Corruption: With the fact on ground now, my govt is a saint - IBB

Former military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has described his regime as a saint, when compared to the level of corruption being witnessed today in the country under a democratic government, and further denied the notion that he popularised corruption in Nigeria.

Babangida, who spoke in an exclusive interview on Arise News Channel yesterday from his Minna Hilltop Mansion, also wants the next Nigerian president to be an acceptable person who has contacts across the country, and given the peculiarities in our economy, should be well versed in economic matters, and be in his 60s in terms of age.

Answering directly on the allegation that he popularised corruption, Babangida, who was head of state between 1985 and 1993, said: “Well, you can’t compare it with the fact on the ground now. From what I read, from analysis, I think we are saints when compared to what is happening under a democratic dispensation.

“I sacked a governor for misappropriating less than N313, 000; today billions are there in the streets. Those who have stolen billions are in courts, and are now parading themselves on the streets. So, who is better in fighting corruption?”

On the kind of President Nigeria deserves in 2023, Babangida ruled out former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, because they would be in their 70s by the next election.

Although IBB, as Babangida is fondly called, did not in any way mention their names as ineligible for the nation’s number one seat, he however suggested that individuals in their 60s should be the focus of Nigerians as potential presidential candidates in 2023.

By the next general election in 2023, Atiku, who is 75 this year, would be 77, while Tinubu, who marked an official 68th birthday in March, would have turned 70 years.

Specifically on the importance of leadership in nation-building and where he thought the likes of Atiku and Tinubu no longer fit the bill, IBB said: “If you get a good leadership that links with the people and tries to talk with the people; not talking on top of the people, then we would be okay.

“I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person, who travels across the country, has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to and knows at least one person that he can communicate with.

“That is a person, who is very verse in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already in his sixties.”
But when asked if the person could emerge victorious in the 2023 presidential election, the Minna-born former military leader said, “I believe so, if we can get him.”

Responding to a question on whether or not he still believed in the future of Nigeria, IBB, who turns 80 on August 17, 2021, said: “I do believe in the future of Nigeria, but Nigerians don’t believe in the future of their country. They created and they destroyed.”

Reiterating his belief in the future of Nigeria and urging Nigerians to remain patriotic, Babangida, who claimed to feeling good as he was about to turn 80 years, with gratitude to God for sparing his life, advised Nigerians to go for the person that has what it takes to transform the country when the time comes.

He also stated that the need to avoid a bloody coup, which would have set the country back several decades, informed the annulment of the 1993 Presidential election presumed to have been won by late Moshood Kashimowu Abiola.

Babangida said: “You want me to be honest with you? If it materialised, there would have been a coup which would have been violent, that’s all I can confirm. It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and Maradonic way we handled you guys in the society; but that could have given room for more instability in the country.”

Prodded further on whether the sentiment was among the military or cut across civilian population, he said, “Both. The military, they can do it because they have the weapons to do it but the other society members will agitate.”

On insecurity, he admitted that the military needed to be better equipped, trained and offered improved leadership, adding that “they are not overwhelmed but overstretched” because of the expansive areas of coverage arising from spread in insecurity.

Babangida regretted that the stultified system of things in the country was due to what he described as tyranny of the elites who had made no efforts to harness the positive qualities naturally embedded in the multi-ethnic composition of the country.

According to him, Nigerians are too intelligent, resourceful and hardworking not to be able to pull the country back from the brinks, but regretted that poor leadership had been the bane which had divested the nation of a rallying point.

While proffering solution to the myriad problems of the country, he pulled his weight behind resource control but warned that some people who either misunderstood the working principles of the proposition would call for the head of whoever propounds such.

Apparently not backing zoning and power shift, he was insistent that unless the country wanted to introduce its own whims and caprices in the practice of democracy, there was need for politicians to allow the principles of democracy, as globally practiced, to choose its leadership, insisting that it would be done now or in the future.

He argued that with time, people with the finest qualities of leadership, that had popular appeal, would emerge no matter what part of the country such would come from which would be immaterial once things start working fine.

To him, the economy was being overregulated as he called for freeing it, while arguing that production and export would be the twin redeeming principles for the sliding Naira, pointing out that Nigerians had the capacity to achieve it.

He denied being anti-media, claiming that he libralised it, leading to the birth of many private media, both print and electronic. He further dismissed as silly, trying to muscle the press as it would be an exercise in futility.

“I didn’t fear the media, I libralised it, you don’t forget. Today, you have private televisions, private newspapers and so on, so I have no fear of the media; I believe they are an essential part of the society and they should play the role for the society. So, I have no fear of the media whatsoever,” he said.

On moves to muscle the media, he pointed out: “The media and the public will not allow that to happen and it is even silly to start trying clipping them. I said Nigerians are very wonderful people, you cannot intimidate them.”

An ebullient Babangida described the relationship between him and President Buhari, whom he had a hand in his overthrow, as normal and cordial and accused the media of manufacturing a bad relationship between them, adding, “Our relationship is still very good and I am happy we relate good but the seeming bad relationship was the creation of your people the media.”

Appearing unfazed about the agitation for secession he said, “Well, my thoughts are: it is always good to agitate but because there is this belief that this country should be one, when they make the noise, they will find out that it won’t get support because Nigerians don’t generally believe on anything that will disturb their peace of mind.”

On restructuring, he said it had as many meaning as the number of people speaking on it, adding that there was no general consensus on what it was and how to go about it but opined that it could start with allowing the people at the grassroots to determine and have more participation in how their affairs were run.