There are indications that the controversy surrounding former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s book, ‘A Journey in Service’ will not abate anytime soon as more people read and reviews published....CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.>>
Babangida, commonly referred to as IBB, took several swipes at his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who was conspicuously absent at the book launch in Abuja that had in attendance President Bola Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan amongst several high profile Nigerians.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In the book, IBB writes; “I must confess that I felt assaulted and hurt that my predecessor had arrested, detained and harassed some prominent Nigerians because they were found at the airport travelling with a few dollars or pounds sterling.
“The cases of the famous musician Fela Ransome Kuti and Chief Harold Shodipo were of particular public interest. We reviewed all such cases and set those wrongly held free. People could now access foreign exchange and source goods at the prevailing market rate. Manufacturers, traders and general providers of goods and services took advantage of the liberalised environment.”
Buhari and Babangida were some of those who ousted President Shehu Shagari from power in a military coup on December 31, 1983.
But Babangida will lead another coup against Buhari and in a palace coup sack him from office.
According to IBB, there was an urgency to stymie the economic stagnation and reposition the economy from total collapse.
“We agreed that our most urgent priority was to rescue the national economy by putting it on a new footing of an open market. A clear and urgent reality was that we needed to act decisively to bring back the economy from the brink of an abyss. The economic crisis, one of the main reasons for our initial intervention in 1983 against the civilian government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, had worsened from a crisis to a virtual urgent catastrophe. In the immediate post[1]Shagari military government, there was a shared consensus among the military leadership that our people needed to be saved from the prospect of a failed economy and state.
“A nation of our size with a failed economy would be a significant strategic threat to the West African sub-region, if not all of Africa. An exodus of economic refugees from Nigeria would destabilise the sub-region and create humanitarian disquiet for Europe and the United States.
“There was anxiety at home and concern abroad. But from the rhetoric of the incumbent Buhari government, it had begun to seem that the government of the day I was part of was more interested in hearing our voice than listening to the anguished loud groans of our people and the whispers of a concerned international community.
“I could not see how catchphrases and slogans addressed the fundamental problems of a confused economic policy. Yes, ‘we had only one country’, ‘we needed to stay put and salvage our drowning country together’ etc. But unless backed by concrete, actionable and systematic policies and programmes tailored to our peculiar situation, the slogans would take us nowhere. I, therefore, adopted a pragmatic approach towards our economic problems.
Scarcity of essential goods had remained the order of the day from our intervention in December 1983.”
He further writes that, “The stores of the National Supply Company had been forced open by the government, and the contents auctioned off to the people. There was no alternative strategy to replenish these stocks. Acute scarcity was nationwide.
“Endless queues continued at distribution centres for essential goods like sugar, cooking oil, baby formula and grains. Reports from major population centres indicated that soldiers and police officers were ill-treating people in these queues even if they could not be assured of getting the supplies even after waiting for hours. As a government, all my predecessor and his deputy could offer the people was a forced queue culture. An orderly queue with no incentive or reward at the other end was a ritual in futility. Those of us who pointed out this futility were regarded as regime enemies.
“Therefore, I was convinced that a more fundamental solution and decisive change were required. Our economic problems required reflective thought rather than knee-jerk populist reflexes.”.…..For More READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶
