Washington, DC — Nigerians take politics seriously. The fact that the country has been ruled by military regimes for 29 of its 41 years of independence has not dampened political fervor. Since civilian rule was restored in 1999, the country has conducted two presidential elections, both won by Olusegan Obasanjo, a former military ruler who is not eligible for a third term. Speculation about contenders in the 2007 race is already in full gear.
One name, whose mention stirs strong emotions, is another former general, Ibrahim B. Babangida, popularly known by his initials IBB, who headed a military government from 1985 until August 1993. He stepped down amid an uproar over his decision to annul the results of an election to choose a civilian president. His departure ushered in nearly five years of tyrannical rule by Babangida's former number two, Sani Abacha, who died in mysterious circumstances on June 8, 1998, opening the way forelections the following year.
Among those leading the call for Babangida's candidacy is his former information minister, Alex Akinyele, who also served for a period as the country's top sports official. Interviewed during a private visit to Washington, he offered his assessment of the current administration and defended his support for Babangida.
How do you evaluate President Obasanjo's performance to date?
The report card is neither bad nor good. By and large, by our own experience in Nigeria and the experience of other people in Africa, we are absolutely on track with democracy. If an ordinary civilian was president, the military could have come out of their barracks about four times, because there were times when the government did things which the military would not have favored.
But the military refrained because Obasanjo is a former general?
Yes, because of the respect he enjoys from the military, because of his connections in the military. When he led the country, he was the first African military leader to hand power to a civilian administration [in 1979]. So he has that to his credit. But at the same time, he's not been able to carry the people along. When you are the leader of a country, you should be able to carry the people along. For instance, there are so many nauseating activities and information coming out from the national assembly. It should not be so!
Are the actions of the national assembly the president's fault?
It is not his fault, but he has tremendous influence over everything. The labor people, the activists, academia - the president does not carry them along like we used to experience. Activists are always there. They are professional agitators; they complain from morning till night. But if there is nothing to complain about, they cannot protest.
What about the programs President Obasanjo is pursuing?
He has very beautiful programs on paper, but execution is the headache. When he came in 1999, he said he was going to fight against corruption. He was going to fight against poverty. He was going to fight all sorts of indiscipline. He was going to bring us plenty of food. He meant very well for the nation. As a result of that, we were very happy.
But unfortunately, the execution of his programs is a failure. We cannot blame the failure on him, because he cannot do it alone - that much we know. But corruption is rife all over the place. Before the Obasanjo administration, corruption was an abstract something. But within the past five years, corruption has become very substantive.
You're saying corruption now is worse than it was during military rule?
Far worse than it was ever before. He wants to win the war against corruption, but he has not been able to. He established the ICPC, the anti-corruption court, where anybody who is accused of corruption can be charged. There is a code of conduct. But how many people have been tried by the ICPC? They have not been able to try many people, because the people who are corrupt, who have been caught, are people who it may be better to leave alone than to cause trouble for the nation.
And education?
There are many universities now, but many of the universities - I can even say most of them - are poorly funded for one reason or the other. You see, if we were to judge President Obasanjo by his desires, his wishes, he'd be the best leader in the world. But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
How is the government doing in combating HIV/Aids?
The government is doing something about it. They've put so much money in it. There are anti-HIV campaigns all over the place. But the basic problem that is responsible for the escalation of HIV is poverty! Many of these women are prostitutes. They live by selling their bodies. There is trafficking in females from Nigeria to Italy, to France, to all these places. The bottom line is poverty. If it were possible for government to provide jobs for all these women, they would stop selling their bodies. What will solve the problem is that fight against poverty.
The spread of HIV/Aids is not limited to prostitutes. Is there still widespread denial in Nigeria of the seriousness of AIDS?
Some people still believe that there is nothing like Aids. But, by and large, a very sizeable majority of people have come to appreciate that there is Aids. That comes about because some of those who have it have come out to the public to say they have it, and they are receiving medication.
Did the death of the singer Fela Kutti in 1997 contribute to public awareness of HIV/Aids?
When Fela was alive, he lived a very carefree and irresponsible life. On one single day, he married 32 women. A very successful musician, he was singing the praise of a loose life, and he said he did not have Aids. But when he died, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti came out to say his brother had died of AIDS. And that professor was minister of health under IBB. In Nigeria, you do not want people to hear that your own relation dies of Aids or of smallpox, because they think it will affect the family pride. But if Professor Kuti could come out to say his own brother died of Aids, Nigerians had to appreciate that Aids is real.
You have said you want General Babangida to be the next president. Why?
Nobody could have given Nigeria political stability outside President Obasanjo. But after political stability, we need economic stability. We need social stability. I feel very strongly that we should look at the credentials of General Babangida. He can effectively take over Nigeria,.Ours is not the politics of philosophy or ideology. It's "from where does Akinyele come?" After that, it's "what is his religion?" These are the things that destroy political leadership in Nigeria. Some people in Nigeria now say that the Yoruba man who does not support Obasanjo is a fool. He is a traitor. That is the nature of our politics. Until we can get that out of the way, we cannot get the best for Nigeria.
How would electing General Babangida help overcome those divisions?
General Babangida is a very unusual Nigerian. He is a military man and a northerner, in spite of which the southerners, the easterners, everybody accepts him. It's not because he was head of state but because of his charisma [that he can] detribalize Nigeria.
He is very sympathetic. He listens. He has a way of putting the right peg in the right hole. He has a personal friend in every local government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He knows all the people and the people know him. On top of that, he is a super-strategist. When you talk about the economy, he knows how to make it work. It worked when he was there. And he is a super-administrator.
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His economic policy, the Structural Adjustment Program, was very controversial. You couldn't really call it a success, could you?
It could have succeeded, but those who sold the idea to the president did not support him when people found fault with it. The president is not a university graduate, he is a military graduate. He is not an economist or a banker. Some of them in the economic ministries put the ideas on paper. Like I was telling you about Obasanjo's ideas, which are good on paper, execution is always the problem. So when this thing went to the market, those who sold the idea to the president made a U-turn.
Don't Nigerians hold him responsible for the difficult period that followed his annulment of the election in 1993?
I am very happy you mentioned that. Many people blamed him, but he did not deserve to be blamed. Those who were behind the annulment of the election were military top shots, politicians, business leaders, and some Christians. It was not a thing Babangida could do alone. But if he comes out to name all the characters involved in the annulment, many would have to flee Nigeria. Nigeria could crack.
Except for this annulment of the June 12th election he had no problem. Should we crucify him for just one fault, which was not absolutely and primarily his? No!
Wasn't there a serious problem with corruption when Babangida was in power?
Babangida as a person is not corrupt. Corruption has come to stay with us in Nigeria for quite a long while. Babangida was not the one who introduced corruption to Nigeria.
So you firmly believe Babagida is the man who can turn Nigeria around?
Nigeria is a great country. Babangida will succeed to make it better. He will make a brighter future. We need him to lead us.
