IBB, OBJ clash
‘You ruined our economy –OBJ’
‘You’re senile’ –IBB
A war of words has broken out between former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida and former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo had fired the first salvo in a speech he delivered at Redeemers’ University during the week, when he accused Babangida of ruining the country’s economy and subjecting the nation to bizarre political experiments during his reign as military ruler.
But in a swift reaction, General Babangida, while refuting the former president’s claim, observed that Obasanjo may have begun to suffer memory loss on account of his age.
Delivering a paper entitled: Nigeria at 50: What Manner of Celebrations? at Redeemers’ University, Obasanjo chronicled the events that landed Nigeria in the present economic quagmire by different regimes, both civilian and military, and came to the conclusion that IBB’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was the worst disaster that ever happened to the country.
“Under Babangida, we had the most bizarre experiments politically and economically. First, we had Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) with devastating devaluation of Nigerian currency and subsequent destructive effect on the economy”, Obasanjo said.
The former president also described the political arrangement and circuitous transition to civil rule programmes under IBB as outlandish. According to him, the nation had a government which formed political parties with their manifestoes and constitutions written for them by the same government.
“Finally, we went into election, the results of which were stopped from being announced mid-way with the elections finally annulled without reason or cause. Then, Babangida ‘stepped aside’ without solving the riddle of the election.”
IBB, he said, “overthrew Buhari’s regime in a coup d’etat on August 26, 1986 and ruled the nation with draconian decrees for eight years before he controversially exited power after the annulment of June 12 presidential election.”
The ex-president equally took a swipe at the current political class, describing state governors and National Assembly members as extravagant, saying the cost of maintaining each member of the National Assembly has skyrocketed since 2000.
He revealed part of the reason why the late General Murtala Mohammed as Head of State refused to live at the Government House in Dodan Barracks. According to him, it had to do with the profligate manner in which the State House was renovated.
“The cost of maintaining National Assembly today is ten times what it was in 2000. What has happened? The reason why Murtala did not live at the Dodan Barracks was the extravagance with which it was refurbished. Tafawa Balewa could not live in his due to public outcry. Today, our governors live in incredible houses all over the country,” Obasanjo lamented.
Commenting on the controversial zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he described it as arrant nonsense.
He said there was never any zoning arrangement at any time in Nigeria, but was quick to laud the principle of Federal Character.
According to him, zoning was an unconstitutional arrangement and anybody or party promoting it is only trying to perpetrate illegality.
“If I had died in office, would the country have replaced me with another Yoruba or Egba person? No. W
Comments