President Olusegun Obasanjo is reported to have surprised former dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, by advising IBB to jettison his presidential ambition and join forces with him to shop for a younger candidate, preferably from the South South geo-political zone. Obasanjo told IBB that it would be safe for IBB not to contest.
President Olusegun Obasanjo rejects the candidacy of ex-military president, Ibrahim Babangida for 2007 and tells him to his face.
Meetings between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida in Aso Rock are common. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Unlike many retired servicemen, Babangida, until recently, was very much at home with the Nigerian leader and once boasted that if he had an advice to give he walks into the seat of power to give Obasanjo. The point Babangida was making on a particular day when he met with journalists was that rather than criticise Obasanjo on the pages of newspapers he tells him he is wrong in private.
But Obasanjo’s preoccupation with remaining in office beyond 2007 appeared to have hurt the chummy relationship that existed between both retired Generals. Obasanjo’s life presidency ambition alerted Babangida to the need to stop him. He then teamed up with others, including retired Generals and Vice President Atiku Abubakar to frustrate Obasanjo. He regularly condemned the third term project on the pages of local newspapers and foreign radio stations. So by the time Babangida met his former boss behind closed doors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja on Wednesday 14 June, it was clear that the basis for disagreement already existed between the two ambitious ex-servicemen. Indeed, both President Obasanjo and former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) were meeting formally for the first time since the president signed the Electoral Bill 2006 into law. Babangida had expressed a desire to plunge head-on into the presidential race once the Electoral Bill was signed into law, during a meeting with journalists in his Minna hilltop mansion three months ago and Obasanjo was aware of this.
Top on the get-together’s agenda was IBB’s presidential ambition. Obasanjo was said to have surprised his guest when he advised him to jettison his presidential ambition and join forces with him to shop for a younger candidate, preferably from the South South geo-political zone. He told him that it would be safe for IBB not to contest. He said that if he (Obasanjo) had known that his own popularity rating would be so bad the way it has turned out he would not have been persuaded to run. Besides, he warned Babangida that he is not wanted by the international community. ‘‘You know that you can not travel to the US today,’’ he was quoted to have said.
Though the president was careful not to disclose his choice in the course of their discussion, a source in the villa told this magazine that he had zeroed in on Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State.
The president’s choice, our source reasoned, was predicated on the belief that only a president of South South extraction can assuage the restive youths from that geo-political zone who are engaged in embarrassing hostage taking. Besides, the president believes only a less controversial and loyal governor like Duke can sustain the reforms instituted by his government. “Baba told IBB that there was no vacancy for him in PDP, as the party hierachy had fashioned its succession plan after the American political system where governors are usually positioned to succeed outgoing presidents,” a top source in the presidency told TheNEWS.
Obasanjo’s undisguised antipathy to the Minna-born General’s presidential ambition allegedly irritated him, as he threatened to defect to another political party. Sensing the impairment IBB’s defection may cause the PDP, Obasanjo reportedly pleaded with him not to dump “our party,” promising that IBB will be given the nod to nominate the running mate to the PDP flagbearer in the 2007 presidential election. But IBB was not impressed with that option. And at that point the meeting ended, with both men not forgetting to shake hands. But stepping out of the meeting, it was clear that IBB was not in a good frame of mind. He was in no mood to talk to aides, neither was he smiling.
In no time, what transpired in the meeting became known to members of IBB’s political jobbers, throwing them into confusion. But the self-styled evil genius is not giving up just yet. Even if he knows he has a hill to climb in realising his ambition to rule Nigeria once again, he still fancies his chances. Last month, IBB reportedly influenced the registration of a new party – Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) – using the duo of Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State and former factional leader of All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, General Jeremiah Useni as linksmen. Consequently, both Bafawara and Useni dumped the ANPP which they helped to found.
IBB is expected to launch his ambition on the platform of the party, especially if he is unable to clinch the PDP ticket. The IBB group had long planned to melt into the newly registered DPP, having realised that the ANPP is in the firm grip of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State.
‘‘We want IBB to be the next president. And we wanted him to run on the ticket of ANPP. But we moved in droves to DPP because Modu Sheriff and the Zamfara governor had a strong influence over the party,” one of Bafarawa’s aides said. For now, the strategy is working like a charm. Prominent politicians of Igbo stock who had hitherto pooh-poohed IBB have been wooed into the fold. Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, former Senate President, is one of them. Anyim, who was reportedly nursing presidential ambition, not only dropped it but agreed to galvanise support for the gap-toothed General in the South East. It was, therefore, not surprising to observers that the DPP named Anyim Chairman of its Mobilisation Committee. Even Chief Joe Nwodo, one- time presidential aspirant and elder brother of former Governor Okwesilieze Nwodo of Enugu State is said to be in the IBB column. DPP is not the only party championing the IBB cause. In fact, the National Democratic Party (NDP) had two years ago, pronounced IBB its consensus presidential candidate for the 2007 elections. The party’s position was made public by its National Chairman, Alhaji Habu Fari.
“General Ibrahim Babangida remains the consensus presidential candidate for 2007 because of all the politicians gallivanting the Nigerian political scene, only IBB can convincingly win election in the six geo-political zones,” Fari argued. Besides, over 20 associations which had hitherto gone underground as a result of the third term infamy have fused into one umbrella body called The Nigeria Project 2007. The group meets regularly to fine-tune strategies to actualise IBB’s presidential ambition. Already, the body has opened Project 2007 offices in the 36 state capitals.
Dr. Godwin Daboh, National Chairman of Concerned Nigerians For IBB, one of the 20 organisations founded to drum up support for IBB, said all was set for the formal declaration of the ex-martial ruler. While stressing that only God can stop IBB from standing election in 2007, the Deputy National Auditor of PDP said IBB has been consulting with Nigerians for the past one year and had been waiting for the election with great pride.
‘‘There are over 20 groupings that constitute Project 2007. We have enough funds for the first phase of the campaign already. We have campaign offices in the 36 states of the country. Once the PDP releases its guideline for the election, IBB will formally launch his campaign in one of the North Central states,” he boasted.
He also hinted that contrary to media reports that Obasanjo has dumped IBB, the former will back the latter. Interestingly, Babangida believes he can capture the presidency without the support of the presidency. His strength, his supporters claim, lies on the thighs of the electorate. To this end, the Armoured General has continued to spread his tentacles to all nooks and crannies of the country, attending major occasions, making new friends and consolidating his links with opinion moulders.
Governor George Akume of Benue State is one person IBB is desperate to woo into his campaign train. The permutation is that with Akume on his side, Vice President Atiku Abubakar will become weaker, since Akume is known to be very loyal to the Nigerian number two man, who is another strong contender for the presidency come 2007. IBB also thinks with Akume on his side he can win Benue State easily.
So when the governor last month invited the former military ruler to his nephew’s wedding in Makurdi, IBB turned it to a political rally of sorts. Accompanied by Governors of Sokoto State (Attahiru Bafarawa); Niger State (Abdulkadir Kure), some National Assembly members spread across party lines and other categories of politicians, the toothy General held IBB Square, venue of the reception spell-bound. His posters with inscriptions: “2007; Sai IBB” and ‘‘IBB: No Shaking’’ were all over the place. At the end of the occasion, the import of the wedding was not lost on political watchers. “What you have seen today is a political wedding. The way IBB was received clearly shows that Benue people love him and in 2007, he will capture Benue,” Matthew Odu, socio-political commentator said.
Before the ‘‘Makurdi jamboree” IBB who had left power 13 years ago had used the wedding of his children to test his popularity. In September 2003, the wedding of his daughter, Aisha to Bashir Lado Garba, a nephew of the late General Abacha in Minna, Niger State capital was a roll call of who is who in Nigeria. The General and his foot soldiers no doubt, used it to re-align forces and prove that IBB can still pull a large crowd.
The ceremony saw the deceased first lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, representing her husband, President Obasanjo who was on leave in his Ota farm. Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his wife, Titi and former military heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdulsalami Abubakar also graced the occasion. Others at the ceremony were 31 state governors, 62 senators and 69 members of the House of Representatives, over 50 retired military top brass, ministers, over 200 former federal lawmakers, clerics and ministers and civil society groups.
However, conspicuously absent in Minna were former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, former president Shehu Shagari and his deputy, Alex Ekwueme. But the question is whether or not a wedding bash can translate to electoral victory. Dr. Adebayo Fatade, a social worker and sociologist explained the political undertone of the wedding. “I think to appreciate the political significance of the wedding of General Babangida’s daughter, it is better to situate the issues in perspective.
Babangida is a former military president and by far a very influential political figure in Nigeria today. He also has the resources to deploy to any political fight,’’ he analysed. While describing Babangida as smart, the sociologist opined that given the large number of politicians at the wedding, the ex-military ruler cannot be underrated. Fatade may be right. In 1992, the acclaimed winner of the June 12 presidential election, late Chief MKO Abiola organised what was then regarded as the biggest wedding in the history of Nigeria for his son, Kola.
The bride, a daughter of another equally influential Nigerian, the late Chief Ossom from Kwale, in Delta State, also provided an opportunity for Abiola to test the political waters. Segun Adeniyi of ThisDay in his column on Thursday, September 11, 2003 argued that the huge turnout at the IBB Hilltop mansion may not translate to electoral victory for the “Prince of the Niger” if he decides to run for the presidency. “Those who would, however, try to ascribe political significance to the attendance may have to take some lessons from the experience of second Republic Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme who celebrated his 70th birthday early this year (2003). The attendance was so head-swelling that the man and his handlers thought it was enough to win the presidency, only to learn in a hard way a few weeks later that it meant nothing.” Adeniyi was referring to the defeat of Ekwueme at the PDP Presidential primaries in Abuja by Obasanjo.
Beyond floating a new political party and attending social functions, Babangida is also reaching out to former African leaders and world leaders like American president, George W. Bush and his British counterpart, Prime Minister Tony Blair for support. Immediate past president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, in an interview with a Nigerian daily stunned many when he canvassed support for Babangida.
Chief Alex Akinyele, former minister of Information in the IBB regime and promoter of his campaign in an interview with Newswatch said “it is these military guys that have local and international contacts. For instance, IBB calls any world leader one-on-one from his Hilltop house, Minna.”
Besides, the desperation to return to the vortex of power has pushed Babangida into a chummy romance with native doctors. Godwin Daboh, another spin doctor of the IBB project told TheNEWS that spiritualists recently assembled in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State to “work on how to return IBB to power.” The Juju men who were reportedly drawn from 26 states of the federation are believed to be coordinated by a famous Ibadan-based businessman. In spite of his body language and the declaration of intent early this year in Minna, many Nigerians still contend that IBB may not throw his hat into the ring. Those who hold this view say the odds are stacked against him.
Indeed, some of those who work in the Project 2007 are not sure of his plans and are as confused as other people. They say he has been acting like a reluctant aspirant and that contrary to media reports, he has not got solid structures in place to actualise his ambition. For example, unlike Vice President Atiku Abubakar who has already named a Director-General for his campaign organisation in Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, former minister of Environment, the Babangida campaign remains uncoordinated and poorly funded despite the many billionaires purportedly promoting his vaunting ambition. Professor Itse Sagay, SAN in a statement said Babangida is a yesterday’s man whose ideas are incongruous with the current political reality. He advised Babangida to live a quiet life and enjoy his loot in Minna.
“I marvel at the cheek of a man like that who wants to come back. It is like fingering the nation in the eyes. He should go and bury his head in shame and allow the country to rest. He should forget about it not only in 2007 but for life. He should rather go for his retirement and be quietly begging God for forgiveness for the numerous atrocities he committed against mankind,” Sagay intoned.
Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi has been Babangida’s nemesis for many years. He chronicled the many sins of the Armoured General thus: ‘‘Babangida has no moral right, no political right to say he wants to rule Nigeria again. We will not forget his atrocities. Questions will be asked about how Dele Giwa was killed, how he mismanaged our economy and how they killed MKO Abiola.”
Reverend Chris Okotie, pastor of Household of God Church and presidential aspirant of Fresh Democratic Party calls on Nigerians to revolt against Babangida and his co-travellers, noting that Babangida will not contest.
Malam Shehu Sani, President of the Civil Right Congress (CRC) and one time coordinator of Campaign for Democracy (CD) wants Babangida and other ex-military leaders banned from participating in politics. He argued that democracy cannot flourish when it is manned by ex-martial rulers. “Our democracy cannot be democratic until and unless we have civilians with a civilian mentality to man the affairs of Nigeria. That is why we must be wary of military men coming to power. We must stop IBB and others like him. Obasanjo has protected them because he is part of them. He has over the years demonstrated that he came from that class. He (Obasanjo) has done everything to shield them from prosecution,” Sani reasoned.
Though Professor Tam David-West, former Minister of Petroleum believes IBB is qualified to run, he, however, predicted that he will meet his waterloo at the election. His words: “Nobody should vote for Babangida. He has nothing to offer. I worked with him. I have said that in many articles. He has a right to contest as a citizen but if he joins the fray, he won’t win, because Babangida is electoral deficit.”
Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka described IBB’s ambition as an insult on Nigerians. He called on Nigerians not to fall prey to the antics of the military. “Let us not dance to the musical chairs being played by the military. Enough is enough. We are being insulted left, right and centre. People shoot their way to power, accumulate mass and mass of wealth and then use all the resources they have accumulated through illegal means to come and dominate our lives. What is it?” queried Soyinka.
Olatunji Dare, celebrated columnist and university teacher warned that no Nigerian should take Babangida’s presidential ambition seriously until he offers explanation on his role in the criminal annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by businessman, Chief MKO Abiola. Writing in the Tuesday 13 June edition of The Comet, Dare listed many obstacles on the path of the former dictator. “Not so fast General. You have a lot to explain. I raise here only two issues that have been crying out insistently for an explanation: ‘June 12,’ and the Dele Giwa Murder. Babangida has never deigned to explain why he annulled the 1993 presidential election.”
And for good measure, he argued that Babangida annulled the election purely for selfish reasons. According to him, the former military president, “for reasons of personal ambition, lust for power and failure of leadership, annulled the election. He turned the dawn that promised a bright new day into darkness and rejoicing into mourning. This brought to an abrupt end, his 8-year transition that had gulped a major chunk of the country’s resources,’’ Dare lamented. Though the former military dictator had tried to exculpate himself by setting up a panel of distinguished Nigerians to look into the murder, the fact that the panel was never inaugurated remains a failure on his part. Now, he is desperate to return to an office he abdicated in a hurry 13 years ago. But for Dare, “he cannot afford to enter the presidential race as an un-indicted suspect in one of the most sensational murder cases in Nigeria’s history.”
Even the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has threatened to stop IBB. Already, it is planning to organise a nationwide fasting exercise to be observed by all devout Christians. In a chat with newsmen, CAN President, His Lordship, Jasper Akinola said it had become imperative to stop Babangida because, according to him, if voted into office, his government will be anti-Christian. While wondering why a man whose government squandered over 12 billion dollars in oil windfall, and plunged the country into crisis occasioned by his criminal annulment of June 12 presidential election will plot a comeback to power, Akinola reminded Christians that it was Babangida that attempted to Islamise Nigeria in the 1980s.
“Babangida tried to no avail to smuggle Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) without considering the multi-religious and complex nature of the country, without subjecting such a sinister intention to a referendum. Any attempt to make Babangida a ruler is an invitation to chaos,” warned Akinola.
CAN also blamed Babangida squarely for the politicisation of religion. The religious body believes that if Babangida had allowed the June 12 election won by a Muslim/ Muslim ticket, it would have provided a “reference point” for resolving the controversy religion continues to generate in the polity.
If CAN goes spiritual to put spanner in IBB’s political wheel then the presidency has a joker in the instrumentality of the law. A senior aide of the Nigerian president told TheNEWS that investigators at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are “working tirelessly, dusting files to pin allegations of corruption against the dimpled General. Already, the commission, he continued, is combing Europe, America and the Arab world to locate Babangida’s loot allegedly stashed there.
Malam Nuhu Ribadu, EFCC Chairman, was alluding to this in a chat with this magazine last week when he said people like Babangida will not be allowed to rule Nigeria again. “We will never allow people who have stolen to use the same stolen resources to get into power,” Ribadu boasted.
TheNEWS sources revealed that if the EFCC option fails, Aso Rock would fall back on the Justice Oputa Report or the late Dr. Pius Okigbo report. The Oputa panel set up by the Obasanjo government in 2001 to investigate human rights abuses in the country indicted the IBB regime of masterminding the murder of Dele Giwa, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch via a letter bomb. The panel therefore, asked the relevant authority to re-open investigation into the case. But before then, IBB and Brigadier-General Haliru Akilu (retd), his Director of Military Intelligence raced to the law court to stop the government from further investigating them. In a statement entitled, “The fact on the alleged murder of Dele Giwa – Why General Ibrahim Babangida and Brigadier Akilu went to court,” Babangida stressed that people were playing politics with the murder of Giwa, adding that the Oputa panel was set up to rubbish him. IBB, who was speaking through his counsel, Malam Yahaya Mahmood in Kaduna, said: “We believe those playing politics with the murder of Dele Giwa know those who killed him and they are doing all they have been doing to divert attention. How come the explosion blew Giwa into pieces from the lower abdomen and left him in the pool of his own blood, while Kayode Soyinka escaped unhurt?’’
Five years after the court granted Babangida’s prayer, the Obasanjo government is set to appeal against that ruling. Aside the Oputa report, the government may revisit the Okigbo report on the Gulf Oil windfall which indicted Babangida of siphoning 12 billion dollars. “If government lawyers marshal their arguments logically, IBB will be convicted and that will put paid to his ambition,” a source explained.
But Godwin Daboh sees things differently. “Under President Obasanjo, there is greater corruption than when Babangida was in power. Nigeria was not listed among the most corrupt nations until Obasanjo became president in 1999. You will agree with me that by the year 2000, Nigeria was rated by Transparency International as the third most corrupt nation in the world. By 2002, we became the second most corrupt nation in the world,” Daboh argued.
On the notion that his annulment of MKO Abiola’s victory may scuttle IBB’s march to power, Alex Akinyele thinks otherwise. He said the people of South West had forgiven the former ruler because, according to him, the decision to annul that election was supported by prominent Yorubas who were jealous of the rising profile of Abiola. “Babangida is the Pontius Pilate of the 21st Century. He did not want to annul the election because Abiola and IBB were very good friends. They dined together, they wined together and they did business together... But the SDP he which he belonged, the Obas, Emirs and the Khaki men did not want Abiola to be president because they believed if he was sworn-in, he would become another Colossus like Julius Caesar of Rome,” said Akinyele.
On the chances of Babangida in PDP, Akinyele said the party has lost focus and wondered why a serious politician like IBB would insist on being the party’s standard bearer. While assuring that IBB is the man to beat in 2007, the Ondo high chief stressed that the moment Vice President Atiku pulls out of PDP, it will be torn into shreds.
But will Babangida listen to Obasanjo?
