Nigerian Youths Are Not Capable Of Leading Nigeria – IBB

PHOTO: NIGERIA'S FORMER MILITARY DICTATOR, GENERAL IBRAHIM BABANGIDA.

LAGOS April 17, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida has said that young Nigerians are not capable of leading the country adding that they lack the necessary experience to pilot the affairs of state.

Babangida who spoke on a BBC Hausa Service radio programme said, "We have seen signs that they (young Nigerians) are not capable of leading this country and so we feel we should help them."

Credited for setting the country on a path of economic ruin with his failed policies, institutionalization of corruption, violation of civil rights including the death of Mr. Dele Giwa and annulling Nigeria’s freest and fairest election, the June 12, 1993 election, Babangida in 2001 refused to honour series of invitations to the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa led Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (HRVIC), to answer questions on his alleged crimes.

He recently declared his intention to contest the 2011 presidential election either under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any other political platform available.

The full text of the Interview:

Question: You want to contest for the 2011 presidency? By the grace of God. On what platform? 


IBB: I am in PDP, by the grace of God.  We have 51 other political parties so there are several platforms.

Question: So you are contesting on the platform of the PDP since that is your party? 


IBB: Yes, I am in PDP.

Question: You can confirm that you are contesting on the platform of the PDP? 


IBB: Yes. Our constitution also provides that a person can contest on the platform of a political party or as an independent candidate.

Question: There are many people in the PDP that also want to contest for the presidency in 2011. For instance, the Nigerian constitution, allows the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to contest for the presidency, are you sure the PDP will give you the ticket? 


IBB: Before an election, there is a procedure within a party to produce a flag bearer. The party will follow such procedure to produce a candidate.

Question: So you are hopeful that the party will give you its ticket? 


IBB: Yes.

Question: What is encouraging you to contest for the presidency this time around? 


IBB: My position as a Nigerian. Anything that God wants me to do to help this country, I will do. If I am given the chance, I will know what to do and by the grace of God, I will do it. Nigeria is a country of 150 million people and any of these 150 million people can be president.

Question: There is this belief that the politics of Nigerian is about godfatherism. Who are the big names that are supporting you to contest the election this time around? 


IBB: The Nigerian masses. I worked for them and they saw what I did for them.

Question: But if we reflect back, the election of June 12, 1993 was by the masses but you annulled it. 


IBB: But what you should take into consideration is that there has never been an election like that before. That election convinced not only Nigerians, but even the international community that it is possible to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Question: Why did you annul it? 


IBB: I have said this over and over again that I was the head of government and I take responsibility for it. As a leader, it is not proper to say this person did this or that.

Question: You wanted to contest for the Presidency in 2007, but at the end of the day you didn’t submit your papers, how can you assure Nigerians that this time around, you will contest? 


IBB: I gave my reasons for not contesting in 2007 and it was published in many newspapers in the country. Therefore, Nigerians know my reasons for not contesting at that time. But now, Alhamdudillahi, things have changed. Don’t forget we are talking of helping the country. What we are talking about is something that happened some 16 years ago. We should be thinking of what we can do to make progress.

Question: Nigeria is facing a lot of problems, if you become the president again, what are these new things you never did in the past that you will want to employ in tackling these problems? 


IBB: God in His infinite mercy gave me the leadership of this country for eight years. Remember the Nigerian people have not changed, and since they have not changed, we are in a position to tell them that we can do it again.

Question: There are speculations that the United States of America wants you to contest for the presidency. What do you have to say about this? 


IBB: How can that be possible since it is not Americans that will vote? It is Nigerians that will vote.

Question: But America is an influential country in the world and it has its interests in Nigeria? 


IBB: Nigeria is an influential country too. If somebody wants something in Africa and he hears the voice of Nigeria, it is like he has heard the voice of Africa.

Question: But they said the American Assistant Secretary of State paid you a visit? 


IBB: Yes, he came to greet me. He is somebody I have known. He came to condole me over the death of my wife. When we were in the hospital in America, he was coming to greet us.

Question: The issue of the dwindling Nigerian economy is blamed on your administration. You invited a former World Bank Economist in charge of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), who you used to ruin the nation’s economy. Why did you do that? 


IBB: Today we are talking of exactly 24 years, but SAP has not changed, they keep on modifying it. If the economy were ruined, by now, we would have been history. The Nigerian economy was not ruined.

Question: But they say Nigerians are going through hardship as a result of your economic policies? 


IBB: I want you to know that if you read all the books on the economy of Nigeria, you will find out that from 1960 to 1995, Nigeria made far reaching progress. I left office in 1993. You should be asking what have those who came after us done.

Question: Your administration was accused of massive corruption. If you become the president again, how would you address the problem of endemic corruption in Nigeria? 


IBB: If you compare what is happening now with what happened during my administration, you will commend me. I sacked a governor for embezzling N300, 000 during my regime, but now, what do you see? During our time we were not enmeshed in this kind of things we see today.

Question: During your time, there was this N12 billion naira made from the sale of oil. What happened to the money? 


IBB: The N12 billion was the money realized from the sale of oil in eight years. Let me repeat, it was money made from the sales of oil in eight years. It was money that we saved in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) within those eight years. There was an additional N1.2 billion. So all they are saying about this money are lies. If you read the Okigbo report, you will see that the money was made in eight years.

Question: But the Financial Times reporter who published the story was sent out of Nigeria because of the report. If it was not true, why was he sent away? 


IBB: Frankly speaking, I can send the Okigbo report to you to read. I have been explaining this over and over. What I realized from oil in eight years is what somebody makes in one year.

Question: You have been a major play in the leadership of this country for a long time. Don’t you think it is time to allow the younger generation take over from you the older ones as it happened in America and other parts of the world? 


IBB: Honestly, it is our wish that God will bring the younger people that will take over from us if they are available. I was the one who introduced the politics of new breed in this country.

Question: Why didn’t you step aside and give the younger generation a chance to lead since they are fresh and strong? 


IBB: Because we have seen signs that they are not capable of leading this country and so we feel we should help them.

Question: May be they are not given the proper education that is why? 


IBB: I have spent 17 years since I left office. Haba! The younger generation are supposed to be in charge by now. But a country like Nigeria cannot be ruled by people without experience. People like Obama that you are talking about have the experience. He started from the state legislature to the House of Representatives and to the Senate. If our youths are like this, we will say they have the requisite experience. But we have not reached that level.

Question: If you become the president what new things will you do which you did not do during your eight years in power. What are the mistakes you would want to correct? 


IBB: The politicians are asking me what I forgot in the Villa that I want to go and pick. When I left power, the naira was N22 to the Dollar. Petrol was selling at 70 kobo per litre. So there are things that I did that will make me come back.

Question: These things were not like that when you came to power. You were the one that devalued the naira? 


IBB: How? During my time, the naira did not exceed N22 to the dollar. Now it is N150 per dollar.

Question: But how much was it before you came to power? 


IBB: It was N4.5 to the dollar.

Question: So you devalued the naira? 


IBB: Some people destroyed the value of the naira.