BB Too Old To Rule Nigeria – Onovo

BB Too Old To Rule Nigeria – Onovo

MARTIN ONOVO, National Leader, Strategic Union of Professionals for the Advancement of Nigeria (SUPA), has been at the forefront of anti-corruption campaigns. He has also fought tooth and nail to ensure that the proposed deregulation in the petroleum sector does not see the light of the day, through SUPA. In this interview with Production Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, he speaks on the emergence of former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, on the political scene, among other salient national issues. Excerpts:        

 Former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, has expressed his interest in the Presidential election.

That's one of the greatest insults to the over 150 million Nigerians. I see it as a huge joke. We love IBB and must advise him honestly. 

But a lot of prominent Nigerians have been lending support to his interest in the Presidency?

Nigeria as an entity does not belong to the very few corrupt political mercenaries you are talking about. I am aware that most Nigerians do not believe in another IBB Presidency. As far as I am concerned, IBB is just testing his political weight, and I am sure he will be surprised at what he would see eventually. The truth is that the man needs to explain the mysterious wealth he is said to have. 

He has explained that he was already wealthy before becoming the Military President?

That is why I believe he should re-examine his steps. He is yet to explain to Nigerians how he made the money. Did he make the money from his army salaries, from stocks or real estate or telecoms? Was he an army contractor? Whatever it is, he needs to come out and back it up with his tax records. We agree that he was very wealthy even before becoming the president, but let him explain how he got the money. He was an army officer all his working life and his colleagues like Col. Williams have questioned his fabulous wealth.

His supporters believe he has the experience required to govern Nigeria.

What kind of experience? Experience in undermining the national currency, in SAP, in mass deceit, in destroying national ethos, in subverting educational standards, closing universities for many months, in destroying professionalism in the Armed Forces, in the mismanagement of the $12.4billion Gulf oil windfall? What experience? Everything weighs against this man. General Babangida has lived well beyond life expectancy in Nigeria. He is about 70 years old, too old to be effective in government. He should be an elder statesman, advising government. 

Why do you say that?

Life expectancy in Nigeria is 48 years for men, Biblical life expectancy is 70 and by that calculation a person like Babangida should be at home, waiting for God to call him to account. We will all be called to account by God. We do not want a case of medical incapacitation. We do not want someone to waste state funds and time on his health. In Nigeria, early retirement is at 45. Regular retirement is at 55. Compulsory retirement is at 60. How can we give the most important position to a 70-year-old grand pa?

And leave the ambition for people who are below 48 years old?

It is not a question of people below 48. He should quit since he is very old, weak and also has a public case of illness and tragic performance. When he was in power he visited France severally for medical treatment with state funds. His wife was being treated abroad also. He could have built world-class hospitals here. Now that he is older, his health may be worse. We have very many younger, stronger, ethical, patriotic and competent Nigerians.  

He went for radiculopathy, which is not a major medical condition.

If he was going abroad for treatment for that as a young man, it means his health would have deteriorated by now, 20 years after. I expect to be weaker than I am today in the next 20 years. That is natural. He had the good health and opportunity to serve his country and improve the economy, but he failed woefully.

But Nigerian economy now is worse than he left it?

No, you cannot judge him with how the economy was after he left because issues that have to do with a national economy do not happen instantly. He left the economy on the precipice so recovery is difficult. It was better before he came. The naira was stronger than the U.S. dollar before he came but he left it spiralling to worthlessness. The right way to judge his performance is with what was on ground before he came. He introduced programmes like SAP that destabilised the economy.

Is Nigeria earning more money now than when IBB was in power?

No, we had the Gulf oil windfall when he was in power. $12.4billion excess crude oil revenue. It could have built 5,000 MW capacity power stations and also 18 world class universities and also 10, 000 kilometres of dual carriage federal highways and also 12 world class specialist hospitals and much more. He introduced Structural Adjustment Programme, which destabilised the economy and corruption was un-controlled. If I oversee such a windfall, Nigeria would be a first or top second world country. It was a windfall.

SAP was based on expert economic advice, should he be blamed?

Yes, he should be blamed. He made the decision against sound expert advice from the Economic Commission for Africa, South South Commission and leading national economists and activists. Then, I was the vice president of the Students' Union Government at the University of Ibadan, we led the protest against Babangida for SAP and what he was doing to the education sector. He destroyed public education, underdeveloped health, and infrastructure and destabilised the economy. He should have known as Military President that those measures would mar the economy. We knew that as young students. 

Having been there before, some think he has learnt enough to know the mistakes he made, which could be corrected if he is given another chance, what is your reaction to this?

We cannot gamble now. We are at the precipice. Since he failed to get it right when he had the youth, the energy, the health, what makes anyone think he can get it right now as an old grand pa? I don't think so. A lot of evil things happened under him. It was during his tenure that Dele Giwa was letter-bombed.

But there is no report linking him to Dele Giwa's death.

Authority and responsibility go together. It happened during his tenure. If it happens under me as president, we will get the assassins or I resign. 

Are journalists still not being killed today?

The foundation was laid in his tenure. He should have made sure that the killers were brought to book, but he did not. Why? Instead he was busy working against the great patriot, Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM that wanted the assassins unmasked.

If PDP decides he is going to be their candidate?

I am not in the PDP. The PDP is not a political party by any definition. It is more like a crime syndicate. They rigged the last elections and corrupted the judiciary. May be, our Acting President, Jonathan can change the PDP. Otherwise, like I said in 2006; Nigeria must destroy the PDP or the PDP will destroy Nigeria. 

We are patriots. We have been in this national struggle against corruption and injustice since I was an undergraduate in the 80s. We are committed to integrity and national development. Nigeria cannot continue like this.