The Nigeria Civil War Heroes; Separating Facts from Fictions.

One think I came to understand about General Ibrahim Babangida is that he likes taking credit for what he did not do or what he is not. Listening to him talk about the Nigeria civil of 1967 to 19970 of recent, you will think he was a General in the Nigerian Army or even the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces during that time.

  Please listen to him talk about the civil war on CNN or even after the Abuja bombing over which Raymond Dopkesi his campaign director was alleged to be the sponsor at least by the text messages found on the mobile phones of the culprits. I fought the civil war to preserve the unity of Nigeria says vintage IBB. But vintage IBB also annulled the June 12 election which almost disintegrated Nigeria and has now led to more polarization in Nigeria along ethnic and religious divide. Any military officer who is claming to have fought for the unity of Nigeria wouldn't have secretly dragged Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). That singular unnecessary action has created the Boko Harams and Darul Islams of this world.  In fact all his failed policies as military dictator created more chaos and disunity in Nigeria than ever he became the Head of State. The unnecessary perennial bloodshed witnessed in Jos Plateau would have been averted if he had listened to wise council that time to create Fadere local government council as demanded by indigenes instead of Jos North.

  Nigeria became more disunited after Babangida's eight wasted years as military ruler. We have written about all these things in 2006 but have to re-write about them again to remain Babangida he has nothing to offer Nigeria.

  He affected Nigeria negatively in all facets of live from religion to education and to cap it all insecurity. In 1986, after his so called AFRC meeting, he had to openly ask his police helmsman Mr Etim Inyang then my friend where is Lawrence Aneni? Lawrence Aneni was the leader of the armed gang who held the whole of Bendel State hostage for three months in 1986.

  If pass records of governance is a yardsticks to join politics, Babangida is not fit to govern a local government talk less of head a country. He has been a dividing actor and factor in the corporate existence of Nigeria since 1976 and capped it all with his divide and rule tactics during his military misdemeanor.

  I am very sure even those military officers who connived and plotted with Ibrahim Babangida to push him into power in 1985 have been regretful of their mistake of that action since then.

  Coming to the heroes of the Nigerian civil war, all the documented literature and history of the civil war mentioned the heroes as  people like Generals TY Danjuma, Olusegun Obasanjo, Bejamin Adekunle, Martins Adamu, Captain Mamman Shuwa, Hassan Katsina. Majors Nzeogwu and Banjo. Of course General Gowon was the Commander in Chief while Col Ojukwu was the rebel leader.

  Major Murtala Mohammed commanded a brigade in Benin but he was never mentioned as one of the heroes. Nowhere was Lieutenant IB Babangida ever mentioned as one of the heroes. But all over the place now he keeps on mentioning I fought the civil, I fought the civil. What will Obasanjo who received the surrendering notes from General Philip Effiong say then? What will General Danjuma who was the general field commander at that time say then? Or what will General Gowon who in all humility was the Commander in Chief but always say the civil war was a necessary pain to preserve the unity of Nigeria say then? No true patriotic Nigerian who fought for the unity of Nigeria would have annulled the June 12 1993 election which brought Nigeria to the brink of disintegration. Let us remain IBB that our history of his military misrule is still fresh. The June 12 annulment led to the formation of NADECO and the set up two Radio stations then which was broadcasting to Nigerians. At that time we comply more with directive from NADECO radio stations than IBB's Radio Nigeria.

  General Mohammadu Buhari  Mister honest man who does not take credit for what is not his has explained the heroes of the civil war in his own interview on BBC Hausa Service in April 2010.That is why Buhari is my role model of leadership qualities in Nigeria.

  Asked why he has not written his own memo about the civil war? Buhari as honest as ever said that he was a junior officer during the civil war and that those who want to know the true story of the civil should ask people like General Danjuma who were very senior officers and commanders at that time. That is the absolute truth. Readers remember that General Buhari has always been IBB's senior in the Army. If during the civil war, Buhari was a junior officer, what was IBB then? The BBC Hausa Service will do us well to please play that General Buhari's interview again.

  The whole truth is that IBB was a Lieutenant in the Army during the civil war. There were generals like the black scorpion Benjamin Adekunle and others. Lieutenant is a zombie where there are generals.   But listen to the deceitful IBB on CNN, I fought the civil war and I still have the bullet inside of me.  Let IBB go and have an X-ray done of the bullet inside of him and put it in the news and on the internet for us to believe him.

  The whole truth is that no any serious person not even a child will take Babangida serious any more. There is no any single statement Babangida will make that is true.

  Take all the statements of defence he has ever made in defence of the June 12, 1993 election annulment. In his defense in 1993, he said he annulled the election because it was rigged and has irregularities. In 2001, he said he annulled the election because General Abacha wanted to kill him. In 2006, he said it was the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) that annulled the election. In 2009, he the presidential candidates used money.

  In 2010, in his CNN interview, he said he was given serious security report about Chief MKO Abiola.

  Apart from being the most corrupt, IBB was the most foolish ruler to have presided over the affairs of Nigeria. Here was an election conducted on the 12 th of June and was casually annulled on the 23 rd of June barely ten or eleven days after the election. We actually know IBB is lying anyway. But let us assume for a moment just for the purpose of academic exercise that he received implicating security reports on Abiola. My people, is IBB really not a foolish ruler and was not worth and still not worth ruling Nigeria? Chief MKO Abiola, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, Babagana Kingibe, Atiku Abubukar all starting campaigning in both Babangida's SDP and NRC in February 1993 after he had annulled the first primaries won by Major General Shehu Yar;adua and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma. I mean in a normal and organised society, the security agencies would have investigated the aspirants and then sent their reports to the appropriate quarters.

  But because Babangida had his hidden agenda, he had a different plan. While we all later knew that he funded dubious organisations like Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) to sabotage the election.

  But God in his infinite mercies wanted Nigeria to be freed from Babangida's demonic grip. The election was conducted successfully and it was free and fair and it became clear to IBB that he was losing power at last. His only and last chance was to annul the election. But he did not know he was biting more than he could chew. The rest is now history.

  The long and short of my story is that Ibrahim Babangida was never a hero of the civil war. The heroes of the civil war are General Gowon, TY Danjuma, Olusegun Obasanjo, Benjamin Adekunle, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu and Mamman Shuwa. During the civil war, Ibrahim Babangida was a junior officer.

  General Buhari confirmed that in his BBC Hausa Service interview in April 2010 or there about.

  We shall know the truth and the truth will set us free.  

  Thanks for reading.   Ndiameh Babrik (