IBB: A Statesman with Forgiving Spirit
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
General
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Mni, GCFR (also known as IBB), is a thoroughbred
Nigerian. He was once a career military man and rose to become the first
military President of Nigeria (those before him were Heads of State). A tactical
politician, he recently retired from active politics.
The indefatigable and amiable gentleman, referred to as "Oga" or "Maigida" by admirers, turns seventy (70) years this 17th day of the month of August 2011. The dynamics of turning 70 years, especially a healthy one, is the sudden realization that the journey of life ahead, or the number of years remaining in one’s life, is certainly shorter than the journey so far --or the number of years one has lived. At this age, many opt to serve out their remaining time on earth by serving God, atoning for past mistakes, helping various charities, or even emulating the "danyinska" behaviour of the man from Ota.
However, in the case of IBB, those who
are very close to him will profess that he is witty, humble, and extravagantly
helpful to them individually, to various charity organizations, and to
politicians of diverse convictions. Above all, he does these things with an
absolute belief in and fear of God. He does not want the ever-present Nigerian
press or the general public to know that he has helped any one financially;
therefore, the public will never know what a great giver he is. There are times,
as a human being, when he may not be quick in giving or in meeting one’s
expectations; well, those could be the times he suffers what my friend Engr.
Abdulkadir Idris, described as “donor-fatigue syndrome.”
Although
IBB stands a little less than six feet tall, in the midst of taller men he
stands out magnificently taller than all. At 70 years, the man does not walk
with a swagger stick; that he left years ago as the Chief of Army Staff. His
gaiety is that of a simple father and grandfather who wishes his family,
friends, and country well.
Many writers -- the good, the bad, the ugly, and the meanest
of media mercenaries -- have at one time or another given their own
interpretations of the body language or behavioral-infrastructure of this great
man but, for various reasons yet to be discerned or deciphered by analysts, he
keeps changing from what is or was predicted of him. My mentor and friend, the
late Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice, Sir
Clement O. Akpamgbo, once said that “IBB is a man whose fingers act
independently” and that “his right hand may not even know what his left hand is
doing at certain times.” These are traits of leadership and, to be a leader, one
must learn the art of survival and be consistent with self.
What I find remarkably incredible about
this great man is his ability to absorb all manners of criticism without being
ruffled. When the occasion demands, he rises above his peers to show an uncanny
ability to lead and to forgive. If he suffers internal regrets, or what may be
termed self-absorption, then the first low point would be the aftermath of the
June 12th annulment and its collateral effect on the nation. The
second would be the crude and unforgiving personal attacks on his family
by a man he helped out of prison, got the government to pardon him, and
ultimately and led the effort for the man to become a civilian president of
Nigeria in 1999. Yet, the same man,
President
Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), later ordered the ill-mannered and rambunctious former
Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to go after IBB and
his family.
What a way to thank IBB!
With wisdom and the fear of God, IBB rose above it all and
forgave the man called OBJ. During that unfortunate period, I was humbled by a
sign posted on the door at the entrance to IBB’s office and other strategic
places at his home in Minna, just to keep the spirits of loyalists like us
focused. The sign reads: “They are plotting a plot, but the Almighty Allah, the
Most Merciful and the Most Benevolent has a plan.” For me, as a Christian and a
Catholic, I was quickly reminded of what Jesus Christ said while dying on
the cross with nails on both hands and feet and while wearing a crown made of
wild thorns. He said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are
doing.”
IBB must have learnt these valuable lessons of life judging by what I call his
‘forgiving spirit.’ First, in 1969, as an armored commander during the civil war
at Uzuakoli sector, he received a bullet wound fired by his then enemies
(Biafran soldiers). Some of the bullet-fragments are still lodged inside his
body as of this writing. He was not consumed by hate nor desire to get even with
the Igbo with a passion; on the contrary, he married their daughter, his
ever-beautiful, compassionate, loving, and family-stabilizer, now late Dr.
Mariam Babangida (nee Okogwu). When he eventually became the President, he chose
an Igbo as his number two man in Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (rtd.). He enunciated an
all-encompassing economic program to assuage the bitterness over postwar
economic policies in the hearts of Ndiigbo. Thus, he was crowned the ‘Ogugua-Ndiigbo’
meaning….the ‘Consoler of Igbo people.
Second, in 1991, Major Okar with co-conspirators like Major
Mukoro, Colonel Nyiam, Chief Great Ogboru, and others carried out the third
bloodiest coup in the country with the intention to kill IBB and his leadership
and change the architecture of the country. IBB lost his Aide de Camp, Col. U.
K. Bello, and a host of others. By act of divine intervention, he escaped with
his life and that of his family members. Yet, when Major Mukoro, led by the then
governor of Osun State, Gen. Oyinlola (an IBB loyalist) came in 2009 to seek for
forgiveness; he was forgiven. Again, Col. Nyiam and Great Ogboru followed
shortly after to ask for forgiveness; IBB granted it to them.
During
the hotly contested 2011 Presidential elections, the same Nuhu Ribadu, as the
Presidential candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) -- who was once
an IBB’s alleged fortune-hunter, a man who said all sorts of rubbish about IBB,
and who thought that he can embarrass the family by restricting the movement of
Mohammed Babangida (IBB’s first son) -- came to see IBB in his humble abode in
Minna to beg for IBB’s forgiveness and seek his support for his (Nuhu’s)
presidential ambition. The failed lawyer-turned-Pastor of Latter Day Church,
Pastor Tunde Bakare, was General Buhari’s running mate in the last general
elections. This is the same man who had in the past said all sorts of
unprintable and rabid rubbish against IBB. He preached what the late Afro beat
king, Fela Anikulakpo Kuti, would have referred to as ‘Christian nonsense’; yet
he too came to seek forgiveness for all the rubbish he had said about IBB in the
past. Again, IBB granted the forgiveness he sought.
Imagine if IBB were to have the mean spirit of that man from
Ota (may God forbid bad thing), what would have been the faith of these men who
stepped on his toes in the past and are likely to do same again? At this point,
it is imperative to mention that IBB also forgave this same man from Ota for all
the evil things he did to IBB and his family. He has equally forgiven all those
members of the ‘consensus group’ who betrayed his last effort at coming back to
lead the country one again as president; they can go to sleep with assurances
that IBB bears no grudges against them because he is indeed a forgiving man with
a forgiving spirit.
The man (IBB) does not claim, and has never in his life
claimed, to be an angel or a saint. All he wanted was to be an instrument of
change. Change and economic reform are synonymous, and the momentum must be
maintained for the sustainability and the economic prosperity of an
indestructible Nigeria. IBB is a thoroughbred revolutionary and quintessential
Nigerian. His Nigerianess is unquestionable. The man’s approach to issues is
determined by the intellectuals that surround his environment and the quality of
books found around him. He truly understands that in leadership, ‘consensus’
sometimes is not the best option. His style of leadership is consistent with
Dennis A. Peer’s statement that, “one measure of leadership is the caliber of
people who choose to follow you.” A visit to his house is a true testament to
the veracity of the statement.
This
write-up is not about IBB’s monumental legacies for Nigeria; that, I have done
justice to, in all my previous writings since 1993; and, without apologies to
any, I remain, unarguably the most dogged defender of the man and his legacies
in the world today. If in doubt, go to www.kwenu.com,
click on "Max," and surprise yourself, or go to African Independent
Television (AIT) and Nigerian newspapers and ask for their records. This moment
is indeed a special one for those of us privileged to be associated with the
colossus of a man fondly called "IBB" by both friends and foes.
IBB
remains a true statesman in our hearts, a gentleman par-excellence, and a man
with a remarkable and undoubted forgiving spirit. IBB, sir, as you reflect
on the past and project into the future, please do not have any regrets
whatsoever. As Shakespeare would have aptly concluded, "You came, you saw, and
you conquered.”
May Almighty God, the Most Benevolent, and the Most Merciful continue to be benevolent and show His mercy upon you and guide your family to begin the process of protecting your legacy. As for us, your friends and followers, let us rejoice in knowing that as our leader and benefactor, the greatest lessons from you is that which is called the ‘spirit of forgiving.’