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Tag: Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida

  • We must fight Boko Haram together, says Babangida

    We must fight Boko Haram together, says Babangida

    Former Nigerian leader, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, yesterday asked Nigerians to set aside religious differences and join hands in prayers and action to put an end to the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country and the recovery of the abducted school girls from Chibok.

    He spoke just as the Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi, warned against allowing the foreign troops kill any member of the Boko Haram group, saying allowing such will trigger a new wave of terrorism never witnessed in the country before.

    Speaking in an interview with the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) monitored in Kaduna, the former leader also asked Nigerian Muslims to rise to defend bad image being given to their religion through the activities of the group as Islam had never allowed the killing of innocent souls, or to antagonise fellow human beings.

    According to him, this was the time for Nigerians to unite to rescue the missing female students from Chibok in Borno State, saying “First, I am together with the parents of those girls in prayers so that Allah will protect them. Secondly, this has affected the entire Nigeria. Once you are a Nigerian, no matter your religion, what happened to these children has affected every one that is called a Nigerian.”

    On the public outcry by Nigerians about government inaction in recovering the girls, the former president said this was not the time to apportion blame saying “Allah has destined that this thing would happen this way. What we are supposed to do now is to look for ways of assisting in finding these girls because they are not just girls from Chibok, but Nigerian girls.

    “So what I hope is that, the Muslims, the Christians, even the animists, should tighten our belt and ensure that we give our full support in the search that could lead us to success in this regard. This is not only affecting Nigeria. Therefore, if there are offers to assist us, Alhamdulillahi (Thanks be to Allah).”

    Babangida allayed fears being expressed in some quarters that once the American soldiers are allowed into the country, they would not want to leave. The former military President said before they come into the country, there would be certain regulations that must be adhered to, saying “if they offered to assist, first of all they should be given the opportunity, and we must express our gratitude to them”.

    He noted that Islam had never allowed the killing of innocent souls, saying “Islam enjoins you to live peacefully with fellow human beings. Allah says there is no compulsion in religion, so this alone is okay for us. Therefore, anybody who will come and smear our name, all Muslims should kick against that. Muslims should also do everything possible to stop this continued blackmail against the religion of Islam. We must prepare to fight it and ensure that we become successful.”

    Meanwhile, Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi said the fight to recover the missing school girls from Chibok was a special war that needed special approach.

    In a statement in Kaduna, the Islamic scholar said “don’t let the foreigners’ fire and kill any Nigerian. This may trigger waves of terrorism never seen before, especially with the latest pronouncement by the Amnesty International which is broadcast in the major international media.”

    According to him, it is no more secret that the Nigerian Army has not been engaging the enemy, saying “for us that have been keen observers of the development and progress of this evil situation which the northern states are passing through since the inception of this government, this is no news”.

    He wondered why the USA and other countries are just offering assistance on the war against insurgency, when many innocent lives have been lost and so many families were destroyed, saying “the interest is intensifying after it becoming more evident that the Boko Haram are going to enslave or sell the innocent girls with religious bias as most of them girls are Christians. In fact, there is news that those that escaped might have been the few Muslim girls ‘released’ by the evil group.

    “There is no reason whatsoever that can justify the abduction of innocent people irrespective of their religious affiliation or ethnic composition. This has to be clear. It is at this juncture, that the efforts of the Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch should be appreciated, because they have times without number published the atrocities committed by the both the Boko Haram and the Nigerian military.

    “Atrocities of rapes, extra-judicial killings and concentration camps and illegal detentions. If these atrocities are committed by a lawless group there is no much surprise about it. What do we expect of them? But for a constituted authority to be engaged in these same atrocities, the issue becomes more abominable.

    “Yet years passed without concern from the public. It is now we are all facing the evil we collectively neglected and refused to heed the cries of the very few. When our government was committing crimes most people were aloof. Now the evil is haunting us all. Now the Nigerian government is branded in the international arena as callous, irresponsible, corrupt and also blood stained.”

    According to him, there will always be repercussions for killing innocent people or aiding in killing an innocent soul as well as refusal to take responsibility over the lives and properties of people.

    “It is shocking for most of us, especially since the revelation on the Voice of America interview by a soldier about the situation in Bama. He was plain that the Nigerian military is not truly engaging the enemy and that there are elements of his military instructors on the side of Boko Haram firing at them, an allegation the military dismissed yet the public is not convinced.”

     

  • JKF: One great term deserves another

    JKF: One great term deserves another

    The most memorable moments of life’s varied encounters sometimes come without a force or fanfare. But as events unfold years later, we come to recognize their landmark nature and what truly defined them. Such was my first chanced meeting with the former governor of Lagos State, the icon of democracy, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It remains an unforgettable scenario which was replicated later with the current, highly resourceful governor of Ekiti State, the ‘Land of Honour’, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi.

    For the former, waves of nostalgia feather me back to 1993.One can still vividly recall that I was just settling down at The Guardian under the tutelage of one of Nigeria’s finest sub-editors of his generation, Gbenga Omotoso. It was during one of the most turbulent periods of the nation’s chequered political history with the crude and callous annulment of the June 12 presidential election, adjudged to have been freely and fairly won by Chief M.K.O Abiola (of blessed memory).

    It was on my assignment to cover the post-election crisis that trailed the annulment by the famed military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB when I first encountered the Asiwaju, one of the pillars of the struggle to actualize that mandate. Back then however, his compelling political pedigree and persona were yet to unfold like the colourful flower’s petals to the sun’s glorious rays before he slipped into exile, to the United States during the Abacha regime‘s dreaded military dictatorship.

    Still, he was elected and sworn in as the governor of Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence, in 1999 I elected to watch his government from a distance. That was, until the charm of his then Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ayobolu drew the attention of notable journalists to his government. Coincidentally, media missiles were then flying all over the political sphere; mostly to ascertain what form and shape his government would take as the take-off itself was up against the clouds precisely in the first six months. But it was not long before he exhibited a master stroke with the whirlwind of a media tour.

    On that momentous occasion, he looked relaxed with a wan smile playing around his lips as he gave details of his master plan to institute enduring structures in Lagos State. Good enough for his administration some six months later his promises had started bearing fruits. What with massive infrastructural development in the critical areas of road construction, education, primary healthcare delivery and the transport sector. With them came free eye screening project, LASTMA and LAMATA just to name a few. The rest, as they say is history.

    Incidentally, a similar scenario was about playing itself out in my encounter with the current governor of Ekiti state, JKF. First, was the opportunity for me to gain from his fecund mind as one enjoyed reading his thematically relevant and thought-provoking essays in the African Guardian where he had worked briefly. That was before one’s professional ship of journalism safely berthed there. Subsequently, I got more acquainted with him when he became a major fighter in the pro-democracy group. That was during the desperate struggle to find answers and validate the June 12, 1993 election impasse.

    Worthy of note was the fact that he was the brain behind the immensely popular Radio Kudirat that sent shivers down the spine of late General Abacha’s military monstrosity. All because of the implicit trust the western world reposed in him, JKF became the dependable link between it and the pro-democracy activists. It is on record that twice he was offered huge sums of money in hard currency, surreptitiously to play the Judas and thwart the collective will of Nigerians and twice he rejected the lure of the lucre which he considered evil.

    On this score, I had no hesitation in throwing my weight behind him when he took the bold decision to throw his hat into the gubernatorial ring of his state. But in a similar vein to the encounter with the Asiwaju, I waited, patiently for two years to critically assess the political situation in Ekiti if he would match words with action. Specifically, in line with the promises he had made during the electioneering campaign and the well articulated Eight-point Agenda.

    Now, some three years on, JKF has indeed, walked the talk; making my generation proud to be associated with a performer-per-excellence. In a paradigm shift from the average Nigerian politician angling for power only for self aggrandizement he has directed the tool of governance to be more people-oriented. From massive infrastructural development through truly free education and human capacity development policy to modernizing agriculture, health care services, industrial development to opening up the beautiful tourists’ attractions for the entire world to see and gender equality, JKF has become the agent of change.

    He made history as the first governor in Nigeria to sign into law the Freedom of Information (FoI) Law on Monday, July 4, 2011.This was to set the template to ensure that government business is conducted with the desired probity and accountability.

    In the area of infrastructural development there are various road construction going on in towns, villages down to the remotest settlements parts of the state. This was attested to during his recent tour across the local governments to commission one project or the other. Not too long ago he commissioned ten major roads totaling 103 km in fulfillment of the promise to make the state accessible by motorable roads by 2014.

    To exhibit the human face nature of his administration, it is a notable fact that Ekiti state is also the first in the country to practically demonstrate a welfare scheme for the aged as the indigent elders are receive N5,000 monthly. Only recently, the federal government keyed into it by expanding the programme to reach selected women in the state. After one year of receiving the stipend they could be offered soft loans to start their businesses. This is commendable and should be emulated by other state governments in the country.

    His imprint in the area of education would remain an enduring legacy. Said he: “The entirety of the programme is about quantitative and quality education from primary to secondary schools. And this is all encompassing involving the students, the teachers, the parents, the corporate and civil organizations and the public. It also involves good infrastructure, the conducive environment and every other value that can aid development in the sector. So, in Ekiti state, no student is asked to pay a kobo as school or whatever fee.”

    Similarly he stated that: “Many dilapidated school buildings which had not been touched for 40 years are being demolished and rebuilt with work at completion stage in various public schools.”

    Not left out is the health sector. For instance, he has commissioned a health centre at Ido Ile and a Skills Acquisition Centre at Iropora Ekiti which were carried out under the State Community and Social Development Agency. There is a regular health monitoring of the citizens through medical check ups which are free in addition to the cancer centre built in memory of the late deputy governor of the state.

    The governor also commissioned five water treatment plants at Ipole Iloro, Efon, Ido Ile, Okemesi and Mary Hill Ado Ekiti as part of people-oriented projects scheduled to mark the second anniversary of his administration. It is geared towards providing potable water to at least 80 per cent of the state population by 2014. In a complementary gesture, all the four dams in the state would become functional as a bulk of the 2014 budget is to be earmarked for the delivery of potable water.

    To up the ante in the tourism sector, the popular Ikogosi Warm Spring has been upgraded with requisite infrastructural development to make it a tourist‘s haven, as some cultural festivals are being rejuvenated to enhance the industry.

    To boost the capacity of the power sector, the people of Odo Uro, a community in Iyin Ekiti are delighted as the governor commissioned a rural electrification project. The work done involved about 0.1km Inter Town Connection (ITC), 1.8km Township Distribution Network (TDN), a 300KVA transformer and street lighting.

    Indeed, if leadership entails the unfailing elements of vision, the uncommon capacity to identify the most pressing needs of the led majority and provide them, the courage to do the right thing at the right time and of course, being a beacon bearer to show the people the way out of the long, dark tunnel of poverty and apathy, Fayemi is an epitome of it all. Having proven his mettle so far, one great term deserves another.