ABUJA — Former military President, General
Ibrahim Babangida, yesterday described as callous and wicked the attempt by
promoters of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid to undermine the
military institution should be embarking on mudslinging campaigns against
former presidents and leaders of military background.
General Babangida, who spoke while referring to
an alleged one- hour documentary aired by Silverbird Television on
Tuesday night; March 24, 2015 in a statement issued by his media office in
Minna, the Niger State capital, said President Jonathan’s campaign handlers
were out to demonize and stigmatize former military leaders and cast aspersions
on them in order to malign their reputation.
‘Documentary demeaned
OBJ, Abacha, Buhari, Abubakar, myself’
He said the documentary “deliberately impugned
the integrity of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, my humble self;
Ibrahim Babangida, late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and T.Y Danjuma; all
of whom have had the privilege of presiding over the affairs of this great
country at various levels. It is either that those promoting the hate
documentary are intellectually delinquent or they suffer memory loss; or a
combination of both.”
“Apart from promoting hate campaign, which
clearly undermines the modest contributions of these former presidents, the
commentaries in the documentary against the former presidents leave a sour
taste in the mouth,” he said.
According to the statement “In clear attempts
to whip up support for President Goodluck Jonathan, certain persons, groups and
individuals have embarked on several campaigns of calumny against former
military Heads of State and presidents who have had the opportunity to govern
this country.
“Of particular reference is a one-hour
documentary aired on Silverbird Television on Tuesday night; 24th March,
2015 that deliberately impugned the integrity of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo,
Muhammadu Buhari, my humble self; Ibrahim Babangida, late Sani Abacha,
Abdulsalami Abubakar, and T.Y Danjuma; all of whom have had the privilege of
presiding over the affairs of this great country at various levels. It is
either that those promoting the hate documentary are intellectually deliquent
or they suffer memory loss; or a combination of both.
“I have my very strong reservations about the
contents and thematic focus of the said documentary. Apart from promoting hate
campaign which clearly undermines the modest contributions of these former
presidents, the commentaries in the documentary against the former presidents
leave a sour taste in the mouth.
“Nobody is stopping anyone from campaigning for
their preferred candidates contesting various positions in the elections, but
to do that at the expense of the reputation, contributions, patriotism, loyalty
and sacrifice of former presidents to the Nigerian state is, to say the least,
immature.
“For record purposes, and without sounding
immodest, the idea of a PDP that has now become the “largest party in Africa”
started in my home, here in Minna. With the support of my fellow colleagues, we
prepared the way for this democratic process that has now led us to where we
are presently. We built the democratic infrastructure.
“Those who are parading themselves as democrats
today, all participated in military governments. As a deliberate principle of
remaining unsung, or blowing my own trumpet, I have elected over the years to
maintain dignified silence on so many issues concerning Nigeria while I
cultivate my access to each sitting President to pass across my advice in
whatever form.
“It is on record and this is incontrovertible
that the government I ran paraded some of the best brains this country can be
proud of. I still remain eternally grateful to those wonderful brains who
participated in our government to fashion a new roadmap for re-engineering the
country.
…Lauds policies made
by military
“Some of our policies have remained unsurpassed
till date and most of what the country enjoys today was a creation of the
Military. From primary healthcare to good roads, DFRRI, Better Life for Rural
Women, housing, river basin authorities, MAMSER, new airports, agricultural
development and other economic infrastructure, to mention but a few, were
platforms where our interventions were felt.
“We achieved that much with very slim
resources. If we had the several billions of dollars that are flying around
today, we would have turned Nigeria to the Dubai of Africa.
“The military is an institution that is so dear
to my heart. It is an institution that nurtured my growing up and my
achievements in life. I am not only sold to the military institution and by
extension the Nigerian state, I am betrothed to it.
“As a profession, retirees are bound to
participate in politics and democracy as an all-inclusive process, same way
that Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Nurses, and Civil Servants get involved in it.
It is the reason why I ventured into politics in 2003 before I quit in 2010. It
is the same reason why General Obasanjo participated and got elected; and now
General Buhari.
“It is therefore very curious that promoters of
President Goodluck Jonathan’s aspiration would attempt to demonize and
stigmatize former military leaders and cast aspersions on them in order to
malign their reputation. This is very unfair.
Praises military over
Boko Haram
“Fact is; the military fought a civil war to
keep this country together. What I suffer today is a consequence of the
injuries I sustained during the Nigeria Civil War. I am not sure there is any
patriotism that is more than that. Some of us were prepared to die for the
country.
“The military is presently combating the
dreaded Boko Haram sect to restore Nigeria’s territorial integrity. What law
under a democracy forbids retired military personnel from participating in
politics and presenting themselves for election?
“Over 90 percent of American Presidents have
military background. Leadership training is better grounded in the military
than any other profession. And the military parades some of the best brains in
any country, including Nigeria. In fact, some of my military students that I
tutored have Doctorate Degrees.
“It is therefore callous, wicked, out-of-sync,
cynical and a show of crass ignorance for anyone to undermine the military
institution by embarking on mudslinging campaigns against former presidents and
leaders of military background.
While those campaigners are pointing their
accusing fingers at us, they forget to recall that the present Director-General
of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization is actually a retired Military
Officer.
“It is this form of demonization and
stigmatization that often compels us to exhibit espirit de corps amongst
ourselves in support of our military institution and colleagues when the stakes
are high. As disciplined military officers, we are patriotic Nigerians and must
be treated with utmost respect and decorum.”
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