A General in Winter

By Keem Abdul

His childhood dream was to become a civil engineer. But destiny decreed otherwise, directing his career path instead to the military, from which pedestal he pivoted into the maelstrom of Nigerian politics – and in the process impacted the trajectory and fortunes of the Nigerian state and its people forever. He can be said, though, to have ‘engineered’ the most fundamental changes the country experienced in the 1980s and early ’90s.

General Ibrahim Babangida, GCFR, was known by many acronyms and nicknames. Apart from his initials, IBB, admirers and detractors alike also called him ‘Maradona’ (after Diego Armando Maradona, the legendary Argentine striker whose mazy runs and dummies befuddled opposing defenders during his glittering career, but whose controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and his later struggles with addiction stained his legacy as one of football’s greatest exponents). The nickname was a testament to IBB’s political genius and his larger-than-life persona during and after the period in which he governed Nigeria (from August 1985 to August 1993).

As he marks his 83rd birthday in few days, the flood of tributes and encomiums that would be showered on him will be punctuated by recollections, fond or otherwise, of his eventful eight-year rule, which began with the overthrow of his predecessor, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in a palace coup. The IBB era saw some of the most momentous developments in Nigerian history – on the economic, social and political fronts. .

On the economic front, his adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) as a template for the country’s recovery from the slump of the 1980s, on the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sparked a great deal of controversy. Under SAP, the Nigerian economy initially grew as had been hoped for, with the export sector performing well. But a decline in wages in the public sector, along with a drastic reduction in government expenditure on public services set off widespread expressions of discontent that made it difficult for his government to sustain its implementation of SAP. Less controversial, though, was the government’s commitment to the transformation of the country’s infrastructure. One of IBB’s most enduring achievements in this regard was the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, a key economic artery that cemented the city’s status as the commercial nerve-centre of Nigeria and the W/African sub-region. The administration also saw the dualizing of the Kaduna-Kano Highway, as well as the construction of the Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Station, among other projects.

On the social front, his mass mobilisation drive – popularly known by the acronym MAMSER (short for Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery) sought to reorient Nigerians from their freewheeling ways without the coercive methods of the so-called War Against Indiscipline (WAI) adopted by his immediate predecessor. He also founded the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC ) in order to better manage the nation’s roads. His now-deceased wife, Mariam, revolutionised the office of the First Lady, and her initiative, Better Life Programme, set an enduring template for future First Ladies.

But it is on the political front that the impact of General Ibrahim Babangida’s stewardship on the life of the nation, for good or ill, will best be remembered. On coming to power, he immediately adopted the title of ‘President’ (in place of the usual ‘Head of State’ used by all his military predecessors). As Head of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), the country’s highest law-making body at the time, he restructured the national security apparatus with the creation of the State Security Service (SSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). In line with his pledge to hand political power back to civilians in 1990, he inaugurated the Nigerian Political Bureau, with the mandate to conduct a national debate on the political future of Nigeria, review Nigeria’s political history and identify the basic problems which led to her failure in the past, and to suggest ways of resolving these problems. In September 1987, he altered the geopolitical face of Nigeria with the creation of two states: Akwa Ibom and Katsina, and followed this up, four years later in August 1991 with nine more states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe – bringing the total number of states to 30. Most significantly, Babangida facilitated the relocation of the nation’s seat of government from Lagos to Abuja in December 1991.

Babangida’s political genius also extended to Nigeria’s foreign policy, which saw the country being designated a ‘frontline state’ in the decades-long struggle against apartheid in S/Africa; the involvement of Nigerian troops in the Liberian Civil War, and the hosting of the Abuja Treaty which gave rise to the African Union (AU), among other interventions.

But like Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal and his later troubles, it was the political impasse arising from IBB’s controversial annulment of the widely-acclaimed presidential election of June 12, 1993 (presumably won by the now-deceased Bashorun Moshood Abiola) that ultimately led to the end of his regime – as he ‘stepped aside’ and handed the reins of government to an Interim National Government led by the industrialist, Chief Ernest Shonekan.

It was a rather anticlimactic conclusion to a brilliant military and political career and life-journey, marked by so many high points. Born in Minna, in what is now Niger State on August 27, 1941, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida received his early education there and in Bida, before joining the Nigerian Army in 1962 – upon which he received military training at the then-Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, he also attended the Indian Military Academy in 1963, and the Royal Armoured Centre in the United Kingdom. He quickly rose through the ranks over the years, especially in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war. He became a member of the Supreme Military Council under the Murtala and Obasanjo regimes, and assumed the top position following the 1985 putsch that ousted Gen. Buhari from power.

In the twilight of his life, and especially in the aftermath of his presidency, IBB has become something of a political oracle. From his magnificent hilltop mansion in Minna, he dispenses patronage and wisdom in equal measure. To be sure, his combination of attributes have earned him many descriptions – some of them far less flattering than the Maradona moniker, such as ‘Evil Genius,’ (which he reportedly accepts with some pride). The truth, however, is that the former military President cannot be easily categorized. He’s a simple, yet complicated figure. In the words of one of his biographers, he is at once a soldier’s soldier and a master politician, far more adept at the game than even those who profess politics for a living. He is warm and gregarious, able to captivate with that gap-toothed smile of his – and yet he proved, during his presidency, to be ruthless in dealing with those who challenged his power. Intellectually sound and discerning, he ranks among the most talented of all the individuals who have ruled Nigeria since its independence.

Love him or hate him, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is one man that cannot be ignored, and his place in the annals of modern Nigeria cannot be forgotten in a hurry.

Happy 83th birthday, General!