THE LEGACY OF GENERAL IBRAHIM BADAMASI BABANGIDA.

By Ernest Osogbue

It is obvious that many Nigerians are disappointed with the book ‘A Journey in Service,’ as written by General Ibrahim Babangida. For many citizens, much more was expected from the autobiography of a man who bestrode the affairs of Nigeria like a colossus for many years; first as a member of the Supreme Military Council, SMC; before rising to the position of Chief of Army Staff; and ultimately to the office of the Head of State, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

I am always appreciative when persons who have been lucky to attain certain positions in our nation, take the time to chronicle their experiences, not only for the sake of self-adulation, but to enrich our history and benefit posterity. In more developed climes, political leaders, opposition figures, business moguls, and others, share their experiences not only for historical purposes, but to bring new understanding to issues, and also to motivate and guide the next generation.

I, therefore, wish to commend General Ibrahim Babangida, for finding the time and tasking his intellect to give us a chronicle of his time serving Nigeria. President Olusegun Obasanjo, deserves my praise in this regard as well, for his numerous chronicles. I equally extend my appreciation to all those of our countrymen and women, who have held any office, and have taken the time to chronicle their experiences for the benefit of posterity; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Olusegun Adeniyi, Hadiza Bala Usman, Nasir El Rufai, Gen. Alabi Isama, to mention but a few. I must add, that the relevance of the literature of past events, cannot be discounted in the growth of a nation, we must, therefore, encourage other former and current officials to put pen to paper.

I believe that there is no right or wrong in writing a story of service to the nation. As the late Queen Elizabeth 2 of England once said, ‘recollections may vary.’ It is therefore important for us to understand that no two people can see the same thing in the same way at the same time. The essence of a memoir therefore, is not necessarily to tell people what they want to hear, but rather, to present the issues from the perspective of the writer. It is then up to the reader to balance the perception of the writer against his own understanding of the events, and then infuse the perspective of other narratives of the same events, before drawing a conclusion.

As a literature student, I know that every work of literary creativity, be it fiction or non-fiction has value to add. As a result, I always search for value when I read a book. In reading General Babangida’s book therefore, I learnt many things, of which space would not permit me to share. Be that as it may, I wish to share two of the most poignant takeaways for me in ‘A Journey in Service.’

First, is Babangida’s relationship with his beloved wife, Mrs. Maryam Ndidi Babangida. While Babangida didn’t use these exact words, from my understanding, he and his wife were two hearts that beat as one. In writing about Maryam, Babangida presented the picture of an understanding wife and devoted mother, who found her purpose, by being a pillar of support to her husband. It also becomes evident that Babangida still misses his wife, after so many years of her passing.

The reason why the passages about Mrs. Babangida impressed me, is that, based on today’s standards, not many men could use such flowery words to describe their relationship with their wives. From Babangida’s presentation, my personal understanding of marriage was accentuated. This is that; a woman finds her ultimate essence by supporting her man. This position, as can be seen, runs contrary to current realities, where most women have divergent ambitions from their spouses. It is not surprising, therefore, that the rate of marital conflicts, divorce, uxoricide and mariticide have risen to alarming proportions in our society. Maryam Babangida is, therefore, a worthy model for today’s women, if marriage is to regain its essence.

The second point is the place of General Babangida in the history of Nigeria. All through the narrative, Babangida’s patriotic zeal becomes evident. His desire to make Nigeria a better and greater nation. His belief in a clean break from the divisive ethno-religious politics of the past. A careful observer will also note that most of the people Babangida entrusted with critical assignments were neither Moslems nor Northerners. This shows that he is pan Nigeria; with neither tribal nor religious bigotry.

What is clear, however, is that General Babangida does not still understand the enormity of the impact of the annulment of the June 12^th 1993 election on Nigeria and on his person; Babangida molded a new Nigeria and then destroyed it by himself. It is interesting to note that Babangida actually mentions Deng Xiaoping, who is generally regarded as the architect of modern China in his narrative. Had June 12^thbeen actualized, I believe that Ibrahim Babangida would have ranked as Nigeria’s equivalent of Deng Xiaoping.

I doubt whether Nigeria would ever have an election as peaceful and as credible as the June 12th 1993 election. I equally doubt whether Nigeria would ever have a president who would enjoy the kind of acceptance that Chief MKO Abiola enjoyed. All indices pointed to a new Nigeria; the peaceful election, the wide acceptance of Abiola, the general euphoria in the country, and the hope for a better tomorrow.

Babangida, however, allowed the forces of evil to truncate that glorious new dawn, and by that singular decision, he destroyed the labor of so many years. The failure of June 12^th sent the message that it would be difficult for the forces of good to ever triumph in our country. Events since that time lend credence to this fact. As it stands, Nigeria is now socio-politically worse off, than before Babangida and his colleagues overthrew Shagari in 1983. Ethno-religious politics is now in full bloom, the North/South divide is a clear and present reality, insurgency and banditry are the new order, the voices of disintegration and secession are now louder, ritual killings have come to stay, corruption is now in billions, and the hope for a new Nigeria is farther away.

If you carefully analyze it, what it boils down to is that the eight years of the Babangida administration are like wasted years. His elaborate political reforms, which gave rise to new-breed politicians; the economic reforms of SAP, IMF debates, People’s/Community banks and other economic adjustments; the socio-political reforms that gave birth to MAMSER, DFRRI, TAC, and others; all seem to have died as a result of the singular decision on June 12^th. The Babangida story therefore, is a story of how one misstep could destroy years of diligent hard work and sacrifice. It is as if Babangida came to destroy rather than to build. And that, to me, is the legacy of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.