THAT BABANGIDA CHANNELS INTERVIEW

The Channels TV Interview with ex-Nigerian Military Leader General Alhaji Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida revealed a lot about the character of Babangida. A partially educated man arrogating to himself the ultimate political sagacity in deciding the political fate of Nigeria is pure megalomania.
During the interview, he throws out terms like two-party system in the UK and America, the Far Right, Insurgency, and other phrases gotten from the Internet. Here are some facts for the “erudite” General, who is more knowledgeable than professors of political science to ponder:
Germany has seven political parties.
France, Italy, and several European countries have more than two political parties.
A new party just won the French Presidential and parliamentary elections.
China has one political party
These countries do not belong to the OIC or D-8.
These countries have made giant developmental strides under a multi-party system.

Babangida elevated the minority Islamic faith to the State Religion of Nigeria by dragging a secular nation into the Islamic sphere of influence. The role of Islam in destabilizing Nigeria through terrorism, state sponsorship of private religious pilgrimages, designing public structures to resemble mosques, building mosques in Government buildings, building a mosque at Lagos International Airport, and making a parochial mosque the center piece of Abuja are centrifugal politico-religious decisions that cannot be cured by a two-party structure.

Alhaji Babangida did not hide his disdain for the press. He is the ultimate “decider” on what is publishable or not. How can he referee publications that are above his intellectual capacity? America has a free unfettered press and is light years ahead of Nigeria in development. Obviously, he did not like Dele Giwa. Any Leader without skeletons in his/her cupboard should welcome a vibrant press.

How did Babangida get his wealth? Why is he living far above his means? These are questions that the press should explore. Under a Babangida Administration, these are no go areas and Dele Giwa paid with his life for practicing his profession.
I have never seen a leader show such disdain for the press.
In the interview, he was given credit for allowing more private participation in the media space with one caveat. His sycophants were given megaphones to drown the opposition. Babangida engages in doublespeak. He decides what is publishable and concurrently decides who gets to publish it by allowing more participants in the media industry. Was he really allowing more free participation or was he promoting more sycophancy?

He claims that the death of two million Biafrans who were fighting an unjust system would be in vain, if any restructuring of Nigeria is effected. Actually, three million Biafrans were killed trying to secede from Nigeria. Babangida calls it a sacrifice to keep the nation united. Add those killed in “Operation Python Dance” and the killings of Biafrans that occur regularly in the Islamic belt of Nigeria, and the figure inches towards 4 million dead!
Africastallestman calls it a sacrifice to keep the oil money flowing into Babangida and his cronies’ bloated bank accounts. You do not kill people to keep a nation united. The root cause of the American Civil War was slavery, the unity factor was peripheral.
The people, that Babangida and his ilk massacred in a genocide are still unhappy, and want out of the political British-woven gossamer called Nigeria. Their maltreatment, marginalization, and murder have worsened. A policeman who killed 6 Biafrans at Apo was elevated to one of the highest ranks in the force, while his accomplice disappeared from police custody and is probably hiding in the Sambisa Forest.

Here are some non-negotiable united countries that unraveled:
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Union of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Union of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.
Union of Czech Republic and Slovakia
Union of Sudan and South Sudan
Union of Indonesia and East Timor.

There is nothing sacred about the Union of Biafra, Arewa, Middle Belt, and Oduduwa Republics. Those countries that separated had Constitutions, but Nigeria’s Constitution was never approved through a referendum. Nigeria has no vital statistics and statistics are being fudged to keep the Islamists bilking the nation.

Babangida formed two parties, held creditable elections, and then annulled the results. He did not even believe in the two-party system that he championed because his preferred candidate did not win. A barely literate man claiming to be more erudite than Nigerian intellectuals is misguided.
Babangida will not win any contested election in Nigeria, let alone the Presidency.

Babangida is lucky that succeeding Governments did not try him for treason.
It is the “Fake Nigerian Unity” that produces characters such as Aguiyi-Ironsi, Murtala Mohammed, Ibrahim Babangida, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Muhammadu Buhari, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Goodluck Jonathan, Umaru Yar’Adua, Shehu Shagari, Sani Abacha, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ernest Shonekan, and other ill-qualified, ill-prepared, ill-tempered, and vicious individuals that have misruled Nigeria since independence. None of these individuals has a written vision or blueprint on the way forward for Nigeria. They rule by decrees, fudged development plans, executive orders, and cabalization (controlled by a cabal of thieves).

The contrived, British-created, gossamer called Nigeria, that is tele-guided from White Hall will unravel one day.

Africastallestman hopes that the restructuring will be peaceful. Hopes, and not prays, because the most prayerful Nation in the World is also the most vicious, wicked, and murderous.