no feelings for the pain of Nigerians, and who insulted us by taking us for a ride for over 7years, and ended it with criminally annuling the will and mandate of the Nigerian people expressed through the ballot box on the 12th of June, 1993. The souls of those who died in that IBB orchestrated debacle will never allow this man to rest in peace.

Against the backdrop of all these, all those clamouring for IBB to comeback are simply certifiable thieves, who want a re-introduction of darkness into Nigeria so that their evils may go on undetected.

Now my introduction comes as the epilogue. Judas the son of Simon Iscariot one day saw a woman washing the Master’s feet with some expensive perfumed ointment. This guy immediately berated the woman and the Master, reminding He who knew poverty from birth, that that should be sold and given to the poor. I wonder what other poor man is greater than the King, who though in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, emptying himself, taking the form of a slave, and being born in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:6-11) John the evangelist made a short remark there. He said that Judas did not say this because he liked the poor but because he was a THIEF; who while in charge of the Apostolic funds, used to help himself to it. For Judas replace IBB. He feel that he needs power to help the poor. He contributed in sending so many Nigerian families to the garbage heap for their daily bread. He contributed in securing the uneviable title of the most corrupt nation on earth for Nigeria. 419 spread like bush fire in the harmattan, due to the conducive environment nurtured by his government.

For those who want IBB to rule again, they should go and sell off their children into slavery and go hang themselves because they are eternal affronts to civility; to honour; to integrity. Infact, posterity will always remember them as sub human parasites who sold of their honour for sordid money and mortgaged the future of their children simply to satiated the goddess of their avarice.

Anybody who wants IBB to come back, should know that a nation ruled by a thief would be peopled by bandits. Nigerians should rise up and say no to this imposition of thieves upon us. We have had enough. If 2007 is rigged in favour of any thief, as OBJ did in 2003 amidst the opposition of the European Union observers, Nigerians must surely rise like the ancient Romans did against Brutus and his co-conspirators. We would rise like the Romanians rose against Ceucescu, and we must rise like the Georgians did against Shevadnezer. We have had enough of this pieces of human excrement that call themselves our rules.

We are simply watching out. We will resist, We will reject and we will fight against election fraud. If this degenerates to a civil war, Nigeria will not survive it. Those who will remain will then decided whether evil has been redefined as good as to warrant a thief to dare our patience.

IBB would think that he is popular. Well, a wide gulf of difference exists between fame and notoriety. He is a notorious man. Great men are those who like August Ceasar, saw their countries as cities of bricks and left them cities of marble. IBB saw Nigeria a city of bricks and levelled her to the ground, abandoning the citizens to the socio-economic and political elements. A great man is the Martin Luther King Jr., who fought to empower his people. He is a Mahatma Ghandi that taught by exmple. He is the Nelson Mandela, who the whole world reveres today. He is Julius Nyerere who his people fondly call „Nwalimu“-the teacher. He is Mustafa Kemal Atarturk who built up a modern Turkey for his people. These are the all time greats. What is IBB’s height when compared to these men. He could not approximate the vision of Mandela who led his people to independence from racial segregation, but willfully gave up the trappings of power and office after just one term in office. He could not approximate the vision and incorruptibility of Julius Nyerere, who left office willfully and was so poor as to have as his only asset, a two storied building that he had before he went into office. Nyerere can proudly ask his people: Who among you can convict me of corruption? Let IBB ask Nigerians that question and see if stones will not rain down from the skies to erase his lying tongue and teeth.

Who can convict IBB of corruption? Well, the Okigbo panel set up by Abacha indicted IBB over the theft of the 12.4Billion Dollar Gulf Oil windfall. Gani Fawehimi established a prima facie case against IBB in the brutal murder of Dele Giwa. IBB went to court to derail the Oputa panel and prevent his been summoned to tell Nigerians his role in abuse of the human rights of Nigerians. If he had no skeleton to hide, why attempt to frustrate a fact finding panel? IBB and his cronies have not told Nigerians why Maman Vatsa was killed by him. Treason? Against whom? IBB was a part of the treasonable felons that took power off the civilians on the 31st of December 1983. That was not enough, he masterminded another treason against Buhari/Idiagbon accusing them of directionlessness. History has now told us who was directionless between the former and himself. Why Vatsa had to die was because, IBB was afraid that he would perish by sword by which he had lived.

We are waiting for 2007. We know that the thieves are honing their knives to razor sharpness, but suprise awaits all of them. I hope that their Weird Sisters have warned them, just like they did Macbeth. But I can see that vaulting ambition is on seating driving their senseless passion and will to power, to its necessary end, which is destruction.

Contact me on:

antifalse_adal@yahoo.com

Zaria,Kaduna State,Nigeria.