Ex President IBB Assesses Buhari, Boko Haram & More as He Celebrates 74th Birthday

 

Retired Nigerian Army General who was President of Nigeria under military rule, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, also known as IBB, turned 74 today.

In an interactive session with journalists in Minna, Niger State, which took place a few days ago, he reminisces about his time in government, expresses gratitude to God for sparing his life, assesses Buhari's government so far and talked Boko Haram.

 

Below is an excerpts from the interview published in Vanguard;

How do you feel celebrating your 74th birthday, given that several attempts were made against your life while you were in service?
I will continue to be grateful to God and it strengthens my belief that no matter what happens, if God doesn’t will it, nothing will happen to me. So it is a matter of believing that no matter what happens, either good or bad, nothing happens without the approval of Allah.

I am grateful to God for sparing my life up to this time despite what we went through. Those who participated in combat will say the same. God has kept me and I remain grateful to Him and grateful to you all for your support.

One of the major challenges your administration faced was the Gideon Okar coup where people thought death had finally gotten you. How did you escape?
I can remember very well that I had some loyal officers who were supposed to be my protectors and my body guard. Initially they told me to leave but I told them no, I am not leaving anywhere but they remained steadfast and later I took my family outside Dodan Barracks and I joined my guards. So we went out of Dodan Barracks and we went to a safe house where we got in contact with loyal troops. May God bless Sani Abacha.  Sani Abacha was the chief of army staff. He got in touch with me, I got in touch with him and we sat down and talked on what we were going to do. Abacha and I rallied the loyal troops and then I left my safe house and joined Abacha in his house.  That was how I escaped.

 

What is your reaction to the Federal Government’s assertion that it could negotiate with Boko Haram?
The President has got it right by saying he will talk to people who are credible who have been identified as some of the leaders of the insurgency but so far, apart from one or two names, we do not hear any other name.

I don’t think the government will like to talk in a vacuum, to talk to people who are not worth talking to as far as these issues are concerned. So the government is right in being careful to identify and talk if there is anything to talk about.

What is your assessment about the performance of the present administration so far?
So far, I am confident that they are doing well. They have identified the problems and they look resolute in confronting these problems head-on and there are a lot of people in the society who are offering a lot of sound advice on what to do.

In your opinion what are the key areas the present government should focus so that the country will move on?
I must commend the present leadership for identifying even before and after the election some of the problems facing this country. Number one has to do with security and the president talked about it extensively.

The security of lives and property, the security of the state, the security of this environment called Nigeria has been identified.

And the second one has to do of course with the way we live, the way we walk and the way we behave which is corruption. The third one has to do with the economic development of the country. We should support the President towards achieving these objectives.

Read the entire interview on Vanguard