The cream of the Nigerian press travelled to Minna to collect the dicator's bribe and feed the nation with his denial of established truth. Top journalists even presented Babangida with a birthday card, in total disregard for the canon of their profession. It was not a surprise, therefore, that the journalists allowed the former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, to issue another of his boring denials at the restricted media parley, where they allegedly collected N10 million in “transportation money.”
Saharareporters.com reports that the event started at 11 p.m. and ended just after 1 a.m. Among the editors and executives in attendance were Tunde Rahman and Ijeoma Nwogwugwu of ThisDay, Eze Anaba of Vanguard, Felix Abugu and Martins Oloja of the Guardian, Steve Nwosu of the Sun, Arowolo of The Punch, and Sam Omatseye of The Nation. Thisday Newspaper, photography director, Mr. Sumi Smart Cole, was the master of ceremony who present the card in this picture.
Several sources told Saharareporters that Ikeddy Isiguzo of Vanguard newspaper in Lagos was responsible for “mobilizing” the media executives and ensuring that they were friendly towards the general. But a source inside Babangida’s disclosed that the former dictator’s spokesman, Kassim Afegbua, afterwards had a tense exchange with Isiguzo whom he accused of allowing some of the media executives to “embarrass the general with tough questions.” Our sources revealed that the general showed nervousness as some of the editors peppered him with hard questions. “It was not a comfortable atmosphere for General Babangida,” said one source, adding that “Kassim later persuaded the editors not to use the question and answer exchanges but to focus on the general’s statement.”
The first four paragraphs of Babangida’s prepared statement were devoted to praising the media. “It was the worst kind of hypocrisy,” one of the media executives told Saharareporters, adding, “as I watched the general try to massage our egos, it occurred to me that he must have thought that nobody in the room remembers how his regime abhorred the media.” The source referred to Babangida’s closure of several news outlets, including Punch, Concord, and Newswatch, his harassment or detention of numerous journalists, including NewBreed publisher, Chris Okolie, and the culmination in the murder of Dele Giwa, one of the founders of Newswatch.
“I actually believe his speech was drafted by one or two of our colleagues who spent several days working with him underground,” said our source.
In the speech, which served as a formal announcement of his presidential bid, Babangida claimed that he believes that the press has a role to play in his renewed but lackluster campaign to recapture power.
The former dictator’s disjointed statement also touched on some of the issues that have nagged his widely unpopular, epileptic campaign. He spoke condescendingly about the annulment of the June 12 1993 election, stating that he had compensated for the annulment by supporting Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo to become president of Nigeria in 1999.
Mr. Babangida was sharply critical of those who have taken him to account over his widespread stealing and corruption that were documented in the Okigbo reports. He berated them as “misinformed critics,” adding, “they have been using the Okigbo Panel Report in the most blindly controversial and distorted manner lacking fairness and morality.”
One of our sources said that Babangida appeared visibly uneasy as he tried to deny that his regime was responsible for the death of Dele Giwa, one of Nigeria's foremost investigative journalists. “I could see the sides of his mouth twitch as he claimed that he believed in the sanctity of life.
Last week, two sources in Nigeria’s military intelligence had told Saharareporters that Babangida had plotted to eliminate General Mamman Vatsa and other innocent military officers by implicating them in phantom coup plots. Several years ago, the late Vatsa’s family sponsored a documentary that revealed how Babangida plotted to eliminate Vatsa, a fine officer and poet.
Our sources, who are retired intelligence operatives, also stated that Babangida had contrived to down a military jet conveying many officers.
One of the editors at the event said he cringed in embarrassment as Babangida said, “My discipline as a military commander also does not condone the killing of defenseless innocent people.”
A source inside the campaign told Saharareporters that Babangida was uncomfortable and looked tired throughout the parley claiming that it was because of the ongoing Ramadan fast. He added that the former dictator’s handlers had gambled that, with the largesse offered to some of the media executives at the Minna parley, the retired general would start getting a more positive media coverage. The source said that Afegbua was irate with Isiguzo for doing a poor job of aligning some of the editors with the dreams of the campaign.
Babangida’s full statement:
Distinguished Gentlemen of the Press
TOGETHER, WE CAN BUILD OUR NATION
I am highly delighted by your kind response to my invitation for an interactive session with you on my political aspiration. I welcome you to my hometown of Minna and my residence. I believe this will be an open, frank and enriching interaction on the way forward for democracy in our great country. You are all key media players endowed with knowledge of Nigeria because of your primary preoccupation of being the watchdog of our society. I have written letters to a number of political leaders intimating them of my aspiration and I found it necessary to inform you in this interactive manner because the media as an institution, plays a key role in educating, informing, reforming and entertaining the people.
It gives me great pleasure and utmost sense of comradeship to be in the midst of professionally eminent personalities of your pedigree who are the main pillars of our media industry that constitutes the entity called the "Fourth Estate" in our beloved country, Nigeria.
This fraternity with you today is neither a coincidence nor an accident. It is really a private platform for me to appreciate and elucidate my age-long reverence for the role of the press in modern civil society.
You are a beacon of hope, the shining torch of enlightenment, the amplifier of codified messages, agents of policy formulation and dissemination, the watchdog of democracy, molders of opinion and advocates of fundamental human rights. Truly, yours is no doubt a noble profession even though a thankless and hazardous one at that. I therefore wish to praise all media men, for your courage and commitment to national development.
The Press plays the key role of edifying and fortifying Democracy. The fact that your members have been able to hold the forte in the struggle for nation building without felling the apple cart, despite open assaults and risk to life, deserves kudos and accolades from all. May our country continue to flourish, so that your calling can develop more to enhance and advance our collective national dream! Together, we can build a strong, virile and prosperous Nigeria for unborn generations to behold and emulate.
I wish to acquaint your esteemed selves that my desire and interest to offer my stewardship by vying for the office of president in the 2011 general elections stemmed out of my belief and those of many other compatriots, that our country need an experienced and tested leader, who has a rich knowledge of the socio-economic and political dynamics of our people and country. Without being immodest, I have implicit confidence that I fit into that consideration.
Meanwhile, I believe you are aware of the robust debate as to whether or not I should contest the highest office in the land. In fact, some people in their negative criticism continue to render acrimonious misrepresentation to distort and disparage my true character and general contributions, past and present, towards the greatness of our dear country. Without sounding superfluous, from North to South, East to West, there are visible landmark achievements to underscore my contributions to national development and growth of our fatherland.
It behooves reason therefore to state that these diversions infringe upon my fundamental human right and democratic license to vote or to be voted for in an election. It is unjust and unfair to feign ignorance of this salient constitutional fact.
I have built bridges of understanding across our great nation, and held wide consultations and discussions with various classes of people on this project, with a view to charting a new developmental agenda for our dear country. Generally, the consensus has been the dire need for a dynamic, visionary, pragmatic, experienced, knowledgeable and detribalized leadership, to steer the ship of state and create opportunities for addressing contemporary challenges of nation building.
Given my wealth of experience and decades of leadership study, plus the urgent need to confront the challenges of our national lives, I believe the time is ripe for me to serve our people as a civilian president, with your kind support, cooperation and understanding. Thus, I intimate you formally of my studied decision to vie for the office of President in the 2011 general elections.
I believe that together we can drive the ship of state to the bay of hope and prosperity, through selfless service, positive political will and visionary leadership, based on skill and experience with consideration for national balance and effective separation of powers. My military discipline, knowledge of the country, democratization over the years, astute leadership endowments, amiability and nation-wide acceptance are eloquent testimonials for my qualification for the number one job. I say, like Sir Winston Churchill give me the tools and I will finish the job for you.
Permit me therefore to touch on some of the impressions and issues that you and I must have been confronted with relating to my personality and previous administration.
Why do I want to be President? Firstly, it is my constitutional right to do so. I have a fundamental right as a bona-fide Nigerian to vote and be voted for in an election. I am only exercising my franchise. Secondly, my previous government was a military one. I have seen over the years that many things could be done better. I have also spent many years to understudy democratic leadership in several countries and have mastered the art of democracy and learnt how to apply it better under our Nigerian conditions. History is replete with leaders who despite their ages, staged a come back. More than ever before, IBB is back with a lot of new policies that will drive Nigeria's plural society under a new federal system that will cater for the needs of the various nationalities for equity and unity. Additionally, we need to fix many things positively in our educational, infrastructural, energy, and economic, socio-political and moral lives. We must begin to address our minds on the practice of true federalism, creation of State Police to support our Federal Police, devise ways of running slim government, devolve power at the centre and build on our foreign policy and defense profiles. These are some of my attractions and motivation for leadership.
On June 12: Severally and with great remorse too, I have taken responsibility as a true leader for the actions and decisions of the military administration that I led. The annulment of the June 12 election is one of the ugly spots one has to live with. It was a collective decision taken after series of consultations with several stakeholders. Even though ours was a military regime, yet we governed as a team, majority decision always carried the day. I know that a day will come when Nigerians will forgive our regime because we are a godly nation that embraces the culture of forgiveness. After all, I introduced the era of new-breed politicians. In addition, the electoral formula we used is to date considered the most effective in the country. I am referring to "Option A4" and the establishment of two political parties. I am neither an enemy of democracy nor averse to the success of the candidates that contested the said elections. I knew both Bashorun MKO Abiola and Alhaji Bashir Tofa. Years after the annulment, I, in concert with other patriots, conscious of the geopolitical divides in the country, tried to assuage the feelings of the aggrieved people by supporting the candidacy of my senior military officer former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who in our estimation has an unshakeable faith in the unity of the country and who hails from the same State with Bashorun MKO Abiola.
OKIGBO REPORT: Many mis-informed critics have been using the Okigbo Panel Report in the most blindly, controversial and distorted manner lacking fairness and morality. They dwell so much on a purported $12.4billion Gulf Oil Windfall. Let me state categorically that the Okigbo Panel was never a trial court for me. The Federal Government set up the Okigbo Panel to examine the operations and make recommendations on the Re-organization of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its scope of reference was from 1988-94, way beyond my tenure. It was not a probe of the Babangida regime but one aimed at improving the operations of the CBN. Kindly see details in the attached copy of a public announcement placed in the Vanguard of Thursday, June 10, 2010. The records are there for all to see. The Okigbo Panel made valued judgments on some items of expenditure funded with receipts into certain dedicated accounts. Nowhere did it indict me for any acts of financial impropriety. Throughout the panel's sitting, I was never subpoenaed.
ON DELE GIWA: For the umpteenth time, I wish to state that, I did not murder Dele Giwa. In addition, no agent or agency of government was found guilty of this heinous act by the law courts. I am a man of great faith in God and I believe in the sanctity of life. My discipline as a military commander also does not condone the killing of defenceless innocent people. Aside, court judgments have vindicated me on this. Some of them were by the esteemed Justice Candido Johnson who quashed the allegation for want of evidence by the prosecutors. Nevertheless, perception, often repeated, no matter how untrue, becomes very hard to obliterate.
Finally, my humble upbringing does not give room for one to join issues with juniors nor insult or disrespect elders. Better still, I do not quarrel with anyone, not even my peers. To all I accord mutual respect. I grew up with these ideals. However, a treasured attribute of mine has been grossly abused and misinterpreted by my critics. All thanks to Allah that my faith, Islam, is about a total submission to the will of the Almighty and abhorrence of oppression of others.
I guess you will find time in your quiet moments to reflect on these issues as you engage the public on a regular basis through your news report, articles, editorial comments and opinions. A formidable Press is surely the hub that wields together the tracking spokes in the wheel of national development. May your pens never run dry of indelible ink! On a lighter note, I think the press should also give our regime some credit for liberalising the space for the media, particularly the ownership of private television, radio stations and universities. God bless you all.
Long live Democracy.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
General Ibrahim B. Babangida, GCFR
Saturday, 14th August, 2010.
