Opinion
These final hours of “Mai gaskiya’s” Kakistocracy
By Tunde Olusunle
The title of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s account of his stewardship as Nigeria’s President kept plodding in my mind as I thought through a heading for this piece. Nigeria’s third President of the Fourth Republic authored My Transition Hours, which was published in 2018. It captures the breathtaking frenzy and flurry of activities and developments preceding, and immediately following his contest with the outgoing President, Muhammadu Buhari, at the 2015 presidential poll. The mean-spirited theatrics, confounding shenanigans, spontaneous alliance-switches and cross-carpeting, blatant betrayals, in the aftermath of his loss at the election are encapsulated in the book.
The two terms of four years each totalling eight years during which Buhari superintended over Nigeria, have gradually but assuredly diminished. Years, thinned down to months, months into weeks, weeks into days, the countdown has come down to hours, practically. Effectively, Buhari’s dispensation is in its final hours even if he conveys the timing of his exit, as imperative in “a few days.” Buhari indeed creates the impression that his job has been a pressure cooker which has exceeded boiling point and he cannot wait to return to his ranch in Daura and the annex in Maradi.
The last few days have been action-packed for Buhari. He has been busy with the commissioning of a harvest of projects initiated and driven by the private sector, and his administration, respectively. The $19 Billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant in Lekki, Lagos, headlined the final hours of tape-cutting, Monday May 22, 2023. Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, is perhaps Nigeria’s most committed, Africa-centric and adventurous investor whose hands are in many pies in the nation’s socioeconomic development. His interests among others include manufacturing, construction, commerce and agriculture. The Dangote Refinery may be Africa’s single largest investment in petroleum development in a long time. It is yet another private sector-led initiative to boost the nation’s economy.
Tuesday May 23, 2023, Buhari commissioned eight major infrastructural projects across the country. Seven of them handled by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, received louder amplification than the eighth. The Second Niger bridge, christened after Buhari; the Loko-Owetto bridge linking Nasarawa, Benue and states in the South East and South South, and the Ikom bridge in Cross River State, were all commissioned. New federal secretariats in Anambra, Bayelsa and Zamfara states, and the Kaduna-Kano segment of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano roads, were similarly commissioned. Buhari opted to commission the brand new “Customs House” located in Abuja on the same day, as information technology allowed for his virtual, simultaneous, real-time opening of the non-Abuja domiciled projects.
This rash of valedictory ceremonials are proceeding parri passu with various events scheduled for the Commander-in-Chief by his primordial constituency, the military, these last days, these final hours. The goal is to reengineer our collective consciousness to actually think that Buhari, has been a rare breed conscientiously committed leader, who should be eternally venerated for heroic exploits in statecraft and national development. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the reality that Buhari has presided over a debilitating kakistocracy over the last eight years. Buhari rode into power after three previous unsuccessful attempts in 2015, on the crest of presumed integrity, assumed frugality and touted believability. He earned the sobriquet of Mai Gaskiya, the honest one. He was profiled as that desired transformational leader who will turn things around in the fractious polity and discombobulated economy.
Buhari’s suspect capacity, however, was first gleaned from his tentativeness in assembling a team to work with him. Elected in March 2015 and inaugurated in May of the same year, it was not until November that year that Buhari began piecemeal submission of the names of his prospective ministers to the National Assembly for processing. Indeed, in the course of Buhari’s prevarication, the nation’s economy took a southward descent into depression, the first of at least two such negative economic growths under his jurisdiction. Public expectations about the impeccably qualified and ultra-competent Nigerians Buhari assured he will integrate into his administration, waned immediately the “usual suspects” emerged on his A list.
Governments before Buhari purposefully headhunted and deployed the Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealas, Chukwuma Soludos, Magnus Kpakols, Amina Mohammeds, Arunma Otehs, Akinwumi Adesinas, and so on in nation building and economic reconstruction. It is testament to their impeccable competencies, that many of them have moved up to higher responsibilities in global organisations. There were, however, no surprises when Buhari constituted his cabinet with many of the least suitable and competent operators, thus engendering a veritable kakistocracy, populated in the main by mediocres. There is perhaps no better validation of this assertion than the manner the country has fumbled and floundered over the past eight years, sometimes tethering on the brink.
A post on the social media by one Sanusi Dantata which has been trending for a few days now, almost summarises the epochal dysfunction of the Buhari government. This is in stark counterpoint to the facade of “landmark and legacy” achievements the regime serenades itself with. Says Sanusi Dantata: “If wishes were horses, I’d wish Muhammadu Buhari would drive from Abuja to Daura on Monday the 29th of May, instead of flying! He’d have the chance to see the infrastructure he has built, the insecurity he has addressed, the economy he has revamped and the youths he has provided opportunities for!” Dantata in this singular sentence effectively puts a pin on the helium balloon of the Buhari dispensation’s penchant for narcissism. Nigeria has never had it so bad.
Buhari’s government put a deliberate knife through our institutions such that standards, processes and best practices have been thrown to the hounds. We have a servile and complicit legislature whose members queue like school children for photo opportunities with the president, in a parliament which rubber-stamps any and every request from the president. The judiciary is wholly subservient in a Buhari era which sanctions the Gestapo-style nighttime invasion of the homes of forthright judges and justices, and intentionally sets up a Chief Justice for compulsory retirement. The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), is anything but independent. It takes orders from extraneous authorities about who to give a ticket, who to disqualify from a contest, where to simulate “inconclusive elections,” and who to gift with “Certificates of Return.”
It is common knowledge that the level of pilferage of public funds under Buhari, has long surpassed whatever was alleged to have taken place in preceding governments constituted by the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP). Buhari legitimised a sadaka poverty alleviation strategy, under which money is virtually thrown into the streets for the needy to pick up. Where on earth is the precedent to Buhari’s tradermoni example, where government officials go around distributing N10,000 to select traders in marketplaces in the name of economic revamp? Where is the precursor to the Special Works Programme, (SPW), powered by the Labour ministry, where names of youths from across the country were compiled and they were each paid N20,000 per month for three months, for doing absolutely nothing, in the name of job creation? The COVID-19 pandemic which spilled well into 2020, precipitated large-scale stealing of public funds under the dubious cover of palliatives procured for the generality of the people. Accounts say that Sadiya Umar Farouq’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, received funds in excess of N500 Billion for the palliatives, which never reached “the people” and which was not accounted for.
Aviation and Aerospace Minister, Hadi Sirika recently launched 10 firefighting vehicles distributed to various airports in the country, each costing a whopping N1.2 Billion! The same Sirika has just hurriedly concessioned the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, (NAIA), Abuja, and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, (MAKIA), Kano, for periods of 20 and 30 years respectively. According to reports, about $800 Million will accrue to the nation’s coffers from the deal, even as many have queried the secrecy which attended the transaction and why it was left till the final hours of the Buhari era. The National Population Commission, (NPC), recently reported that a staggering N200 Billion had been spent preparing for the recently postponed national headcount. Should the incoming administration be keen on a national census, it may have to begin from the scratch despite the previous investment of N200 Billion in the exercise.
These Buhari’s final hours, government expenses totalling N22 Trillion, hitherto financed through “ways and means” by the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), were approved by the National Assembly. There’s been disquiet in the lower parliament, however, because its leadership was said to have received $15 Million “to ensure smooth sail” for the approval granted the executive branch of government. This is happening in Buhari’s final hours. Days ago, Buhari presented a request for the approval of a loan of $800 Million, to finance public intervention strategies for the poor and vulnerable, in the event of the removal of fuel subsidy. The departing president has also shifted the responsibility for the removal of the subsidy to the incoming government. You then wonder why he is nonetheless insistent on procuring the facility.
The much disparaged Jonathan administration increased electricity power generation beyond 5000 megawatts in 2015. It has plummeted below 3000 megawatts under Buhari which at its inception, promised to fix power within six months. Notably, the receding government has supposedly expended $7.5 Billion within the period, a practical waste against the backdrop that the sector remains comatose. This is just as this government
continually castigates the Olusegun Obasanjo Jonathan/Umaru Yar’Adua governments for deploying a fictional $16 Billion on the same infrastructure. It came to public knowledge days ago, that senior civil servants in the power sector, had arranged a “send-off party for themselves, these final hours of Buhari’s sojourn. A dozen of them colluded to misappropriate tens of billions of naira, allocated to revamp the troubled infrastructure. In one instance, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), tracked N23 Billion to the bank account of a bureau de change operator, who was requested to convert the loot into foreign currency.
Wednesday May 24, 2023, Buhari wrote to the National Assembly seeking approval to pay “judgment debts” to the tune of N226 Billion; $556 Million, and £98.5 Million, respectively! The hawks and hounds around Buhari, are better schooled and skilled in street wisdom, than their principal. They know he has long lost touch with contemporaneity in many ways and resides predominantly in the recesses of time. They have since invented sustainable tricks and tactics to keep him eternally comfortable and contented, savouring flavoured, floral breeze in the Disney land glamour of State House. There, he routinely picks his teeth in visible satisfaction as is captured in that very iconic photograph of him which keeps making the rounds in the social media. This knowledge of their boss, liberates them to run scams and schemes, rackets and veiled robberies behind his back. In the more recent incident, some state official(s) deliberately and studiously watched the contentious “judgment debts” if any, spiral beyond 12- digit commitments. They chose when to strike by stalling until the final hours of Buhari’s visitation, before placing the request before him. Their slices of the pie of course, are safe and secure in the hands of their offshore collaborators.
Waking up on Tuesday May 30, 2023 to the reality that Buhari has finally proceeded to his hometown, will come as welcome relief to several millions of Nigerians. Typically ingenious Nigerians have suggested that all our countrymen who go through the Buhari scourge unscathed, should deservedly be awarded “Certificates of Survival!” That would seem imperative given the unsparing furnaces of hunger, poverty, stagnation, insecurity, kidnappings, killings, near-deaths, helplessness, hopelessness and despair Nigerians have passed through these past eight years. Characteristically, Buhari is a blame-passer who seldom accepts responsibility for official misconduct and minimum governance. In this instance, however, he will have no option but to live with the reality that he posted an aggregate score far below public expectation. The endeavours and failures of his government, all bear his imprimatur as the leader of this better forgotten epoch.
So long for Buhari’s kakistocratic dispensation.
Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author is a Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE)
I have worked in the National Assembly though in the Green Chambers as an aide earlier on. I have seen power games played in their rawest form. so I understand how the game is played. The National Assembly is not a debating society where lawmakers sip tea and exchange polite arguments.
It is a political war zone not for the weak but where lawmakers have been known to throw insults like free akara and rip agbadas like WWE wrestlers to assert dominance.
What happened to Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was not an accident. It was a deliberate act of political suppression disguised as Senate procedure.
If we are being honest, Nigerian lawmakers hardly follow procedure. They shout over each other, climb chairs, and in extreme cases, physical blows settle matters faster than parliamentary rules.
In this same Senate, a senator once jumped over tables to grab the mace like an action film hero. Nobody declared him “out of order.”
So, who are we fooling?
Natasha’s real offense was not breaking Senate rules; it was speaking with the kind of confidence the system does not tolerate from women. She did not lower her voice. She did not wait for permission. She did not beg.
For that, she had to be reminded of her place.
Akpabio, who now plays the role of Senate Headmaster, was once a student of political hooliganism himself.
When he opposed Bukola Saraki’s leadership in the Senate, he disrupted, challenged, and broke every so-called “rule” to assert his position.
Nobody told him he was “out of order” when he threw his weight around. Nobody switched off his microphone when he flexed his influence.
Now, the same Akpabio wants to lecture Natasha on “respect”? Somebody help me understand this selective amnesia.
The message is clear:
Men in power can be loud and aggressive, but women must be quiet and submissive.
Women in power must not challenge the men, otherwise it’s labelled “disrespectful.”
Women in the Senate must clap, nod, and play backup singers while men take the lead.
The Senate allows men to play rough, but expects women to behave like obedient kitchen wives.
Natasha refused to follow that script, and Akpabio’s Senate is punishing her for it.
Natasha’s seat change was not a coincidence; it is a message and a Political Attack.
For those who don’t understand how the National Assembly politics works, let me educate you.
Where you sit in plenary matters. The further back you are, the less visible and important you become. Cameras don’t pick you up easily. If you raise your hand, it’s like you don’t exist.
The presiding officer conveniently “doesn’t see your hand.”The system gradually silences you without needing to say a word.
First, they moved Natasha’s seat to the far end, near the exit. As if waiting for her to walk herself out.
She sat there. Still, that was not enough for them.
Now, they have moved her seat AGAIN!
They have pushed her to the far end corner of the plenary, the burial ground for lawmakers who don’t talk, don’t think, don’t contribute!
That place is for the benchwarmers, the ones who come, sign attendance, eat money, shout “Aye!” and “Nay!” like programmed robots, then vanish!
Natasha is NOT a benchwarmer. She is not a political errand girl. So why are they trying to bury her voice?
If the Senate follows rules, why was Natasha not informed before her seat was changed?
She woke up one morning, came to plenary, and suddenly… bam! She was told to move. Why?
Why?
Since when did they start moving senators around like chess pieces?
Since when did they start treating elected lawmakers like secondary school students being punished for noise-making?
This is deliberate sidelining. She has been excluded from international engagements, forced to fund her own travels while her male colleagues enjoy first-class treatment.
When she dares to raise her voice?
Her microphone is killed like an unwanted radio station.
Is this a democracy or a boys’ cult?
I have worked with lawmakers. I have sat behind the scenes. I have seen how the game is played.
Nigerian politics is not about truth or debate. It is about who can intimidate who into silence.
Akpabio’s “you are out of order” was not just a procedural statement, it was an attempt to put Natasha in her place.
To remind her that no matter how educated, outspoken, or intelligent she is, she is still a woman in a system built by men, designed for men.
That is the strategy. That is the game.
What Happened to Immunity? Or Does It Only Work for Men?
Senators have immunity for whatever they say on the floor of the House.
That is the law. That is the rule.
Yet, somehow, Akpabio treated Natasha like an errant schoolgirl, as if she was breaking some sacred commandment.
The real question is:
Would Akpabio have done the same if Natasha were a man?
Would he have cut off the microphone of a male senator mid-sentence in that same manner?
We know the answer.
Natasha represents something Nigerian politics is not used to; an outspoken woman who does not wait to be given permission to speak.
The system is playing a dirty game: if we can’t stop her from speaking, they will make sure nobody sees her.
That is why this gbas gbos was different.
This is not about rules.
This is about power.
That is the real game.
The Nigerian Senate has never been a quiet place. It has never been a place where emotions are checked at the door.
It is a battleground where policies, positions, and political futures are fought for.
So why is it that the same Senate that tolerates male aggression cannot handle female confidence?
The Nigerian Senate has always been a boys’ club. Women in the Red Chambers are expected to sit quietly, nod obediently, and support the men.
Natasha refused. And now, they are making her pay for it.
Senator Natasha did what every senator is elected to do. She had every right to push back.
The job of a senator is to speak, debate and challenge issues, not to sit down and watch like a guest at a wedding reception.
If that is now considered “out of order,” then perhaps the entire system needs to be reset.
If a lawmaker cannot express themselves, then what exactly are they doing in the Senate? What is their purpose?
Akpabio, as Senate President, has a duty to manage the house.
Leadership is not about silencing people; it is about managing power, balancing authority with fairness without being threatened by it.
Switching off a senator’s microphone is not leadership; it is dictatorship in disguise.
This was not about rules, this was about maintaining control.
What happened in the Red Chambers was bigger than one argument. It was a reminder that power in Nigeria is still a carefully guarded boys’ club.
A place where women are expected to be seen, not hear
This is not just about Natasha. It is about every woman in power who has been bullied into silence and deliberately made invisible in a room where she deserves to stand tall.
This is about a political culture that calls male assertiveness “leadership” but labels female boldness “disrespect.”
This is about a system that is comfortable with male chaos but afraid of female confidence.
The National Assembly is not a church. It is not a royal palace. It is a political arena. Senators should be allowed to speak, regardless of gender.
Call me ILUO-OGHENE but i remain ILUO DePOET and indeed, i have seen with my own eyes.👀
Oya, talk your talk, let’s hear your view.✍🏻
By Hamza Lamisi
No doubt that one of the expected big game Changers of the 10th National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is the emergence of a vocal voice who ran one of the country’s most persecuted election campaigns in Nigeria’s history. From the feminine gender in a male dominated political ecosystem to being transracial in a highly conservative District; a Christian in Muslim-saturated bargain table of stakeholders, from being single to inter-tribally married in a natively and culturally republic Ebira Land. Not only to contest in a struggling opposition party but to face the most ruthless Chief Security Officer of her State, from her District.
The odds were obviously too many but Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan upturned the guess – defeating the threatening ruling party and emerging the first female Senator Kogi State ever produced. She defined the turning point of Kogi Central’s representation in Nigeria’s bicameral Parliament. Unlike her colleagues from Kogi State who rode on the backing of the number one citizen of the State, Senator Natasha’s road to the red Chambers was never paved, it was a tough and rough journey of determination, persistence, unwavering dedication and commitment to a dream held in trust for the people.
She walked through the storms and she is shaped by the lessons – to remain bold, assertive, unbroken, unbeaten and unbowed by any circumstance, because only by struggle and perseverance freedom comes. Not unaware of the systemic dialogue, lobby and collaboration but Senator Natasha would not do so at the expense or in exchange of the People’s trust and mandate for which she swore oath to protect.
Stepping into the Senate as a survivor of election and litigation battles, and looking back to the unwavering support and uncommon trust of Kogi people and Nigerians by extension, notwithstanding already some months behind her fellow law makers, Senator Natasha was prepared to have the end justify the means. Barely 16 months from the very day of her swearing-in till date, Senator Natasha’s contributions and impact in the 10th Senate have left many wonder if she was a first time Senator or one elected from the minority opposition. Most popular and best performing member of the current National Assembly.
Just within one year in office, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan lit 30 kilometers of road networks across Kogi Central with over 2,000 solar powered streetlights. Over 1,300 women and youth were trained and empowered by the law maker. Senator Natasha has supported the tuition fee of over 353 vulnerable indigenous students at tertiary institutions nationwide. She has faciliated federal employment opportunities for various graduates and facilitate capacity building trainings and empowerment for many others.
She brought a reliable supply of portable water to Kogi Central communities with 12 water reticulation projects with each being a massive 50,000-liter solar-powered motorized water system, which serves 300 locations and provides, 1,800 fetching taps.
To draw legislation closer to the grassroot, Senator Natasha engaged 100 constituency aides both men and women across the 57 wards in Kogi Central. She has distributed 12 trucks of grains, 10, 000 wrappers for women, 20,000 notebooks, 5,000 school bags and reconstructed and remodeled Abdul Aziz Attah Memorial College Okene (AAAMCO), Okene to smart school.
Within one year in office, Senator Natasha has attracted employments in both federal agencies and private organizations to over 30 graduates from her constituency.
Ihima community has been without police station for the past 7 years, Senator Natasha embarked on total reconstruction of Ihima Police Station which was commissioned by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Senator Natasha distributed 4 trucks of fertilizers totalling 2,400 bags of NPK and Urea fertilizers to Kogi Central farmers. Free Business CAC registration of 2,500 SMEs. She has empowered Kogi Central students from 12 selected tertiary institutions across Nigeria with multipurpose business cart and start up fund.
Commissioned six constituency offices in the five LGAs to make government closer to the people. Senator Natasha has sponsored two motions and two bills including the bill for the establishment of Nigeria Gold Reserve, the bill for the establishment of Ihima Federal Medical Centre, motion to investigate alleged corruption and inefficiency in Ajaokuta Company Ltd and National Iron Ore Mining Company, NIOMCO amongst other.
Senator Natasha has provided 5,000 digital learning devices to both public primary and secondary schools in Kogi Central.
For her magical achievements in office and accelerated development and impact her constituency has witnessed, Senator Natasha has received and even turned down several prestigious awards. She emerged Senator of the year 2024 which is her first year in office as Senator.
Achieving these feats in less than 16 months as a first time Senator and one from the minority party and from Kogi Central, one may wonder what could be the Achilles’ Heels of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in the 10th Senate and why the persecution by supposed colleagues in the Chambers. Is there a question of loyalty to individual rather than institution? Is it her performance record or her dedication to the business of legislation rather than playing the cheap political cards around the leadership of the Senate? Is it her idea of universal development of Nigeria rather than regional? After all, every Senator is of the Federal Republic Nigeria and should think and act so.
We may ask further; is anyone being threatened by her uncommon pace? Is there a question of envy or jealousy among her colleagues? Do they expect Senator Natasha to be one step behind, considering the enormity of the task on her shoulders as Senator from an already underrepresented District in the past? Is there a fear that Senator Natasha may reveal to Nigerians what is due to them from their representatives across boards? We may have more to ask than provide answers.
Meanwhile, Senator Natasha is a more than equal to the task of addressing the challenges that come with standing out in an uncommon manner. She is not one to be taught the difference between ‘diplomacy and cold slavery’ or ‘breach of rules and violation of right’. Nobody can silence her or box her to a corner of the Senate. Beyond her voice and impact over the years as an ordinary citizen, the people have been her greatest strength and she can only get more strengthed by any attempt to silence her.
Nigerians know how rare it is to have a NATASHA among the current crop of leaders and they are obviously making sure she is protected against bully, intimidation or harassment in the Senate. The dream is of the people, by the people and for the people, and so the mandate too.
By Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN, CON, OFR, LL.D.
I have carefully read and listened to former Nigerian military president, General Ibrahim
Badamosi Babagida’s public remorse and regrets over the atrocious annulment of the June
12,1993 presidential elections. He did this 32 whopping years later. I want to very quickly say
that it takes a man with strong guts and balls and a man who has become repentant, born
again and has seen the face of God to publicly recant his earlier wrongful deeds and offer
public apology to the entire nation. This was no doubt meant to heal gapinng wounds and
balm wounded and bruised hearts.
The polls, the best, most transparent and credible elections, ever held in Nigeria till date,
were meant to end decades of military d The annulment threw Nigeria into turmoil and
widespread unreast, protests, maimings and killings. This forced Babagida to “step aside”;
the enthronenent of the Enest Shonekan’s Interim Government; and the arrest and detention
of Chief Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner who later died in Aso Villa in questionable
and suspicious circumstances. Of course, General Sani Abacha who was his second in
command later sacked Shonekan in a bloodless coup. For years, IBB prevaricated on the
annulment, claiming he did it in the best national interest. But on Thursday the 21st of
February, 2025,Babangida during the presentation of his memoirs, “A journey In Service”,
pointedly regretted in the public: “I regret June 12. I accept full responsibility for the
decisions taken and June 12 happened under my watch. Mistakes, missteps happened
in quick succession. That accident of history is most regrettable. The nation is entitled
to expect my expression of regret “. And wait for it:: he acknowledged for the first time that
Abiola won the elections fair and square, trouncing his major opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa.
I want to salute Babagida for having the courage and humility to own up like a man; that
everything that happened during the June 12 crisis took place under him as the head of state
and the president who was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. I salute him for acknowledging that his government which actually
organised unarguably the freest, fairest and most credible elections in the electoral history
of Nigeria when it introduced option A4 from electoral books that were hithenlrto unknown
to Nigeria or to the world. But unfortunately, regrettably like he now admits, he again turned
around to annul the same elections in a way that was most bizarre, curious and unnatural.
To me, that he has come out to open up to doing something wrong and egregious to a
bleeding nation should be appreciated. I believe that Nigerians should forgive him because
to err is human and to forgive is divine ( Eph 4:32 ). I personally have now forgiven him
because I was also a victim of the June12 crisis. It threw up all manners of challenges to me
as a person, where in my very youthful age; in my thirties, I found myself marching on the
streets of Lagos every day- from Ikeja bus stop roundabout, to Ikorodu road; up to Tejuosho
market; from there to Ojuelegba, Surulere; to Mushin; to Shomolu and Igando, Alimosho.
Everyday, we were on the streets, protesting the mindless annulment. Some of us were killed
in process; some were lucky enough to escape abroad on self exile. But some of us- very few
indeed- refused to flee our dear country; we stayed back. We stared at the military eyeball to
eyeball. We challenge authority and spoke truth to power. We challenged impunity and
repression. I suffered several detentions across different detention centres. I virtually could
not find means of livelihood for my youthful family because I was profiled, my phones bugged
and no briefs were coming in. But I personally forgive him because it takes tons of guts to
make public confession of having erred and atone for same as he has now done.
It is confession that leads to penance and penance leads to restitution and then forgiveness.
If Babagida were to die today, I believe that he will see the face of God because he has prayed
God to forgive him; and he has prayed Nigerians to forgive him. Beyond that historic and
epochal mistake of the annulment of the June 12 election which constitutes his original sin,
let me place it on record that Babagida is one of the greatest presidents that Nigeria ever had
in terms of his ingenuity, rulership mantra; ideas for national resurgimento; ideas that
contributed greatly to nation-building. These were aside the IMF-induced loans and pills
which he introduced and which we again valiantly fought against successfully.
Babagida it was who gave birth to the Federal Capital Territory and laid the solid foundation for virtually everything you see there today. His government was peopled by intellectuals and
not by half illiterates and quacks. He recognized and used intellects. He was luminous and he built bridges of understanding, friendship and brotherhood across Nigeria. Nigerians,
please, accept IBB’s confession and forgive him his sin of annuling the June 12,1993
elections. Let the wounds heal; let the heart melt; and let the spirit of national triumphalism
prevail.
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