By Vitus Ozoke, PhD
Breaking news out of Nigeria is that a whopping ₦17 Billion was raised at Ibrahim Babangida’s book launch for the construction of Ibrahim Babangida Presidential Library.
First of all, there can never be any such thing as Ibrahim Babangida Presidential Library. To have a presidential library named after Babangida, he must have been a president. Ibrahim Babangida was never a president in Nigeria, or anywhere for that matter. Ibrahim Babangida was a counter-coupist who should have been spending the rest of his atrocious life in prison.
For any person to have been a president, such a person must have headed the executive branch of government in a presidential system of government. As at the date of Babangida’s counter-coup, August 27, 1985, Nigeria was neither a democracy nor was it a presidential system, operating a presidential Constitution. As at the said date, Muhammad Buhari, another coupist who should have spent the rest of his life in prison also for overthrowing the then existing constitutional democratic order, had replaced Nigeria’s presidential system of government with a military dictatorship, having overthrown the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. And in the 8 years (August 27, 1985 – August 26, 1993) during which Ibrahim Babangida held the country hostage, collecting huge ransoms by looting the country mercilessly and senselessly, Nigeria’s presidential Constitution remained in abeyance and was never restored. Instead, Babangida and his goons ruled with draconian decrees and edicts.
A presidential system of government is characterized by a clear separation of powers between the executive branch (led by the president) and the legislative branch. In a presidential system of government, the president is directly elected by the people and serves a fixed term. There are checks and balances and rule of law in a presidential system. None of those characteristics existed in Nigeria in the 8 years that Ibrahim Babangida committed the worst organized heist against any nation in human history. So, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida was never a president, certainly not a Nigerian president. Therefore, to seek to build a presidential library in his name is a major misnomer, and those who are behind that sham should be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed of themselves.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that a library should not be built in Babangida’s name. No, far from it. I’m all for libraries in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, especially the Nigerian north. For all I care, let’s build libraries in Babangida’s name in each of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria. You know what? I just remembered something that makes it easy. Let’s convert those boondoggle SDP and NRC party secretariats that Babangida built in reach local government area into museums and libraries. Each local government has two of those landmarks. Name them after Ibrahim Babangida, just don’t add presidential to it. For all I care let’s build libraries and name them after Osama bin-Laden.
Generations of Nigerians deserve to read and know at what point in Nigeria’s history things fell apart. They need to know about the first assassination of a journalist in Nigeria through a sophisticated letter bomb technology. They need to read about Dele Giwa. They need to read about Newswatch. They need to read about 1990 Gulf War oil revenue windfall. They need to know about Better Life for Rural Women. They need to read about June 12, 1993. They need to read about MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa. They need to read about Arthur Nzeribe. They need to read about ABN (Association for Better Nigeria). They need to read about Daniel Kanu. What about Kudirat Abiola? They deserve to read about Clement Akpamgbo, Frank Kokori, Anthony Enahoro, and Humphrey Nwosu. They need to read about NADECO. They need to read about ọsọ Abiola.
The library and museum in each local government should have framed pictures of every indigene of that local government that perished in ọsọ Abiola. So, go ahead and renovate those twin white elephant projects that Babangida built in each local government area, convert them to libraries and museums, name them, all of them, after Ibrahim Babangida, just don’t add presidential to it. He was never a president. You can use just a fraction of the ₦17 Billion for the renovation, and garnish the rest. But if you garnish the rest, where do you keep it to ensure it does not get stolen? You may have to just leave it with the 83-year old man. Let him take it to his grave.
Continue to rest in peace, Chief MKO!
* Dr. Vitus Ozoke is a lawyer, human rights activist, and public commentator based in the United States
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