OBJ to IBB: You’re a Fool at 70, IBB to OBJ: You’re a Plunderer

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

A  war of words has finally broken out between two former presidents – Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired general, and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

 

On the eve of his 70th birthday, Babangida had insinuated that Obasanjo wasted the petrodollars that came his way by not addressing the needs of the country.

 

Obasanjo, who ruled Nigeria for a second time for eight years from 1999-2007, has reacted to the jibe, describing Babangida as “a fool at 70”.

 

Babangida, who also ruled the country for eight years from 1985 to 1993, has also replied in kind, describing Obasanjo as a “plunderer”.

 

Obasanjo said Babangida should bury his head in shame for not building a single power project plant during his eight years in power.

 

Addressing journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday at his Presidential Library Project site where he met with some foreign investors, Obasanjo said he initially did not believe the report credited to IBB until “somebody phoned me. I said don’t believe it. He said check all the papers. They got me the papers and I read them; it’s a little bit unlike Babangida".

 

According to him, "I also read where he said in his time, he gave the dividends of democracy and at the same time he regretted. When I read that, I said Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation because of the old saying that a fool at 40 is a fool forever and I would say a regret at 70 is a regret too late. Well, a regret at 70 is a regret to the grave.”

 

Speaking further, he retorted: “If Babangida had decided on becoming a septuagenarian, that he will be a fool, I think one should probably do what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 4. It says don’t answer a fool because you may also become like him. When you go to the same Proverbs chapter 26, verse 5, it says answer a fool so that he will not think he’s a wise man. So, I am now torn between which of the two verses I should follow in this respect.”

 

He said some of the allegations raised by Babangida “are unfortunately not well thought out. For instance, he talked about our energy. When I was the military head of state, I built Jebba dam; built Shiroro dam, I prepared the foundation of Egbin plant which President Shehu Shagari completed and commissioned.

That time the money we were making was not up to the money Babangida was making annually for his eight years and yet we built two dams.

 

“Because it was important, you know that power is the driving force for development and for any developing country. But since the building of Egbin power plant, until I came back in 1999, there was not any generating plant for almost 20 years and Babangida spent eight years out of that. Now, he has the audacity to talk about anybody; I think that is unfortunate.”

 

Obasanjo added that as president, he built power plants at Papalanto and Omotosho, among others.

"I started five of what they called Independent Power Stations which were stopped for two and a half years when I left office. Now the present administration has started building a new power project at Uyo.

“As a country, Nigeria should be adding nothing less than 1,500 megawatts annually. South Africa with a population of 50 million generates 50,000 megawatts. Nigeria with a population of about 165 million we are not generating.

 

As at 1999, I met 1,500 megawatts before we took it up to 4,000 megawatts. What we started they are now allowing it to go on. I believe if they continue with the programme that we left, in another two years, we will get to 10,000," he said.

 

For the “fool” jibe, Babangida replied: “For a man who cannot possibly tell his true age, one may excuse his present outburst as the effusions of a witless comedian trying effortlessly to impress his select audience.”

According to a statement signed by Babangida’s media aide, Prince Kassim Afegbua, the former military president said that there was no issue of comparison between him and Obasanjo.

 

“Obasanjo cannot contemplate a comparison of his conquistadorial and largely acquisitive regime that plundered our hard-earned state resources, with that of IBB government with verifiable record of achievements. Despite the fact that he carried out a clinical investigation of IBB’s regime, what did he establish against him? Nothing!

 

“We wish to refer Obasanjo to the National Assembly to give his own side of the story to the several revelations that have become themes of his orchestra when he held sway as President of Nigeria. Perhaps, he would be able to tell the world how he managed Nigeria’s resources during his regime,” the statement said.

“Chief Obasanjo should ponder on these incontrovertible facts: The revenues that accrued to former President Obasanjo during his eight years are more than those that accrued to the nation from independence till 1999 before he took over. Despite such stupendous wealth of the nation, what was his performance profile?

 

“The number of high profile deaths by assassinations and politically motivated killings during Obasanjo’s eight years is more than any other in the history of this country. Besides, is it not curious that after Obasanjo’s exit, there has not been any reported case of plane crashes? What was his human rights record?  The people of Odi in Bayelsa State and Zaki-Ibiam in Benue State are yet to recover from the massacre visited on them by Chief Obasanjo.

 

“Again crude oil sold for as much as $180 per barrel for the better part of his eight years, what benefit did Nigerians derive from such excess crude? With the revelations coming from the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, Nigerians are now coming to terms with the profligacy of the Obasanjo era.

 

“It is ludicrous for him to raise any intellectual debate on the achievements of the governments they ran at different times in the life of the nation. Calling IBB ‘a fool at 70’ especially by a man reportedly and allegedly accused by his own son of incest, is at best a compliment. Nigerians surely know who is truly a fool or the greatest fool of this century,” it sated.

 

The statement also said:  “It is certainly not in the tradition of General IBB, such a refined gentleman officer, to join issues with his subordinates and superiors, but for the price we owe history, this riposte becomes appropriate and necessary.

 

“We expected Chief Obasanjo to react to the substance of General Babangida’s submissions and not deploy this distractive strategy to shy away from the real issues at stake. The statistics of the government they both ran at different times, speak for them. The history of Chief Obasanjo is an open sore that is irredeemably contrived in several incongruities and contradictions.

 

“When he pleaded with IBB to be given another chance to extend his tenure, IBB was not a fool then. When he was released from prison and granted state pardon, bathed in cerebral ornaments and clothed in royal beads and later crowned as President of Nigeria, IBB was not a fool then.

 

“Now that he is at the extreme of his thoughts and engagements, he can decide to dress IBB in borrowed robes.  But the histories of both of them, when put to public scrutiny comparatively, IBB is far glowing and instructively stands poles apart from Obasanjo.  In terms of decency, finesse, class, distinction and general conduct, IBB could be described in the superlatives but for Obasanjo; God bless Nigeria.”

 

Meanwhile, Obasanjo also spoke on Mallam Nasir el-Rufai's allegation that he blocked the sale of Nigeria Airways.

 

He said: “I actually blocked the sales of Nigeria Airways, not that I attempted to block it. When I was military head of state (in 1979), Nigeria Airways had 32 aircraft; by the time I came back as elected president of Nigeria (in 1999), Nigeria Airways had only one aircraft left.

 

“One of the 32 was a wide body, they have all gone and the report on which we worked is there, the amount of money we would have to pay if Nigeria Airways was sold, what we would get out of it is less than 10 per cent of the debt we have to pay.  That will be the debt Nigeria tax payers would have to pay; that would not be the way to run the affairs of this country."

 

He explained: “I won’t run my own affairs that way, so I opted for liquidation. So, it was bankrupted, it was liquidated; in which case whatever you gain from liquidation which is also a form of sale, it means the burden will be shared by all the creditors and everybody. 

 

“So, if I owe you $10 and what I sell when I am liquidated is $2, that’s what you get. So, I did not allow normal privatisation or sale because it would have put very heavy burden on Nigeria. So, Nigerians should know that and in fact my administration should be commended for that.”

Obasanjo declared that he was ready to show up at any sitting to explain himself on the issue.

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