IBB: Truly, life is transient!

True is the saying, ‘Where the carcass is, there shall the vultures gather.’ A mammoth crowd, albeit of eminent people, including those that had the opportunity (but ruined it) to turn our nation into an eldorado, gathered recently at the prestigious Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja to attend the launching of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s autobiography, “A Journey in Service.” 

On the roll call were, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, current President Bola Tinubu, business leaders, billionaires like Arthur Eze, Folorunso Alakija, and Aliko Dangote. Other dignitaries were Yakubu Gowon, Rotimi Amaechi, and Atiku Abubakar, among others.

In his hey days as a Military President of Nigeria, IBB, as he was fondly called, bestrode Nigeria like a colossus. He did what pleased him. He changed the transition-to-civil rule date as many times as he pleased. He merged the political parties in Nigeria into two, namely, SDP and NRC and built two gigantic secretariats in each of the 774 local government areas across the country for the two parties. Today those secretariats have been left to rust, and the two party system has returned to the old multiparty system.

Babangida’s word in his days as a military dictator was a command   
On September 23, 1987, Babangida created two states: Akwa Ibom and Katsina. Again, on August 27, 1991, he created nine more states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi,Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe. Thus, bringing the total number of states in Nigeria to thirty in 1991. Babangida, in his fancy, created Delta State, with the capital in Asaba (where his late wife hailed from) as a birthday gift to her. 

I have not read Babangida’s autobiography, and I don’t think I will. In his review, I heard he made some startling revelations. One of the most significant admissions was that Moshood Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was annulled by him. Babangida stated that Abiola secured the required geographical spread and majority votes, winning 2/3 majority of the then 30-state Nigeria.

He also acknowledged that his initial denial of Abiola’s victory was incorrect, “and upon deeper reflection, it became clear that Abiola won the election.” He heaped the blame of the annulment on forces led by General Sani Abacha. The annulment sparked widespread protests and criticism, leading to a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats known as the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO. Tinubu, now the Nigerian president, was one of the chief sponsors of that organisation that demanded that Sani Abacha should step down in favour of MKO Abiola, the assumed winner of the election. Tinubu was one of those who fled the country for their dear lives.

Regarding the annulment of Abiola’s election, several key people lost their lives, including, Kudirat Abiola, Abiola’s wife, who was assassinated in 1996 while fighting for her husband’s mandate, Dele Giwa, A prominent journalist who was killed by a letter bomb in 1986. Although Babangida’s book mentions Giwa, it does not explicitly admit to his involvement in Giwa’s death, Vasta, A friend of Babangida, was executed by firing squad. Babangida mentioned Vasta as he was reading excerpts from the book and claimed his death was justifiable. At that time, the whole world pleaded with IBB to let Vasta off the hook but he still went ahead and ordered his execution.

On the day of the book launch Babangida was wheeled into the arena looking frail, and his voice, as he read excerpts from the book, was hardly audible. His ebullient is gone. His vigor and audacious demeanor have all disappeared. 

Babangida’s autobiography has sparked mixed reactions, with some praising his honesty and others criticising his delayed admission. Now that he has admitted his fault for nullifying a free and fair election and denied the winner of assuming his mandate, will Babangida be willing to submit himself to the law court to face judgment for his actions? Time will tell.
Edaghese wrote from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He can be reached via: [email protected]