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The war of words and exchange of insults, which have been taken to the pages of newspapers in Nigeria, between Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, IBB, a former military president of Nigeria, and another former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, seems to be continuing despite reports that a peace meeting was to be scheduled to resolve the differences between both men.

A newspaper had reported that the Presidency had planned a peace meeting between the two former heads of government but a media aide to Obasanjo is reported to have said, “There is nothing like that. Nobody is planning a peace meeting. We are not aware of any as at now"

The exchange of insults, between both men, started when Babangida, at a chat with the media to usher in celebrations for his 70th birthday, spoke about issues that occurred during his reign as president and also spoke about the $16 billion that was on the power sector during Obasanjo's administration with nothing to show for it. He said, "If I had $16 billion, I would not only have provided adequate power, I would have given this country a nuclear power plant," Mr Babangida said, adding "$16 billion is a lot of money. There was no foresight during that administration - to spend that much money on an issue that was not achievable.

In my eight years in office, I was able to manage poverty and achieved success while somebody for eight years managed affluence and achieved failure"

Babangida also spoke on other issues such as the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections, the death of his wife, Maryam, and his plan to remarry soon, the death of his friends, Mamman Vatsa and Dele Giwa, and President Goodluck Jonathan's plan to limit the tenure of presidents and state governors to one six year term. However, his comments about the $16 billion spent on the power sector during Obasanjo's regime is what sparked the outburst.

Obasanjo responded to Babangida's comments saying that Babangida presided over eight of the 20 years between 1979 and 1999 when he returned as a civilian president, and during that period, no government built a power plant in the country and added that "“I read where he said in his time, he gave the dividends of democracy and at the same time he regretted it.

Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy, rather than anger or condemnation because the old saying says "a fool at forty is a fool forever," and I would say a regret at 70 is a regret too late. A regret at 70 is a regret to the grave."

Babangida then responded to Obasanjo's comments saying, "We do not want to believe that he truly said that, but if it is true that he did say that, Nigerians know who the greatest fool is. 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.

Being called a fool at 70, especially by a man reportedly 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'

Despite the exchange of insults, an aide to Babangida said that Babangida is not quarrelling with Obasanjo saying, “We are not quarrelling. We just differ on the point of presentation. If you read our interview, we talked about his regime and revelations at the National Assembly. That is all. He was the one who decided to throw decency into the air by calling somebody a fool. When they meet, they will greet each other. They will shake hands and interact.”

Another aide to Babangida, in an interview with Vanguard Newspapers, said, "We are actually not fighting Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, it has not got to that level, we might seek legal redress on this issue”.

"We think and most Nigerians do, also, that the former leader went beyond his bounds to use very uncouth language to respond to what IBB said in his interview. I want to refer you to the published interview and, please find out for me, where we castigated Chief Obasanjo."

“General IBB only made allusion to the on-going probes in the National Assembly, several of which have exposed the rotten underbelly of that democratic regime of Obasanjo. He should rather call those who are exposing him through the probes fools and not direct his anger towards IBB.

“Every Nigerian who knows General IBB will attest to the fact that the former leader is highly cerebral and conveys a large dose of humility, tolerance and respect for people. He hardly discusses leaders on the pages of newspapers. But for him to be so described as a “fool at seventy” as a birthday message from a man who has gained more from IBB was the height of crass irresponsibility."

"We are still weighing the options because we might seek legal redress on this issue. Please go and check the dictionary meaning of ‘fool’ and you will know the import of what I am saying.”

And Obasanjo, in an interview with Punch newspapers is reported to have said, in Yoruba, “If anyone puts his finger into my mouth, I will bite it.”

                                         Abiola's Aide Blasts Obasanjo And Babangida                                   

Ripples of the faceoff between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida continued at the weekend as former personal assistant to Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Lisa Olu Akerele, described the confrontation between the former leaders as a well deserved poetic justice.

Akerele said what happened between Obasanjo and Babangida was nothing but nemesis catching up with the duo, the result of which is the current washing of their dirty linens in public.

Also speaking on the faceoff between the two retired generals, constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, described the exchange of words between them as uncalled for.

Sagay told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) weekend in a telephone interview that the conduct of the leaders had portrayed them in bad light to Nigerians.

He said: "It is a shame that the leaders could not conduct themselves in a manner that is befitting of their status as former heads of state. It is uncalled for because neither of them can claim to have been a successful leader. That is left for ordinary Nigerians to judge. It is not proper for them to be comparing their performances in the public."

Meanwhile, Akerele in a statement made available to THISDAY said that rather than throwing brickbats at each other, the two former leaders deserved to be taken to a tribunal and caged, as was the case with Hussein Mubarak in Egypt, and subjected to public trial for crimes against Nigeria.

He accused both Obasanjo and Babangida of inflicting half-baked leadership on the country, which has kept Nigeria in the backwoods of development despite the country's enormous wealth.

He recalled that the two generals were united in greed and personal aggrandisement to scuttle the peoples aspirations when they connived to annul the popular June 12, 1993 general election which Abiola was poised to win.

Noting that while Babangida annulled the election, Obasanjo gave credence to the annulment with his pronouncement that the late Abiola was not the messiah Nigerians were expecting.

Relevant LinksWest AfricaNigeriaHe pointed out that both leaders were living in opulence in the face of abject poverty of their people because they stole the nation's wealth without shame.

Citing instances of countries like Singapore and Malaysia which started almost at the same pace with Nigeria in terms of economic and political growth, Akerele said these countries have been propelled several steps ahead by their leaders who had the interest of their nations in mind.

On the contrary, he noted that while Obasanjo was hampered by greed and acquisitive tendencies which resulted in his ceding the nation's paternity to himself and friends, Babangida was overwhelmed by infantile mind laced with corruptive mien based on using public funds to sort out his acolytes.

 Obasanjo And Babangida Deserved Tribunal And Caged,Subjected To Public Trial For Crimes Against Nigeria

One of the privatised companies, for instance, where Nigeria lost huge sums was the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON, Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State where a company, which was built at a cost of $3.2bn was sold to a Russian company for $130 million.

In her revelations, when she testified before the Senate committee last week, Bolanle Onagoruwa, BPE’s director-general, had explained how the disgusting affair took place. 

She had disclosed that the federal government invested $3.2 billion from 1980s to 1997, in constructing the company, including a 540 megawatts capacity power plant on ground, but that in the process of preparing it for privatisation, the company was valued at $250 million by the BPE consultants and subsequently sold to a Russian-based company, Russel, in September 2006. 

Onagoruwa further threw other bombshell about dirty deals carried out in the name of privatisation, revealing that most Nigerian companies were built at exorbitant prices and their cost of production inflated.  Citing the instance with ALSCON, she said within the same period it was built in Nigeria, a similar company was built in Mozambique for $800 million.

To most Nigerians, the revelations seem to be upsetting in view of the fact that President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was at the helm of affairs at the period, was believed to be championing anti-corruption crusade through the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The exposure on Obasanjo by Nasir el-Rufai and others that appeared before the panel has increased the call for the probe of the former president.

From November 1999 to July 2003, El-Rufai was the Director-General of BPE and also the Secretary of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) and thereafter became the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), when he qualified as a member of the kitchen cabinet of Obasanjo. But when El-Rufai appeared before the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee probing the activities of the BPE and the sale of public entities last week, he did not spare his then boss of lapses associated with the exercise, just as he insisted that Obasanjo killed privatisation.

He had told the panel that Obasanjo aborted the privatisation of the now rested national carrier, the Nigeria Airways, claiming that the sale of Nigeria Airways suffered a set back because Obasanjo not only ignored his advice but never respected due policy process.