“A group without a leader is a mob” – Anonymous, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 82. “All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies” – Dr John Arbuthnot, 1667-1735, VBQ p 191. 

Ask anybody who is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the Labour Party; and you would receive different answers. These are the two leading opposition parties. Yet, they are effectively leaderless. Everybody in the world knows who the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain. She is our own Nigerian-born Kemi Badenoch. We might not like what she says; but, worldwide, she is more highly esteemed that any politician in Nigeria today; mainly, because she will never decamp to the ruling party for personal gain. The abnormality can never happen in the UK or India or Canada. There are some Made-In-Nigeria political atrocities which, being endemic, have guaranteed that good governance, which is indispensable to development, will continue to elude us.

Just in case the reader goes away with the impression that the ruling party had been exonerated, permit me to ask: who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC? I know the President – Bola Tinubu. Ordinarily, he should be regarded as the leader. But, some of the most disgruntled political elements, especially in the North, are APC members. So badly is the party divided, the Chairman, Ganduje, has been afraid to call a meeting of the National Executive Committee. That is bad enough. The most alarming aspect of the APC problem lies in the lack of total support for Tinubu and even open hostility, by people holding APC party cards.

 Important Bills

“There is nothing worse than for a leader to look behind him and find nobody is following” – US President Lyndon Johnson. Tinubu is not without followers; far from it. However, there are several types of followers. What happened to Jonathan should teach him a lesson – going forward. Most Nigerian politicians are political mercenaries; they go where food is ready and leave when there is threat to the food supply. Right now, northern political leaders are confronted with an APC in which their financial interests are seriously threatened. In less than two years of Tinubu government, the adverse changes in their individual and collective circumstances have resulted in a groundswell of demand for the return of the presidency to the North – at all costs.

More than ever, they are prepared to forgive even those who governed very badly. El-Rufai, the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, offers a good example of current mind of the North. Extremely clever, he knows that blaming the rulers excites the populace more easily than appeals for hope when a country experiences economic hardship. It is all well and good to point to the benefits in the long run if tough measures are taken now. But, the stomach is a rascal. People don’t eat in the long run; they must have food today. And, if that is not possible; somebody must pay for it. The strongest campaigners against the Tinubu government are APC members. Before going into the details of how they intend to sabotage the leadership of the APC, it is necessary to point out that they have already scored a major victory.

Tax Bills Gutted

“Building half a bridge is the most worthless investment a government can make” – An international bridge-builder with over 300 bridges to his credit.  Granted, Tinubu and the framers of the Tax Reform Bills committed a blunder by not consulting widely enough and building a winning coalition before presenting the bill to the National Assembly, NASS. Still, the fact that the first groups to openly reject them were those dominated by APC spoke volumes about how much control the President had over his own party.

The Nigeria Governors Forum, at first, not only turned them down; the most vocal opponent of the bills was Professor Zulum of Borno State. Vice President Shetimma, who is from that state, must have been deeply embarrassed. That gesture demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the party could not guarantee the support of its own Governors. Similarly, at the NASS, the fiercest war against the bills was waged by APC Senators led by Ndume. That provided the northern elite the opportunity to rally the people around them. Incidentally, anybody following the affair closely would have noticed that most members of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, as well as various youth organisations, who were up in arms, had not even read the bills before taking positions.

Once the bills were pronounced anti-North by the early responders, the majority simply fell in line. It was the classic case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The very few northern FG supporters kept their distance; they remained in Abuja out of fear of reprisals by lynch mobs. The Daily Trust, the most reliable political weather vane, to which I subscribe, published everyday stinging rebukes of the bills as a plot by Lagos State to colonise the North. It was as bad as that. Tension was lowered when amendments were made to the bills which partly mollified the Governors. Despite that, trust had been eroded. Northerners, who provided the winning margin, now feel like the man who escaped being beheaded by a beneficiary but lost his cap. The broad attitude now is: never again. Millions of those who voted in 2023 have turned their backs on the apparent leader of their party. The obvious question is: why have they not departed? The short answer is: money and time.

 The Enemies Within

“Better a declared enemy than a doubtful ally” – Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821.

Tinubu should thank God for Atiku and Obi. They are declared political opponents, but, might not be harmful on account of the mobs which have seized control of the PDP and Labour Party. The fellows who should be giving him sleepless nights are APC members; who are no longer loyal to him, but, who recognise that he is still in control of the kitchen. They intend to stay; continue to collect their shares of the national cake and stab him in the back at the right time. El-Rufai is naïve and too emotional for his own good. Yet, he is better than the pretenders who are working quietly to sabotage the APC and Tinubu.

Some of them are in Aso Rock. Obviously, even the APC is in muted disarray. Unlike the other poor parties, money has made it possible to sound-proof the edifice called APC; neighbours don’t hear the noise – which is very much there. Thus, if you ask APC members privately who is your leader, you might be shocked to receive the sort of reply one “party stalwart” gave me in Lagos last week: “We no longer have a leader. That old man should go home. See the mess he has created in Lagos State.” Tinubu might not realise it; but, he needs rock solid support from the South-West, especially, Lagos. He also must work on the rest of the South. Most people in the North have already made up their minds; this government is not for them. There is danger ahead.

Men, Money and Madness

“Power and money, do, of course, drive people crazy. So, why shouldn’t people also gain power and wealth through being crazy?” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2005, VBQ p 195. America, once called God’s Own Country, but not any longer, has two crazy men running the government. They have power and money and don’t care what anybody says. Americans used to pretend that nobody is above the law. But, they shamelessly elected the most lawless person ever to run for President.

Just two weeks ago, Donald Trump defied a court order; and nobody in Congress said a word. If Tinubu had done that, an American media would have called him all sorts of names and our National Assembly, NASS, bush men. That is understandable. Tinubu is not crazy; and people in our NASS are not under a spell. They have faults; but, not those needing to be remedied by bringing straight jackets. Mark my words, Americans will wake up before the end of Trump’s term to discover that even a giant alone can be extremely vulnerable.

From the 2Baba divorce saga, we are now into stories and speculations about what is happening in beautiful actress, Regina Daniel’s life. It began with oh! Regina has just deactivated her Instagram account and next, she stepped out without her ring. That got social media users sensing trouble in her marriage as the 6th wife. Now, this is where I must say that I don’t fancy the life of celebrities at all. No privacy!

So far, so much has been blown open and written about the actress within a short time. One of her colleagues, Chika Ike was placed at the centre of the entire drama. She was accused of trying to make her way into pa Ned’s life as the 7th wife. They said Regina isn’t okay with that. Because of that, many people are criticising her for deactivating her Instagram account based on mere rumour. Trust me, Bloggers have been on a rampage since the rumour started. This could honestly be the reason she deactivated that account; fear of backlash. Nigerians can be mean sometimes. One of the bloggers posted a statement allegedly made by Chika on the matter. “Ned isn’t the father of my child. I’m not about to be anyone’s 7th wife! Polygamy isn’t for me. I’ve been pregnant for months now and no one had a clue until  I announced it. Keep digging and coming up with your false news. I don’t care. My privacy is my peace and no one can unsettle me.” Then, why share glamorous maternity pictures online if you wanted it private?

Well, there’s also a statement said to be from the Director of Communications, office of Sen. Ned Nwoko, making the rounds on social media, dismissing the rumour about Chika’s involvement in the family.

If you ask me, what’s the fuse all about if the man in charge wishes to get a seventh wife? Was there an undertaking that he will stop at number six?

Whether the gossip about possible ‘trouble in paradise’ is true or not, let’s just dive into some comments on social media. Netizens seem to know too much.

@bellaTheBomba wrote, “Chika Ike gave birth for Ned Nwoko and Regina has deactivated her Instagram.” This netizen seems to know a lot. Hmmnnn!

West @flygodT replied, “I’m just surprised she actually has feelings for him.”

Ifeayichukwu @ Myka_veli commented, “I don’t understand women at all. Regina Daniels and Chika Ike had the opportunity to choose the most eligible bachelors in Nigeria owing to their status as celebrities plus they’re good looking. Why choose an old man with 5 wives over young bobos?”

Olucih @Phatbabeluu wrote, “Regina Daniels would have made good money on her own without attaching herself to that grandpa. She had great prospects.”

Brooda John @ Nigeriangod wrote, “Chika Is the real senior wife cos she has been there long before Ned married other wives. She didn’t want to marry him then cos she said she had to return to school for her master and establish other business. So, Ned sent her to Harvard University.” Really?

Morris Monye commented, “As far back as 2012, if you visited Ned Nwoko at his country home near Onicha-Ugbo, you would see Chika Ike around. She has always been his woman.”

[Vanguard]

Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, says the north must forge an alliance with the south-south to “save” Nigeria.

Speaking on Friday during a condolence visit to the family of Edwin Clark, the late elder statesman and Niger Delta advocate, who died on February 17, el-Rufai said the north and south-south had a strong historical political partnership.

“In the 60s, 70s and 80s, the traditional political partners of the north was the south-south. Let us not forget that. Let us go back to that. Let us save this country because it really requires saving. We need a rescue operation,” el-Rufai said.

Ahead of the 2027 general election, there have been talks of coalitions and alliances with politicians across opposition parties holding “strategic meetings”.

El-Rufai, who was led to the condolence visit by Atiku Abubakar, said the former vice-president deserves credit for spearheading economic reforms during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

Abubakar was vice-president to former president Olusegun Obasanjo government from 1999 to 2007.

The former governor has been meeting members of opposition parties in recent weeks.

In January, el-Rufai met with Hamza Al-Mustapha, ex-aide to late Sani Abacha; Shehu Gabam, national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PDP); and other politicians in the nation’s capital.

Segun Showunmi, a former spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation, said the meeting was to strategise ahead of the 2027 elections.

There have been speculations that el-Rufai has been working to pitch his political tent elsewhere.

Last month, el-Rufai said the distance between him and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is “widening”.

[TheCable]

•Narrates how he disarmed Dimka during 1976 coup

FORMER Military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has disclosed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo opted to leave the Army after he was asked to succeed former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, following the failure of the 1976 coup that claimed Murtala’s life.

IBB made this disclosure in his autobiography, A Journey in Service while giving accounts of the events that followed the attempt to forcefully take over the Murtala’s military administration by a group of mutineers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Bukar Dimka.

Following Murtala’s death, IBB, in chapter 5 of his book entitled “The Murtala Muhammed Years,” narrated that the Supreme Military Council met the following day to discuss the succession plan but the council was divided over the choice of Obasanjo and Theophilus Danjuma, both of whom, at the time, were Lieutenant-Generals and most senior military officer.

IBB disclosed that though the pendulum of the SMC swung in Danjuma’s direction, he rejected the offer and suggested that Obasanjo, who was Murtala’s deputy and a ‘senior’ Lieutenant-General, should succeed Murtala.

According to him, Obasanjo, instead, opted to retire from the Army to pave the way for Danjuma’s ascension as Head of State, but such move led to a stalemate as Danjuma rejected the suggestion, insisting that Obasanjo should succeed the late Head of State.

IBB narrated on page 99 of his book: “The next day, the SMC met in Lagos to pick a successor to General Muhammed. We knew it would be either General Obasanjo or General Danjuma since, as Lieutenant-Generals, they were the most senior. As I recall, the pendulum swung in favour of General Danjuma at the start of the deliberations. Everyone present, including Obasanjo, thought Danjuma should take over.

“But somehow, Danjuma cast his lot with Obasanjo, insisting that as Muhammed’s deputy and a ‘senior’ Lieutenant-General, Obasanjo should succeed Murtala Muhammed. Obasanjo refused and offered, if I recall accurately, to retire from the Army to enable Danjuma to emerge as Head of State. There appeared to be a momentary stalemate. But that soon faded away. Faced with the insistence of Danjuma, everyone caved in, and Obasanjo accepted the challenge to succeed Murtala.

“With the question of the Head of State settled, the choice of substantive Deputy to Obasanjo and Chief of Staff (Supreme Headquarters) had to be resolved. I don’t recall that it was tabled before the SMC. But I suspect that General Danjuma, as Chief of Army Staff and ‘de facto’ deputy to Obasanjo during those early days, decided, presumably after consultations, to name Lt-Col. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. And in an exercise that would have rattled a few within the military, especially those senior to him, Yar’Adua was promptly promoted to Brigadier and, subsequently, Major-General.”

The elder stateman also narrated how he disarmed late Dimka and other mutineers who had taken over the Radio House, adding that in the ensuing gunfight, Dimka escaped but his aide-de-camp, 2nd Lt Garba, was killed among other casualties.

“Meanwhile, I returned to General Danjuma to give him a report of my encounter with Dimka. Danjuma was furious. He ordered me back to the Radio House with a reiteration of his earlier instructions to ‘flush Dimka out of place immediately.

“I returned to Radio House with Chris Ugokwe, better equipped and prepared. By now, we had been joined by, among others, Mike Otuwa, James Ojokojo, John Shagaya and Jack Iketubosin.

“But first, I had to reach out to my friend and classmate, Sani Sami, who commanded the Brigade of Guards, to handle a difficult assignment. The Brigade of Guards’ barracks provided easy access to the Radio House. But again, I had to be careful since I wasn’t sure whether the Brigade was still loyal to the government.

“Sani Sami and I consulted and agreed that there should be minimum destruction. And that we would do what we were taught as cadets in situations involving a civilian population to ensure that civilians got out of the way and didn’t get injured.

“Once that was done, we moved in, cordoned off the area and engaged the mutineers in a gun battle. There were casualties in the ensuing armed confrontation, including Dimka’s ADC, 2nd Lt Garba. Also, one of the other vital plotters, Major Ibrahim Rabo, was arrested by Major Yomi Williams as he tried to escape and was promptly taken to the Bonny camp for interrogation. But, somehow, Dimka, quite inexplicably to this day, managed to escape from the scene unharmed,” IBB recalled.

He added that “Later that evening, the Federal government announced that the coup attempt had been quashed and declared seven days of national mourning in Murtala’s honour. The next day, February 14, General Muhammed was buried in Kano at a ceremony witnessed by thousands of mourners and members of the SMC, including Major-General Bisalla, who would later be implicated in the coup attempt.

“The national outpouring of grief and support following the assassination of Murtala was unprecedented. In his short six months in office, Murtala Muhammed had become a folk hero, endearing himself to many. Angry, grief-stricken students of the Universities of Ibadan, Benin and Lagos held violent street demonstrations in protest against his killers.

“Organised Labour movements, civil society organisations and even market women issued statements of solidarity for the Murtala Muhammed administration. Afterwards, the GOC of the 1 Division in Kaduna, Major-General Alani Akinrinade, issued a strong statement of support from Lagos for Murtala, and virtually all other military installations in the country followed suit by disassociating themselves from the coup.”

[Nigerian Tribune]

All animals are not equal. If you doubt it, attempt to replicate General Ibrahim Babangida’s actions and inactions over the years – and see where you’ll end up.

First shoot your way into power. Confront civil society with both an iron fist and a toothy smile. Be a military Janus – on one side Santa Claus, on the other Belgium’s Leopold II. Then, seeing the prodigious talent and charisma Providence has bestowed on you, lock yourself up in a social laboratory and, like the scientist Frankenstein, create a new serpentine democracy which crawls a little to the right and a little to the left, eventually threatening to swallow you.

The June 12 monster! In what book is it written that a date could swallow an emperor? Run! As a cat with so many lives, you call it a day and retire into comfort. Didn’t God Himself rest on the seventh day?

Your coterie of eulogists and beneficiaries add salt to the society’s injury: They canonise you. “Saint Ibrahim invented the new Nigeria! It’s just unfortunate that negative forces did not allow him to conclude the good work he had started”. In the pantheon of Nigeria’s carpetbaggers who watered the tree of autocracy with the blood of fellow citizens, they say, “Saint Ibrahim is better than the other goggle-wearing gnome. We can confirm that Ibrahim doesn’t eat infants.”

In your hibernation, you continue to enjoy the status of a major shareholder in Naija Turn-By-Turn Plc. Your castle is a Mecca to which every political pilgrim journeys. And then, 32 years after the crime of June 12, you re-emerge to take responsibility for everything that happened under your watch. Except that it still wasn’t your fault but the machination of that goggled one!

Forgivable?

So, you knew all these years that MKO Abiola was the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and you waited for 32 years, after social strife, a near civil war, death of thousands of fellow citizens, destruction of careers, social polarisation and – tellingly – the death of the goggled one you fingered?

Now who is going to defend Afajápemó (he who owns dogs that hunt down rabbits for him)?

I believe in forgiveness. But a penitent person at confession shouldn’t be dribbling the priest. If a sinner says, “It was my hand, not me, that slapped the complainant”, who shall we hold responsible? Can forgiveness be possible or efficacious unless the compunction is heartfelt?

And in this case, what is the equivalent of restitution? Resurrection of the president-elect whose mandate was embezzled by a few gangsters? Saying sorry to the Abiola family and the relatives of Gen. Yar’Adua, Chief Alfred Rewane, Alhaja Suliat Adedeji, Bagauda Kaltho and thousands of others sent to their untimely graves between 1993 and 1998? Repairing, through some social alchemy, the bridges of ethnic amity destroyed by the whole saga? Recall of military officers who lost their commission because they chose to stand by the truth?

I confess that I do not have the answers. Perhaps, this poet does:

Grab a plate and throw it on the floor.

Okay, done!!

Did it break?

Yes it did.

Now say sorry to it.

Sorry!

Did it go back to how it was before?

Sometimes, sorry can’t fix everything.

Some broken lives cannot be the same again.

Broken Lives

And, thanks to the unnamed compatriot who Nigerianised the verse after Babangida launched his much-awaited book, “A Journey In Service” (thanks for sharing, Prof. Akin Onigbinde).

The lives you tore with your blatant lies, wrong accusations, negative criticisms and Gossips of hatred for no just reason might not be the same again.

Mind how you treat people.

The Life you didn’t Create.

Don’t be the one to destroy it.

…Apologies alone, and then a haulage of over N30 billion to Minna?

For a Library of Infamy?

How fair? How just?

Indeed, all animals are not equal. In normal life, a capo doesn’t return to the crime scene to hug the klieg lights and rake in billions of naira. If you’re not in their exclusive club, don’t delude yourself. Lesson: Some men are above the law. Sad. But true. Onlookers can only throw bricks or flowers.

Human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi, in a lamentation titled, “MKO on my mind” published on his X handle reacted thus:

“To die for a people devoid of memory, is to be killed over and over, again and again. In a place inhabited by the conscious, IBB would not dare to show his face in public. But in the crime scene that doubles as our country, having been succeeded by even more villainous ruiners, Badamasi is installed in the seat of the statesman.”

Peaceful repose to Abiola, his wife Kudirat and all those who were cut down during the June 12 struggle. It is because of their collective sacrifices that the rest of us are still able to face the challenges of nation building together today. But let no one urinate on their graves.

Pa Edwin Clark Exits

It was as if the two most vocal grand old men of Nigerian politics conspired to take their departure flights to eternity within the same week. The death of Pa Edwin Clark shortly after that of his bosom friend and fellow political gladiator, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, sent shock waves round the country. If the Lord had tarried awhile, Clark would have clocked 100 years on May 25, 2027.

Clark devoted his life to the struggle of the people of the Niger Delta and the cause of his Ijaw ethnic nationality. Although he fiercely manned his corner and disparaged all those milking his native land at the expense of the environment, he was at heart a pan-Nigerian nationalist. His political consciousness had been sharpened in the 50s when he joined the Zikist movement and built a persona etched in solid courage.

If Chief Clark had not existed, the dehumanising situation in the Niger Delta would have invented him because his people were in a dire need of his kind of leadership when he showed up combining his skill as a lawyer with his experiences as a civil servant and local activist.

He always believed that he was a child of destiny: “I remember that after primary education, I wanted to go to Government College Ughelli as far back as 1945. When I went for the interview, I was told that I was too old and was advised to go to the Government Teachers Training College, Abraka. When I got there, they said I was too young!”

But the three Clark brothers made a success of their different callings — one as a civil servant, later permanent secretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Another became a world famous professor of English while he, a lawyer, went on to serve as a state commissioner and later as a federal minister.

With the demise of Chief Clark, the challenge ahead of the people of the Niger Delta region is how to replace the trusted warhorse with another accomplished activist who would take the struggle of his people as his life’s work. The fact that Clark’s life will always be used as the benchmark of leadership will not make finding his replacement any easier.

Even after three decades of his untidy retreat to his Minna hometown, Babangida never forget the ‘public’ debts he owed to Nigerians. He owed Nigerian history an expose on his turbulent leadership . He owed the Nigerian populace an insight into his personal enigma and enduring charisma. He also owed us a personal perspective on the worrisome things that happened under his watch. Above all things, Babangida owed a personal recompense and reconciliation with Nigeria on the political headache of the June 12 1983 elections.

Through the public outing of his long awaited memoir-A Journey in Service-Babangida has settled nearly all his outstanding liabilities to his fellow citizens. In addition to previously unknown details of ‘what happened’ , he has finally come to a personal resolution of and reconciliation with the outcome of the contentious June 12 election. Abiola won. His election was annulled by Abacha’s hidden hands of limitless power ambition.  Nigeria survived. Above all, he (IBB) has survived into ripening old age to look back and tell the story himself. Professional trouble makers and history manglers have been deprived of an opportunity to end the Babangida story in malignant tales.

Three decades is long enough time for a man to exhale after leading a sweltering marathon in Nigeria’s turbulent power waters. It is time enough for actors and spectators to have calmed down and taken a respite . Anger would have turned into resignation. Vengeful partisans would have handed the entire matter over to God in a nation where the divine has the final say in all matters political . 

The man of power himself should have reflected on the roads he couldn’t travel and the paths that he and even the angels dreaded to try.

Babangida led us through troubling times and a treacherous landscape of existential problems. The times were hard and the options daunting in every direction. Our treasury was nearly empty as almost all leaders had turned dealers and fled with our common treasure. Our economic dance had no name. Nor could we look money lenders in the face and say: ‘please help a prodigal nation.’ 

We resolved by public acclaim after nationwide debates to retreat inwards in search of homegrown solutions. Harrowing reform was the name of the only option left. IBB showed us a new path, a hard road never before traveled. A free market economy of  citizens chained under martial rule! Capitalism without capital and without freedom , rebuilding an economy under a retreating state and a frightened citizenry, 

Babangida has spent three decades and more as one of us. He has watched history roll along. He may have lived through his errors and watched others ride the waves of his triumphs. His ultimate nemesis, Buhari , has come and gone, renaming his major pitfall- June 12- into a historical milestone of political advantage. The nation has learnt new names, new dance steps under new leaders. Wobbly as it is, Nigeria has survived as a democracy.

Despite the passage of time, however, something about Babangida has remained constant. His personal allure, the instant electricity of his name, the countless myths about the kind, gentle and smiling general at once capable of incredible compassion and unequaled humanity but readily credited with unthinkable atrocities. The Machiavellian Prince that left the throne but still elicits love but also compels chilling fear. 

Above all, Babangida’s personal attraction and a certain public acknowledgment of his political genius has remained in tact. Politicians seeking national acknowledgment seek him. Those wanting to command access to power levers look for him. Those seeking recognition as political notables pay him homage. Those in want of the magic of political wisdom have made pilgrimage to his Minna home.

His Minna retirement home has remained something of a favourite destination  for political pilgrims. Younger political gladiators in search of relevance, older political animals seeking to test their own relevance, regional leaders seeking a national acclaim and audience have gone to seek his blessing. He has remained something of a political oracle and universal counselor.

IBB’S tenure and time with us have remained alive for these years. People did not give up hoping  for the story of those days from the man himself. The reasons behind the persistence of demands for a Babangida memoir are many. 

The questions that have lingered are mostly about matters unusual that happened in the Babangida days : abnormal ways of dying; difficult ways of surviving and living; coups and runouts of coups and counter coups; impossible rules of governance. And yet, the man at the center of it all was constant, smiling, infinitely humane but stern as the professional warrior he was trained to be. 

Rulership under him etched new rules and explored unfamiliar paths. It became a dance, a drama of hard choices: a man in full military gear that insisted strangely on being called ‘president’ without resigning his military commission; the msn who in the storm of the Cold War insisted that Nigeria should go:  ‘a little to the right and a little to the left’, a man who enabled elected governors to rule under a martial president; a military ruler who allowed an elected legislature to thrive under ultimate garrison decrees. A master of multiple speak and the wisdom of Delphic ancestry: ‘ we do not know those who will succeed us but we know those who will NOT succeed us’!

The public outing of Babangida’s memoirs – A Journey in Service- is deserving of the national splash we have seen. Everything about IBB is news, sensation and headline. This is for good reason. In the growing pantheon of our former leaders, Babangida elicits the greatest anxiety and much deserved excitement . No memoir of a former leader has been and is likely to be so long awaited. 

Why the anxious wait? The man’s actions in power deserve no less. He was an original author of the impossible. An army general who seized power, suspended the constitution but insists on being called President and genuinely in love with presidential democracy. A practicing Moslem who insisted that the ideal Nigerian family size should be a couple with four children. A dictator who ruled by decrees but committed himself to a rigorous democratic reform process. To rule by decree and allow elected local governments, state governors and an elected National Assembly. 

The Babangida memoir is therefore a comprehensive answer to many lingering national questions but rendered as a  string of varied personal stories of an individual life turned into national history

There are multiple stories in this master tale. The primary personal narrative is about his early life. It is story of a young lad who was orphaned at 14 and for whom school was a surrogate home. It is the story of proceeding to high school in Bida where he became classmates with people with whom his later life and career became intertwined. Gado Nasko, Sani Bello, Sani Sami, Mamman Vatsa, Mohammed Magoro , Garba Duba and others. It is the story of a boy who was good in sports and also had obvious natural leadership qualities. He was greeted by the envy of some peers and the obedience of many mates. These lives became more intertwined as most of these young boys later opted for careers in the military. They were inspired by among others young Capt Yakubu Gowon. They went ahead to head different areas of Nigeria’s military establishment.

The other story is that of his career path in the military, his involvement in the series of military coups that altered the history and course of the nation. His instinct for coups was so ingrained that many observers have said that his ultimate exit from power in 1983 was perhaps a self-inflicted coup .

The major tragic chapter of the IBB story is his combat experience in the civil war. His battlefield injury in

Uzuakoli and subsequent recovery ended in A decision to get married. Easily the most touching aspect of his war story is the breach with colleagues who fought on the Biafran side.

There are sub stories in this narrative that raise the temperature of the story to near tragic catastrophic dimensions. His bare handed encounter to disarm Col. Dimka after the assassination of Murtala Muhammed. There was also his narrow escape and survival following the Orkar coup. These aspects of the IBB story come close to fictional suspense crime stories. 

The major story of public interest is Babangida and the drama of power incumbency. In this crucial part, the many unanswered questions come into view. he touching accounts of the death of Dele Giwa, the trial and execution of Mamman Vatsa, the dreadful night of the  Orkar coup and the unfortunate crash of the military C-130 aircraft all come together as instances of the bad things that could happen in a season of power.

Babangida renders his account with the consummate ease of a master story teller. The difficult accounts of state action and the unattractive business of policy are made  to be readable. He animates the landscape of the story with anecdotes and recollections of the human angle of  difficult national decisions. In this memoir, there is hardly any name calling, hardly any contentious arguments. The audience is drawn into serious national issues by the allure of a very human story.

In the end, A Journey in Service becomes a shared experience between a national audience and the author as a heroic figure in a national experience of epic proportions.

It’s the week of Feb. 17, Bitcoin plunged and we might be experiencing another crypto contagion.

The biggest news of the week is that the crypto market is reeling after Bybit suffered the largest hack in industry history, with over $1.4 billion in Ethereum (ETH) and staked Ethereum (stETH) drained from the exchange.

The attack has triggered a wave of liquidations, particularly in Ethereum futures markets, as panic sets in.

On Feb. 14, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, promoted the launch of a new Solana memecoin called LIBRA, which pumped and dumped. The story is still developing, but so far there have been multiple allegations of market manipulation and insider trading.

I'll be posting updates to The Street and Roundtable next week, so make sure you follow me there to get the latest.

Now for some good news! President Donald Trump shared an XRP-related article from Coindesk on his social media platform, Truth Social, which is spurring bullish sentiment. The article discussed the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, and his optimism about U.S. deals and hiring after Trump's election win.

Also, Brazil’s securities regulator approved the world’s first spot XRP ETF, which is managed by Hashdex, a global crypto asset management firm with over $1 billion in assets under management.

Brazil may have beaten the U.S. with a spot XRP ETF launch, but the U.S. SEC has acknowledged filings from multiple asset managers, including Bitwise, for their spot XRP ETF applications. The acknowledgements have initiated a 21-day public comment period before final decisions are made. According to Bloomberg analysts, there is a 65% chance of approval in the U.S.

For Bitcoin, Asset management firm Bitwise has pledged to donate $150,000 from its Bitcoin ETF (BITB) profits to support Bitcoin open-source developers. This initiative is part of an ongoing commitment, with 10% of BITB’s gross profits allocated annually to Bitcoin development.

Meanwhile, Strategy also known as MicroStrategy announced a plan to raise $2 billion through 0% convertible senior notes to purchase more Bitcoin.

This move is part of their "21/21 Plan", aiming to raise $42 billion over three years for Bitcoin acquisitions. The company now holds 478,740 BTC, and despite reporting a $670.8 million net loss in Q4 2024, its stock has surged 372% over the past year.

As of Feb. 18, the Bitcoin memecoin DOG, is now tradable on Solana, thanks to a two-way bridge launched by MineLabs. This bridge allows seamless movement of the token between Bitcoin and Solana, enabling fast trades with fees under a penny inside a Meteora liquidity pool.