Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,
yesterday, made a shocking revelation of how he nearly killed his wife,
Maryam (now late) at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, in the course of his
military career. Babangida, who disclosed this while interacting with
journalists at his Minna Hill Top mansion as part of activities marking
his 75th birthday, added that he is not as evil as many people have
been made to believe. Born on August 17, 1941, Babangida,
popularly known as IBB, was Nigeria’s military leader from August 27,
1985, when he overthrew Major General Muhammadu Buhari (now president)
but “stepped aside” on August 27, 1993, after annulling the June 12,
1993, presidential election. Responding to a question on whether he had
any record of accidental discharge during his career, Babangida said:
“Accidental discharge!
Oh no, I almost had it with someone
very close to me, and when I did, the person involved, luckily was not
dead. I had it during the course of my service and it was in Dodan
Barracks and the person who almost took it was my wife, but she escaped
it.”
The Minna born Army General, however,
said that the person who was involved in another related incident was
not that lucky. He said: “But I also had a situation where I was moving
with some of my junior officers.There was an alarm and the ammunition
fell and hit one of them and he dropped dead there. There is nothing you
can do, as a commander, you have to move on. Of course, I knew the
family very well, because he was my driver.
“They came,
I told them what happened and they took it in good fate, saying that
was how God wished it to be, but it was a very painful death.” Maryam
died at 61 of ovarian cancer on December 27, 2009, in a hospital in Los
Angeles, California, the United States with Babangida at her bedside.
ex-leader, who reflected on life after his wife’s death, said: “It has
not been easy, but I thank God that I have children who show remarkable
understanding and have been doing their best by trying to do what their
mother was doing. I also have a lot of grandchildren and they take most
of my time.”
were courting, there was one aspect that she did not believe me. She
did not believe that I was serious because of the reputation I had as a
‘playboy’, but I assured her that it won’t be a problem that I will be a
changed person and I am glad I am. I had no problem solidifying the
relationship because I knew her and I knew everyone in her family,” he
said.
misconception about his person, Babangida said: “I am not the evil that
quite a lot of people consider that I am. I have had a very excellent
background and by training, we have to love one another.
can understand the feeling. But by virtue of the job I was doing, I was
bound to be misconstrued and people will take it like that, but I
consider it as an opinion. As long as I am not what you think I was, I
feel satisfied.”
“I read somewhere some time ago, where they said I stole N12.8 billion
and I said: If I stole such money, I had no business staying in the
country.
are the type of things that one has to live with. I hope the younger
generation will carry out research on leadership, individuals and what
role they played in the development of the nation so that they come up
with a different conclusion from what is on the ground now.” Babangida,
who also spoke on the polity, called for a part-time legislature to cut
the high cost of governance.
public life, there were a number of decisions I took as a military
officer or as a political officer when I was a dictator that if I had
the chance again, I would have done differently. For example, in 1989,
we proposed that the National Assembly should be optional, that is
part-time. I still believe that if I had the opportunity, I would make
the National Assembly part time. I believe in that very strongly. It’s
all in the effort to cut down the cost of governance,” he said.