IBB Memoirs: The Commotion, The Confusion and The Corollary of the Confessions
By Bala Ibrahim
Anyone conversant with controversy, would not be confused by the contentious contents in the commentary. Those who know IBB very well, said so a number of times- the man is a friend of controversy. Whatever he chronicles down, is liable to being interpreted as a concealment. That is the fate of a man, that is always viewed with suspicion. Everything he says or does, comes with a sly interpretation. And these memoirs, a journey in service, should not be expected to be different. To start with, the Chairman of the book launch, who happens to be IBB’s boss and former Nigerian military and democratic leader, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, played the mystical to me at the occasion. He evaded my sight completely. In fact I said, in my previous article, he was visibly absent at the event. But alas, he was there in blood and flesh, at some point.
Even the book reviewer, former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, had difficulty locating him initially at the venue. I don’t know what happened, but the mystery of his appearance and disappearance at the venue, is an issue for another article. What matters most, is his comments regarding the expected controversy that would accompany IBB’s confessions. And this is what he said:
“You have not only contributed to history, you have contributed documenting to history. It is an important part of our nation-building to keep accurate records. Please don’t be unduly worried about critics and put-him-down syndrome. The book will be reviewed, read, quoted, praised and lambasted, and some will agree with you in part, and some will disagree with you in part, some may even wholly disagree with you. Why should you write the book? It is self-glorification. They will say. Controversy may even develop. It’s all good for you and good for the book and our nation-building process, the more praised and condemned the book is, the better because it means that it is being read. Please don’t be unduly worried about critics and put-him-down syndrome. It may even be an indication of success but take note of objective criticism. You should expect a reaction galore. The reaction will be good, bad and ugly”-OBJ
Yes, through the publication of his memoirs, IBB has succeeded in opening a can of worms. As observed by Obasanjo, his boss, he has opened a complicated matter that is likely to prove awkward, or even embarrassing for him. There would be commotion, confusion, alongside a catalogue of corollary, preceding the confessions. But such reactions are a familiar path in the man’s journey in service. According to him, even his late wife, Maryam Ibrahim Babangida, (may her soul rest in perfect peace), ameen, had reservations in accepting the marriage offer he made to her, from day one. Maryam didn’t want to marry him ab initio.
“When I told my wife to let’s get married, she looked at me and said: ‘You can’t be serious’. I said: why? She said that the impression she had was that we were playboys. So, I said I had decided I didn’t want to be a playboy but I wanted to settle down. I think I convinced her that I really meant I was going to settle down.”
Since the release of this book, the media space has been invaded by all manner of reactions, with some even calling for the prosecution of the man behind the memoirs. Everything he said is being twisted upside down, particularly with regards the circumstances surrounding the Presidential election annulment. Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian politician, Human rights activist, reporter, writer, lecturer and pro-democracy campaigner, is among those accusing IBB of insincerity:
“IBB has never told the truth in his life and I’m not surprised that he has continued to engage in falsehood. The Yorubas have a common saying that when the criminal wants to lie he will say that his witness has died. And that is what IBB did exactly with mentioning Abacha. IBB never wanted to hand over power. We were part of this, nobody told me the story. We forced him out of power, August of 1993. He postponed the transition program several times and even Bola Tinubu mentioned that.”
Politically, the June 12 saga may be solved by the twists and turns of political events in Nigeria. And with time, respite may come his way. But undoubtedly, IBB would continue to be tormented, consciously or unconsciously, by the noun of ghosting, as it affects the circumstances under which he parted ways with his hitherto faithful, but now fallen friends. I mean the duo of Gen. Sani Abacha and Gen. Mamman Jiya Vatsa. Theirs, I believe, is a qualm that would continue to cause commotion and confusion in his conscience, because of the doubts chaperoning the confessions.
