One of the Babangida boys, Vice-Admiral Mike Akhigbe, has lashed out at General Ibrahim Babangida, admitting that his former boss was the one who destroyed the Nigerian military with his broken promises to Nigerians while he tried to perpetuate himself in power.
Not that Akhigbe's records in public office proves him as a respectable officer or democrat. He is known to have stolen billions of naira while serving as governor in Lagos and Ondo states. And he never said a word against Babangida or any of his policies since 1993 when Babangida was swept by the tide of June 12. As it appears, Akhigbe is only bringing up a fact that is already known to many Nigerians to make political gains.
Retired soldiers are now in battle mode against each other as wild ambitions among the military-political class is now pitching general against general in the scamble for oil money in Aso Rock. A trailer-load of retired soldiers are scambling for an opportunity to command petro-dollar from the presidential seat.
Akhigbe, who was appointed military administrator of Ondo and Lagos States by Babangida, told THISDAY in Abuja, that it was the failure of Babangida to honour his many promises to hand over to a democratically-elected government that put the entire military class in Nigeria in bad light.
Said Akhigbe: “One of the major problems which confronted the military towards the end of military governance in Nigeria , to me and some of my colleagues, was the issue of credibility. By our training, education and service, two things should never be questioned of a military officer. One is trust. The other loyalty.
“But, in between, every opportunity we had to return the country to civil rule, with all the promises, they never came to fruition. Some of us, therefore, began to see ourselves as unreliable military officers. Some of us, who were relatively younger by our own training, began to worry about it. So, we started to urge a return to civil rule,” he disclosed.
Akhigbe, who retired on May 29, 1999, after serving as Chief of General Staff (second in command) to the immediate past Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, said it was the opportunity presented by the “providential” death of the late General Sani Abacha, that made the military atone for all the broken promises by handing over at short notice to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“By providence in 1998, I was selected by my colleagues, and supported by Nigerians, to be the second citizen of this country, I thought that one of the things to do was to be credible in everything we had to do. And one of the most important assignments before us was to return the country to civil rule. This view was very much shared by the (then) Head of State (General Abdulsalami Abubakar).
“We came to the realisation that one of the important things to do was to let us do this thing (handover) without any personal consideration. Any appearance that any of us was interested in political office would not give confidence to the public. So, we decided to hand over clean and clear.”
He continued: “Personally, I had to distance myself as much as possible, from any appearance of wanting to seek political office, the reason, after I left, I began to engage in intellectual activities, community service and, where possible, involve in academic work. That was why after service, I went to Law School , went abroad for a summer course in Maritime Law. Thereafter, I decided to proceed to do a Masters programme in Maritime Law.”
When Akhigbe was governor of Lagos State, he was believed to have been one of the most corrupt men who ever ruled. The day he was re-assigned, he was booed out of the Alausa Secretariat in Lagos. The opportunistic Admiral is now trying to portray himself as a clean, principled officer and democrat, even when he never said anything against Babangida through the June 12 crisis until now.
Akhigbe is believed to be worth billions of naira. He is one of the retired officers the EFCC needs to screen before being allowed to contest.
Going further, the retired Admiral disclosed that, but for a plea by the Judiciary to allow three months to dispose of petitions arising from elections, he and his colleagues had initially earmarked January 3, 1999, as handover date to Obasanjo.
“We initially set the (transition) programme for nine months, we were to go on January 3 (1999). But what happened was that the judiciary wanted a three-month period to dispose with all the cases. Especially when we had to de-recognise all the then existing political parties-UNCP, DPN, GDM, NCPN.
“We shifted it to April, but it was the month of FIFA World Cup. We felt there was no point hosting the world and at the same time handing over power. That was why we shifted it to May (29, 1999). Otherwise, it was doable and we did it.”
Akhigbe said he was not in the presidential race for the fun of it, but was convinced that he had a lot to offer Nigeria given his experience in and outside the military.
