The Nigerian community at home and abroad is agog with General Babangida’s every move and pronouncements, so much so their concerns and fear and apprehension about the man borders on psychosis. Besides President Obasanjo, there is not a single Nigerian who has dominated the conversation or gripped the consciousness of Nigerians as much as Babangida. Whether you hate him or love him or despise him, the man is a titillating force. He has the ability to keep us awake, and he keeps us guessing.

In modern Nigeria , there have been few tour de force -- enigmatic and brilliant in every way. In this respect, the great Awolowo, Chief Ojukwu and Chief Fawehinmi and a few others come to mind. But Ibrahim Babangida is a peculiar fellow. He is compelling. He is irritating. He is captivating. He is interesting. He is a friend and an enemy. He induces all kinds of emotion in Nigerians. Every Nigerian of substance or otherwise have written about him. He is the topic of conversation in every Nigerian beer parlor.

And indeed the Nigerian newspapers and chat forum are full of speculations about his every move and about his stated and unstated intensions and aspirations and alleged crimes and iniquity. Damn! What kind of a man is this? What is he made of? Even those who hate him admire him. Those who would rather behead him would hug and kiss him before doing do. His admirers worship him, they swear by his name. Retired military officers who are friends and acquaintances of mine can’t say enough good things about him. And crooked politicians are dreaming of the day he will return to power -- in anticipation of the “good times.”

Babangida is not Abacha in that he is not that callous and extremely insatiable and blood-thirsty. He is not like the eternally brilliant Awolowo who was development conscious and was bent on saving the nation’s soul. He is not like Obasanjo who is unable to make up his mind as to whether he wants to be a dictator or be a democrat. No. Babangida is unlike any of the aforementioned. He sits alone and atop our collective consciousness -- manipulating us, teasing us, daring us, jerking us, giving us his middle finger and at the same time blowing us kisses.

He goes and come as he pleases. He does whatever catches his fancy. He knows us more than we know ourselves. He understands Nigeria . He knows the things we are thinking about. He knows and understands our limits and our fears. It is as if he resides in our collective soul -- calibrating our emotion and thought. And that, I think, is the man’s greatest assets. Otherwise, how else could one explain our collective obsession with this man? How? How strange that a man with less than average formal education and a hush-hush military career, aided by coups and counter coups could be this brilliant and brave.

We know he stole from us but we can’t prove or prosecute him; we know he weakened our institutions, yet the same institutions are now in his service; we know he institutionalized corruption and roguery, yet we admire his ways and took after him; we know he rescinded a free-fair election, yet some segments of the population are in support of his electoral aspiration. Strange? Well, not really. Even if I were a betting man, I will never bet against his second-coming just as I will never bet against future military coups. If there is a coup tomorrow, Nigerians will jubilate. If Babangida wins the presidency tomorrow, Nigerian will celebrate.

But why does Babangida want to be president again? The reason is simple: History! He knows that his place in history is worst than the base of a Mushin or Ajegunle cesspool. And so he is anxious to correct his place in history. He thinks that a second chance will afford him a second chance at historical immortality. At this point in his life, wealth, riches, mistresses, children, generalship and all other trappings of life is immaterial. All he desperate wants is a chance at the right hand of history and posterity. Nothing else matter. It is the approval of history or nothing! A chance to make amends.

In a way, I feel sorry for him. I pity him. This was a man who had it all; he had everything at his disposal: natural and human resources; time; the nation’s goodwill and the good sense to execute his grand vision. But somehow, he blew it. Under him, the nation drifted. Under his guidance the nation gently slipped into confusion, anarchy and nothingness. Everything bad and forbidden and harmful was institutionalized. He enabled Abacha. He enabled debauchery. He enabled decay. Only if he had done the things right; if he had, his place in history would have been stellar and secured. The gods would have envied him. But he failed; hence his unenviable place in the annals of modern Nigeria .

But there is another dimension to the Babangida narrative. Somehow, I can’t help but doubt that the man really wants another shot at the presidency. He has been playing to the gallery. He has been showboating. He has been sending overt and covert messages. He has been indirectly threatening and warning his potential, real and imagined enemies. And what is the basic message he has been sending? Here it is: “Leave me alone and I will leave you alone.”  He believes that if a man like General Mohammadu Buhari become the president, he is, euphemistically speaking, toast. Buhari and likeminded post-Obasanjo president will probe, prosecute, jail and divest him of all his ill-gotten wealth.

To avert this reality therefore Babangida is or will hold “secret talks and make secret pact” with the person he thinks will be the next president. The message and the pact will be clear and simple: “sign here…if you agree to leave me alone…I won’t contest the presidency…your ascension is assured…sign here…” Knowing how desperate some contestants are, they will acquiesce. General Buhari and Chief Fawehinmi are perhaps the only men (I know of right now) who may not play ball.

Come to think of it, if you are in his shoes you’d make the same deal, too. To miss the ovation of history, and to also find himself dispossessed and jailed? The thought of these must be the source of his nightmares. By the way, let me throw a wrench into this conversation: what if the man is not as corrupt as Nigerians have been alleging; what if he truly is not guilty of all other crimes we have accused him of; what if he truly is the right man for this era -- the man who will make our collective dreams come true? And what if the vast majority of Nigerians elects him the president of Nigeria ? And then what? It could happen. Strange things do happen, you know.

Either way the wind blow, one must still doff his/her hat to Babangida. There is a lot to be said about a man who has been out of office for well over a decade but can still mesmerize us and hold us prisoners to his every sneeze and cough. To think that an individual -- who is neither an inventor nor a giver and taker of life -- can hold a nation captive for this long and this intense is simply mind boggling. Men like this don’t come around too often. Even so, it is sad, really sad that he wasted his talents and gifts. Here was a man who could have done a lot of good and a lot of great things for his country and humanity; but somehow, he squandered it all. How sad…

Sabidde@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 The Nigerian co...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 14.11.2006 08:15

katampe  Villager

# 2 =Robot;138532>The Nigerian co...Read the full article. I thought you were more intelligent than Babaginda.I thought the only difference between Babaginda and you is that he is rich and you probably are a hustler trying to make ends meet in the states.Nevertheless, there is dignity in labour - you are earning your pay without ruining lives and generations yet unborn.I am shocked that you think so highly of Babaginda - Have you heard him speak , most of the commentators on this square are more intelligent than he is. I think the problem with many Nigerians is inspite of their big ego they think less of themselves, and that is why they have elevated a mere man to the status of a god - Babaginda is the product of media creation. I have met him and I have had discussions,he is not the smart man the media has created him to be. I thought you would have been passionate about how your people the Ijaw will have complete resource control or 50% control of their resources and that would have seemed a better way to exercise your talent.Not this pedestrian effort you just churned out celebrating a fraud and a murderer.He ruined our lives , ruined education in the country, ruined the social system, legalised 419 and brought Nigeria to the brink of collapse. So, what is there to celebrate ? That his son, Mohammed Babaginda plays polo and imports player from Argentina, or that he imports African American musicians into the country to have a bash at will , or lives a life of hedonistic pursuits that he hasn't lifted a finger in his life because of Daddy. What has he contributed to the society ? Nothing Posted by katampe| 14.11.2006 11:16

Abraxas  Villager

# 3 Hi, folks! Come to think of it, if you are in his shoes you’d make the same deal, too. To miss the ovation of history, and to also find himself dispossessed and jailed? The thought of these must be the source of his nightmares. By the way, let me throw a wrench into this conversation: what if the man is not as corrupt as Nigerians have been alleging; what if he truly is not guilty of all other crimes we have accused him of; what if he truly is the right man for this era -- the man who will make our collective dreams come true? And what if the vast majority of Nigerians elects him the president of Nigeria ? And then what? It could happen. Strange things do happen, you know. Either way the wind blow, one must still doff his/her hat to Babangida. There is a lot to be said about a man who has been out of office for well over a decade but can still mesmerize us and hold us prisoners to his every sneeze and cough. To think that an individual -- who is neither an inventor nor a giver and taker of life -- can hold a nation captive for this long and this intense is simply mind boggling. Men like this don’t come around too often. Even so, it is sad, really sad that he wasted his talents and gifts. Here was a man who could have done a lot of good and a lot of great things for his country and humanity; but somehow, he squandered it all. How sad… Let me too throw a wrench into this interesting conversation: What if Babangida is the biological son of General Obasanjo? What if my great-grandmother was a virgin? what if the equator is realy the Tropic of Capricorn? What if Abacha did not imprison Obasanjo? What if, really, the world is flat, and Ibogun, in Owu clan is the centre of gravity of the solar system? What if Mariam Babangida never met IBB? What if a square was a cube? Well, like Sabella O Abidde said, it is sad, really sad that General Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida, like every other single military despot that traversed the Nigerian landscape for the better part of 30 years, between 1966 and 1999, really wasted his opportunity to make history. Here was a man who spent the better part of his millitary career ploting coups, and peddling influence. Instead of leading Nigerians to prosperity, and doing a lot of great things he could very easily have done for his country, somehow, he chose to squander it all. How sad. What a pity. Sad. Very sad, indeed. What a waste! Muchas gracias. Don Juan Carlos ABRAXAS (III) (Director of Propaganda & Enlightenment, Global Alliance for the Total De-Militarization of Nigerian Politics, post-OBJ) Posted by Abraxas| 14.11.2006 11:42

ELAWALO  Villager

# 4 Hey Katampe I perceive Babangida as a well read and intelligent man. He understands the Nigerian power play as much as being a good actor. However I do hate his guts for what he did to our country real and imagined, but God's judgement is the ultimate. It remains to be seen, what will eventually become of him (IBB), but if God is on his side, IBB's enemies would be wasting their precious time. Posted by ELAWALO| 14.11.2006 12:39

ula-lisa  Villager

# 5 May I join the fray: The man has had chances to explain the controversies, he has given Nigeria the finger, why continue to mention his name. The almajiris knew better, they called him to his face 'Barawo'. Mr. Abidde, it is these kinds of write-ups that massage the evil man's ego and makes him apparently relevant. Where was he when the goggled one ruled? Was he relevant? no. Because he met his match in Abacha who did not make him relevant, and he left well alone, until the end. Now, just supposing, I gave you a very optimistic group of people, with a monthly gushing pipe of liquid gold and large land-mass, what excuse would you have to fail? You can fire all your cabinet including your deputy at will. But you fail. What excuse do you have? Why would any sane intelligent person follow such a failure beats the imagination? What makes Abidde not qualified for position of president of Nigeria. Why, I may be no politician, but I think if tested, Abidde may beat the one he writes about in every facet of life save, deviousness. This is the reason for his following, the devious Nigerians, want business as usual. The other camp is the other bunch of educated men, including Phds. lining up behind a diploma-in-law holder to receive leadership from him ; some much older than him. All yelling 'Due Process'. They were loudly silent during Odi and Zaki-Biam! Nigeria sure has 'gone to the dogs' in a manner of speech. Posted by ula-lisa| 14.11.2006 13:54

MrOneNaija  Villager

# 6 THE MURDERER FROM MINNA http://www.nigeriavillagesq... Now that Babangida has indicated his intention to openly and actively continue to participate in shaping the future direction of a country he has helped ruin, it is only fair to confront him with not just his past but also his present. And if that past is strewn with the corpses of innocent victims and broken promises, the present, on its part, is burdened by, amongst other things, the unrepentant recklessness of the man, his utter disdain for the people, his profligate tendencies, and above all, his conniving cowardice and love of tyranny as is the case in his active support of the dictatorial regime Nigerians have been living under since 1999. Obviously obsessed with his self-preservation, the ‘big oga’ from Minna has been reduced to muttering contemptible accolades each time he is called upon to comment on the Obasanjo dictatorship. In a nutshell, this is the mindset, not to talk of worldview, of the moral poltron who wants to lord it over Nigeria again - Culled from "The PDP and the Ventriloquist from Minna". Posted by MrOneNaija| 14.11.2006 16:05

M-Lord  JJC

# 7 Sabella's write up is fairly similar to Uche Nworah's on Andy Ubah last week. We need to avoid calling an incongruous caricature an oil painting. Let me be express some uncharacteristic verbal uncouthness here. If it looks like it, smells like it, feels like it (for those brave enough to touch it), no matter how much disinfectant or air freshner you douse on it, I assure you the chemical components will not change........it is still s-h-one-t! Now that we've cleared the air the erstwhile retired General (in this case not a mark of respect) IBB was a very corrupt head of state. Agreed he was not as brutal as Abacha but in many respects he was just as bad. He was just cleverer and better at covering his tracks..thats all. He has proved himself to be 100% corruptible and he soils all he comes in contact with in corrupt dust. Look at the crop of Nigerians who gathered themselves at the Sheraton Hotel about 3 months ago making morally bankrupt statements pontificating and eulogising about Babangida's non existing qualities. Sadly amongst them was Abiola's widow and a respected Newswatch Editor. Babangida corrupted the Nigerian intelligentsia during his regime. He raided the Universities and rooted out Professors making them uncomfortable with their fairly adequate salaries. He dragged them into the world of Politics and made them political appointees, overcoming them with large sums of money to abandon the ivory towers. Not being the product of University education he then proceeded to shut them down serially and began a period of disinvestment in Universities both in terms of money, research and resources. Becoming a University teacher became less attractive to Nigerian graduates and was seen as a stepping stone by some to political posts. He started the tragic wave of political assasinations with the premature and brutal demise of Dele Giwa. He even reportedly corrupted Arch Bishop Olubunmi Okogie by luring him into an uncompromising position and then blackmailed him into silence thus neutralising him as a critic. He adopted the loathsome principle that everyone had a price and he capitalised on this by pushing the boundaries until the object of his pseudo affection succumbed. No institution in Nigeria was sacred. He played one tribe against the other. He wasn't brilliant but he was very cunning. He arrogated the title "evil genius" to himself because he was and still is evil. He brutally and systematically raped Nigeria and now shows an intention to sodomise her all over again. Yet some individuals have the effontery to say positive things about him. I of course respect everyone's freedom of expression. But with freedom to express comes great responsibility. Nigeria has such a great pool of talent yet to show what they can do. The best is yet to come. Away with the old guard and in with the new please. 2007 is a great opportunity and all writers and contributors with attendant commentaries have a great task and opportunity to inform, influence persuade and encourage integrity and service for all who have their eye on diverse seats come 2007. I don't think I'm being unduly idealistic. Some visitors to the square will find themselves in political office. Many villagers have links one way or another to those in political office. The pen or in this case the keyboard is mightier than the sword. The current regime has produced some sad players like Fayose, Alamayeseigha, Ubah x2, Dariye Oyinlola and Adedibu (though the latter is more of a notorious kingmaker than a political office holder). More mediocre ones are josting for positions vying to be Chief Executives of their states come 2007. Its quite obvious that their performance will be low with their treasury emptying activities high. As a country we deserve better. We need better. We want better. We desperately crave better. We have the right calibre of Politicians and personnel. We need to identify them and push them forward. People in the calibre of the Head of NAFDAC and the recently removed Minister for Finance Okonjo Iweala are not in the minority. It is just that in the history of Nigeria they are hardly ever given a chance. The time to be decisive is now. Please move modify and motivate people's thinking with your expressions. The time to move is now. Posted by M-Lord| 15.11.2006 09:54

tonsoyo  Villager

# 8 IBB has large followership why? because he has stole much and always willing to share his loot, trust Nigerians to want a piece of the national cake in his custody. There is nothing spectacular about IBB, it is just like throwing crumbles of bread in the midst of the pigeons at the Trafalgar Square in London, of course you will be surrounded by hundreds of them. Those he cannot give he creates enabling environment for them to steal. Saraki looms large in Kwara for the same reason, Adedibu the nuisance of Ibadan for the same reason, with so much atrocities of the Uba clan in Anambra for the same reason, even Adebayo Success the chief thug for NPN in Lagos in 1983 had followership! Nigeria is an improverished society any manner of character that is willing to share will be treated as a king. The difference with IBB is that he has a wider reach, and a deeper pocket. Posted by tonsoyo| 15.11.2006 21:44

M-Lord  JJC

# 9 I agree with Toyonso. Babangida does indeed have a large war chest which he is determined to utilise fully in seducing (corrupting more like) Nigerians preparatory to 2007. News just coming in indicates that he has written to all the serving Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria enlisting their support for his ill conceived Presidential bid. Needless to say the cunning person that he is, he is already targeting certain of their number with his ill gotten wealth (which he is holding in "trust for Nigeria"because a time will come when he will have to give account and return our money that my parents, your parents and many Nigerians worked hard for) with extra promises of enviable positions under "his government". 80% + of Nigerians (in my estimation) doubt the bona fides and genuineness of his intentions. Many Nigerians really suffered under his regime. Many were thoroughly SAPPED until they effectively dried up materially. Babangida single handedly eradicated the middle classes from the face of Nigeria. I was at University during his regime in Nigeria and I remember very well as I'm sure most of you do how things were back then. Not a bed of roses but most Nigerians who were prepared to work hard managed to make ends meet before he came along. The security guard at my father's office was able to send his son to University just before his SAPPING regime. Post Babangida Nigeria became a society of those who have (and I mean really have by virtue of links of some sort to political connections resulting in favours) and an economic underclass who really really struggle to have more than one meal a day.....0-1-0 or 0-0-1 as we jokingly called it back then at University. Little did we know that it would turn into harsh reality for many Nigerian families in the coming years. I do not wish to go on and on. I'll end this piece in this fashion. Can anyone really identify three positive things that Babangida bestowed on Nigeria during his regime which have stood the test of time and are of real benefit to Nigerians? 1. None 2. Nowt 3. Nothing My point exactly!!! Posted by M-Lord| 16.11.2006 10:01

M-Lord  JJC

# 10 Sorry I misnamed Tonsoyo Posted by M-Lord| 16.11.2006 10:02