02/21/2025
BABANGIDAās BLOODSTAINED LEGACY AND THE SHAMELESS CELEBRATION OF A TYRANT BY NIGERIAN LEADERS AND ELITES [The Mayor of Fadeyi writes on the vexatious book launch by General Babangida in the midst of Nigerian political leaders and elites]_
Nigeriaās history is littered with betrayals, but few are as despicable and damaging as the one committed by General Ibrahim Babangida when he annulled the freest and fairest election in our nationās history.
In his latest book, the former dictator finally admitted what Nigerians have known for decadesāChief MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election.
This truth, which he cowardly withheld for years, came at the cost of thousands of lives, the destruction of our democratic process, and the untimely death of Abiola himself.
Yet, instead of outrage, what do we see? Applause. Adulation. A disgraceful showering of N17 billion from Nigeriaās elite, rewarding a man who plunged the country into darkness. The same political and business class that has fed fat off the blood and suffering of the Nigerian people lined up like spineless sycophants to throw money at a fraudulent ālibraryā for a man who has no use for books, let alone truth.
This grotesque spectacle of hypocrisy is an insult to the memory of MKO Abiola and all those who lost their lives fighting for democracy. It is a reminder that in Nigeria, criminals are called statesmen while true heroes rot in unmarked graves.
**The Cost of Babangidaās Betrayal Of His Best Friend and Nigeria as a whole**
Let us be clearāGeneral Ibrahim Babangida is not just a failed leader; he is a man who should be standing trial for treason and manslaughter. His decision to annul the 1993 election was not just an abuse of power; it was a deliberate and calculated act of treason against the Nigerian people. He organized the election, saw Abiola win in a landslide, and then destroyed it out of cowardiceāfear of General Sani Abacha and other military hardliners who threatened his life. A soldier? A general? No, Babangida was a spineless coward who lacked the courage to do what was right.
*His cowardice, wicked 'genius', led to a political crisis in Nigeria that resulted in:*
* The brutal dictatorship of Sani Abacha, who took control after Babangidaās abdication, plunging Nigeria into one of its darkest periods.
* The unlawful imprisonment and eventual death of MKO Abiola, who was denied his mandate and left to rot in prison under suspicious circumstances.
* The deaths of thousands of Nigerians, including pro-democracy activists, journalists, and students, who were murdered, tortured, or exiled for demanding their right to vote.
* A generational setback to Nigeriaās democracy, ensuring that decades later, we are still dealing with corrupt leaders who see elections as mere rituals rather than a reflection of the people's will.
Babangidaās betrayal was not just political; it was deeply personal. MKO Abiola was his friend. It was Babangida who encouraged Abiola to run for office, yet when Abiola won, he stabbed him in the back, arrested him, and sentenced him to a slow, painful death in prison.
*My Personal Experience with Babangidaās Tyranny*
For me, as young man of only 27 years old at the time, and Ceo of First Aid Konsult [A division of my Finance House then], this is not just historyāit is personal. I was arrested and detained for weeks by the wife of this same General Babangida, Maryam Babangida, in 1992 for daring to organize a seminar on *āThe Role of Women in the 3rd Republicā in Abuja* .
At the time, I was part of an enlightenment campaign in the private sector pushing for the democracy that Babangida himself had promised, not knowing he was simply dribbling Nigerians like an evil Maradona wannabe.
While I sat in detention, after being beaten blue and black by Maryam's soldiers, I realized the full extent of Babangidaās deception. He never intended to hand over power. He was simply manipulating the nation, buying time, and enriching himself. The press once called him āThe Evil Genius,ā but the only genius I will ever concede to Babangida is his masterful ability to manipulate Nigerians. And as we can see from the disgraceful events surrounding his book launch, the wily dictator is still doing it even today.
*Who Are The Billionaires Funding This Villain's Book and calling him a Statesman?*
Instead of facing trial, Babangida is being celebrated like a statesman, and so-called leaders of govt and industry like Dangote donated N8billion; Founder of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, donated N5 billion; Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, donated N3 billion; Folorunsho Alakija and a few others also made donations.
By the time the dust settled, the Evil Genius has received kickbacks of over N17 billion from many of these top leaders in our economy.
While everyone has a right to spend their money anyhow, we must still ask how is giving N17 billion to an 80-year-old to build a library for a man who wrote less than 3 books in his life going ot help Nigeria. How would studying his atrocities for 9 years as a head of state help with the hunger and devastation in our land, some of which are direct generational consequences of his misrule before he 'stepped aside' in a most cowardly fashion as head of state and let us at the mercy of the Mad Dog of Abuja, General Abacha?
We must ask: Who are the billionaires and political figures who donated billions to this former dictator? Who are the men and women enriching a legacy of bloodshed and treachery? We call on international anti-corruption bodies, human rights organizations, and global watchdogs to investigate these individuals and their businesses. Many of them appear to be direct beneficiaries of Babangidaās corrupt military rule, securing government contracts, oil blocks, and power through his oppressive regime. Let them be exposed.
*The Cowards and Hypocrites Applauding Babangida*
Even more disgraceful than the billionaires funding Babangidaās fraudulent legacy are the so-called political leaders who are whitewashing his crimes. I was disgusted to see some of our finest at this spectiacle and travesty of a public worship to a villainous god in uniform. At least General Buhari has enough self-respect to personally dodge from coming in person to dote on a man who helped him get power only to also remove him from power before he and idiagbon could complete their misison of establishing discipline and probity in our land in 1985.
*President Bola Tinubuā* who himself was once arrested and exiled by Babangida for opposing military ruleāattended the book launch, smiling and shaking hands with his former oppressor. Is this how cheaply Nigerian politicians forget the past? Prof Osinbajo even tried ot spin it as a positive thing and i just LOL at my TV.
*Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo* , a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not call for justice, but instead called Babangida a āstatesman.ā A statesman? A man who annulled democracy, arrested its winner, and caused the deaths of thousands? Apparently, the former VP, who himself also viciously stabbed his own beenfactor (President Bola Tinubu) in the back in the race for the presidency in 2023 thought there was some virtue in celebrating the histroy betrayal as a way of life among the political vipers that came out of their nests ot celebrate one of their own. What a shame.
Other former rulers, military men, and āelder statesmenā also lined up to hail Babangida as a patriot when he is nothing but a tyrant whose hands are soaked in Nigerian blood. If anything, at least he admitted that the blood of abiola and all those whodied in the JUne 12 agitation will forever be on his hands and soul.
This is the real tragedy of Nigeriaāthat criminals are called heroes and 'statesmen' while true heroes are buried without justice.
*SO, What Must Be Done now?*
We, the Nigerian people, declare that we do not have amnesia about the pain and suffering we have experineced from this former dictator turned statesman, and must demand the following:
1. General Ibrahim Babangida must be put on trial for treason and manslaughter. He knowingly annulled the election and perverted the will of the people, which led directly to MKO Abiolaās death. His admission of the annulment should be enough evidence for a formal prosecution.
2. The N17 billion raised for his fraudulent library should be seized and given as reparations to the Abiola family. Abiolaās children lost their father, and Nigeria lost a leader. They deserve compensation, not Babangidaās fake legacy project.
3. The billionaires and corporations who donated to Babangida must be investigated. How did they make their money? How many of them stole from Nigeria under his rule?
4. The politicians who attended his book launch must be held accountable. Let them explain why they chose to celebrate a man who destroyed democracy rather than demand justice.
5. The international community must take a stand. Babangida should not be allowed to enjoy his wealth and stolen honor while his victims rest in unmarked graves. The International Criminal Court (ICC) and human rights organizations must step in where Nigerian institutions have failed.
*No Matter How The Elites Want TO White-Wash it, Babangidaās Cowardice Will Not Be Forgotten*
General Ibrahim Babangida may be in his final years, but history will remember him not as a statesman, but as a coward, a betrayer, and a man who destroyed the future of a nation out of fear. He was a general who feared his own soldiers. A leader who sabotaged democracy to save his own skin. A friend who betrayed his closest ally.
His book is not a confession; it is an insult. And every Nigerian who still believes in justice must rise to ensure that he is remembered not for the lies in his book, but for the blood on his hands. If the ruling elite chose to have a collective amnesia about the past misdeeds of this dictator because of their common history of musical chairs as they took turns to mismanage the nation as a class, we at Naija Lives Matter certainly have not forgotten.
This fight is not over. Until justice is served, Babangidaās legacy will be one of disgrace. My name is Ope Banwo, the Founder of Naija Lives Matter, and self-styled Mayor of Fadeyi, and I say a big 'Shior!' to all who gathered to celebrate a tyrant that single-handedly derailed Nigeria's trajectory to greatness out of cowardice, fear, and pure wickedness. Who knows where Nigeria would be today if Abiola had been allowed to exercise the national mandate given to him from the North, South, East, and West?
*The Mayor Of Fadeyi*
P.S: To read more articles from the Mayor of Fadeyi, go go : www.MayorOfFadeyi.com
