I’m Still Very Optimistic About Nigeria, Says Babangida

Ibrahim Babangida

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, The Former Military President Celebrates His 72nd Birthday Today In Minna, Niger State Capital. As Part Of The Build Up To The Event, He Took Time Out To Interact With Some Journalists On His Views On Some National Issues. He Believes That Nigeria Is Doing Well As A Developing Country. Aisha Wakaso, Who Was At The Parley, Captures This And His Other Views

At 72 how do you see Nigeria as a nation and what is your opinion about the current state of affairs in the country?

We have gone through many things as a nation. The struggle for independence, the struggle to stabilise the polity after independence, civil war, so many things and all in the process of making the nation greater. In any developing country, there are ups and downs. I think that the past, and how we move forward is what makes a country distinguish itself.
I think we are doing well as a developing country. I only keep on arguing that we need to remain steadfast, remain in peace with one another and keep on working hard. I am very optimistic about this country.

What is your take on the argument that the young generation has failed the nation?

It will be wrong to say that the young men have failed the nation. I only think our expectations of the younger generation are very, very high. But there are other young men who are not doing badly.

Do you think the problems we face today are as a result of bad leadership?

Everyone talks about leadership and leaders. We tend to forget that leadership is at all levels. Leaders emerge when there are critical situations. In this case, in this country for instance, during the colonial struggle, during the fight for democracy, those who came out and fought for this country, came out with what they contributed and they believed in what they were doing and they tried to make others believe in what they were doing.

So in any situation, a man who stands out either in war or in peace, stands out as a result of his deeds, will always be a leader. And I think what we need to do is that we need to be able to follow people who believe in what we stand for, people who have aspiration for this country. We should be able to access these people, especially during times like this when there are lots of crises. We should know who stands for this and that.

I’ll give you one example. My boss, General Olusegun Obasanjo, there is one thing we cannot take away from him. He believes in the unity of the country. You cannot take this away from him and this is what we believe in. Anyone who believes in the unity of Nigeria at any level is a leader. We need to follow leaders who have a good understanding of what we want to achieve and look for people who share the same view and work with them. That is how we can bring about a strong leadership.

The National Anthem says the labour of our heroes past shall not be in vain. We have one edifice in Niger State, the Zik International Centre in Zungeru that has been left to waste. What’s your advice to federal, state and local government on the completion of the centre
I will call on the federal government to please make sure that the centre is completed. Late Nnamdi Azikwe was a nationalist; a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so I think the whole project falls on the federal government to make sure that it does not lie in waste. It should be completed for the purpose for which it was constructed. I wouldn’t even ask the local government; maybe, I’ll call on governors and individuals but surely not local governments.

If you were privileged to author your epitaph, what would you write?
Here lies General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, born in Minna, joined the military profession in 1962, stayed there for 32 years serving this great nation. By the grace of God, he became a military president and served this country for seven years. May his soul rest in peace.

You promised us a book about yourself and we have not seen any yet. Is there any coming out soon?

One book is out already. I am proud to say that it was written by a journalist, someone called Dan Agbese. However, in certain places, I think he wasn’t fair to me, but all the same, he spoke the truth. It was a biography about politics and the military; there was nothing he didn’t talk about. The book is ready and I am delaying the launch. I want to strike a good time to launch the reading. It will make a good reading!

…In time to re-launch your political ambition?

The question of political ambition is not there. I have told you before in this hall and I stand by it. But if you talk about working for the stability of this country, yes, I’m in for that for the rest of my life.

There are allegations that some of our leaders don’t have the unity of the nation at heart. As a statesman, what is your take on this?

I think there are a lot of leaders who have the unity of the nation at heart. There are quite a number of them, but if you want me to mention names, i will not but everyone can observe, we listen to them, you know what they say, you know what they stand for and so on. There are a lot of them that are real nationalists. Maybe they do not have a chance but all you need to do is interact with them and you will recognise the virtue in them.

How do you feel when you see strategic institutions, even the military being accused of operating on sentiment, primordial and ethnic coloration?

The military is the most cohesive organisation that the country has because all our training from day one to retirement is nothing but leadership. That is what military training entails. It’s about leadership and about the country. Cadets are taught not to think on religious lines, we tell them that they are going to lead soldiers into war and the bullets coming from the other end, nobody’s name is written on it.
Bullets are bullets, so we may as well work together, shelve our differences and make sure we win the war. That is what military training is about. It is about service to country first and when you don’t realise that, you do not have a chance to succeed in the military. I still believe it is still a cohesive institution.

What is your view about the 2015 election, especially when politicians cannot accept the result of elections? Do you think Nigerians should expect the same scenario in 2015?

I have said it before, it is not encouraging that 36 people could not organise a simple election between themselves, especially when these same people would conduct election for about two or three million people in their states. But this will not affect the 2015 election. We should all not forget that we have about 170 million Nigerians. Compared to two or three million, it is too small a number for us to be influenced.

What is your view about the prediction that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015?

One of the most amazing countries in the world is Nigeria. If you live outside it, and hear all the things happening in it, you will think the country is coming to an end only to come and see people happy, laughing and attending football matches and so on. That is Nigeria for you, so people are just crying wolf where there is none.

There are people assigned with the responsibility of conducting the election. The politicians, the followers who will vote, aspirants seeking for people’s mandate are all in place. It is not a rat race. Honestly, I think you should forget about disintegration in 2015. I can’t see it happening. We can’t talk about it. If you see country that will disintegrate you’ll know it. It is not something that will happen in one or two months. It is just out of question. People say all sorts of things to instill fear in the people.

If the majority of the people believe in the unity of the country, why do they worry about someone saying the country will disintegrate? I know it wouldn’t. We should not give it any prominence, especially those in the media.

At 72, is there anything you miss?

As a very strong believer of my faith, I don’t have anything I am missing but to be grateful to God for His mercies because He has been kind to me.  If there is anything I miss, it is loosing someone very important to me, but again my faith makes me know that one day, one of us must give way.

How do you feel at 72?

I feel old but in very high spirit because God has been faithful and I enjoy robust health.