BABANGIDA PAYS OBASANJO IN HIS OWN COINS
Uche Ikedilo
When Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in the full live and
television views of Nigerians home and abroad, presented
an award of excellence to retired General Ibrahim
Babangida just few days before he (Obasanjo) quit the
Presidential villa/Aso rock, for good, this greedy,
third-term in presidency aspirant of an ex-president
Olusegun Obasanjo believed that his “greek” gift would
not only delete Babangida’s name from a litany of his
potential critics but also spur the one time military
head of state to defend his indefensible corrupt
indulgencies while in power. But the most interesting
thing about Babangida’s non conformity to Obasanjo’s
plan was that in criticizing the immediate past
administration, Babangida used the same word “corrupt”
that Obasanjo used for the late great Gen. Tunde
Idiagbon. This obviously must have so much shocked
Obasanjo that till now he still lacks the nerve, the
clout and the language to at least defend himself by
refuting those character-defaming allegations by a
fellow questionable elder statesman Ibrahim Babangida
whose horrible legacy as former military head of state
is not even worthy of mention/reference. Yes Babangida
might be playing his usual smart “Maradona” game by
trying to shift all attention to Obasanjo while he
sneaked away with his earlier loot. Maradona will not
work this time around. Though Nigerians are appreciative
of Babangida’s revealations of Obasanjo’s excesses, that
does not exhornorate him from facing his own charges of
massive embezzlement of the nation’s funds
Is this not a fulfillment of the biblical injunction
which says that the truth shall always see the daylight?
Who else other than a party insider, trusted co-retired
army general/former military head of state Ibrahim
Babangida and obviously Obasanjo’s deputy Atiku Abubakar
could have known and told very reliable and true stories
about the incredible dollar amount Nigeria made during
Obasanjo’s eight years presidency and dubious
manipulation of funds realized from NNPC that were both
not accounted for. We do know and very much agree with
Babangida that the past eight years were years of
economic boom for OPEC nations including Nigeria because
of the destabilization of Iraq and other oil producing
areas of the world. In fact with the disclosures by
Babangida as reported by “The Times OF Nigeria” online
publication, the EFCC if really honest with their
arrests,investigations,indictments and prosecutions,
have no excuses not immediately going for Obasanjo.
Moreover, his unconstitutional ceding out of Bakassi to
the Camerouns without due ratification by the National
assembly should be viewed and addressed with the
seriousness it deserves. Babangid’s arrest,indictment
and prosecution on the other hand are long over-due. He
has been enjoying his loot unarrested all these years
because his successor-regimes whose watchwords were also
‘grab as much as you can’ hadn’t the moral courage to
confront him for fear that they would face similar music
anytime they stepped down from power. I believe that the
regime that will do it is here
Now that evidences of Obasanjo’s wrong doings and
official corruption have been provided by eminent
Nigerians Atiku Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida and the
world bank’s 1999 revealation of Babangida’s loot of the
country’s treasury, what are President Yar’Adua and his
men in EFCC waiting for? This will be a test for the
administration’s claim of it’s commitment and strict
adherence to rule of law and other democratic principles
which include same and equal treatment to all. If
ex-state governors could be so quickly apprehended and
put to trial, why not ex-president,ex- military heads of
state, and even many other retired top military and
civilian officials like General Abdusallam Abubakar,
General Theophilus Danjuma, and professor Maurice Iwuh
of the INEC to name this few. Double standards must not
have a place in the execution of Yar’Adua’s seven point
agenda if it must enjoy any credibility and acceptance
by the people. Nobody is above the law, and so none
should be seen as a sacred cow. Though I do not advocate
capital punishment for now,but it was the cleansing of
“corrupt” past leaders in Ghana by Flight Lieutenant
Jerry Rawlings that injected the unprecedented sanity
into all Ghanaians. Today that country’s economy enjoys
good stability and their leaders serving with the fear
of God.
All Nigerians both home and abroad should pressurize the
present leaders to do everything withing their power to
recover all the money carted away by those past extra
greedy unpatriotic leaders and of course punish them all
by way of imprisonment as a deterrent to future leaders.
If this is not done, this country will never be free of
corruption and even the present Yar’Adua’s
administration will end up the same way as it’s
predecesors. So this is the time. Let 2008 usher in the
best government, that Nigeria never had and let the new
year be a year of recovery of all our nation’s stolen
money,artifacts and even landed property including
Bakassi oil resources. The national assembly and the
senate must not be lukewarm on these issues.
While however, on behalf of Nigerians in the diaspora
(1)expessing our gratitude to Babangida for exposing to
Nigerians in general and the world at large who ex-
president Obasanjo was as president for eight years (2)
expessing our utter dismay that he Babangida is not yet
forthcoming with the story of how much he looted from
our coutry’s treasury when he introduced and started
this dangerous precedence of leaving behind an empty
treasury as he stepped down from power after many years
of rule and (3) urging him to complete his smart game of
“Maradonaism” by voluntarily returning to our great
country the remnants of his loot before the axe of EFCC
descends on him. Besides being honourable, doing this
will surely attract sympathy for being remourseful and
consequently, in addition to any plea for leniency,
influence the gravity of his punishment during trial
which is a must.
I therefore call on Yar’Adua/Jonathan led administration
to now convince Nigerians that it is not just a
propaganda loudspeaker for real champions of working
democracy, but a visibly functioning democracy by
starting it’s corruption eradication drive with these
two most dangerous,most greedy past leaders Obasanjo and
Babangida. Nigerians will hail you, the world will also
hail you because God will be your support. While we wait
and watch our trusted new leadership execute their
applauded seven point agenda which virtually addresses
all issues including corruption, I wish all Nigerians a
very rewarding new year. Nigeria is now set to bloom.
Uche Ikedilo
Maryland,USA.
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