I read an interesting piece recently in an online journal. A veteran colleague of mine in x-raying the security situation in the country praised in fulsome terms the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) under whose tenure Nigeria had domineering influence in world affairs especially in the area of global peacekeeping operations.
The piece kept me thinking if it was still the same country or the same army whose legendary prowess in field operation received world wide acclaim, is the one that flinch and cringe in the presence of ragtag army of insurgents today. After a period of deep introspection, it dawned on me that the difference is in the personality of the commander-in-chief. The strength of the Army is not just in the weapon of war at its disposal but also in the morale of the men wielding the weapons. The truth is that the morale of our soldiers is at present at the nadir. The lesson to learn from IBB is that appointments to sensitive positions should not be based just on loyalty but on qualification, competence and performance. Loyalty does not get the job done; blind attention to loyalty can breed complacency and impunity. And that explains the sorry state of affairs in the country now.
It is the leaders with selfish personal agenda that use only loyalty as the main criterion for appointment. IBB made the best appointment in the history of Nigeria and even his most ardent critics can attest to that fact. Leadership is about people; about achieving shared goals not personal or sectional goals. Nigerians are crying about insecurity but the commander-in-chief remained adamant obviously for personal or hidden agenda or do we say due to incompetence? Many are inclined to accept the former but whatever the reason is, the fact is that the leadership style of the current president of the country is anachronistic.
But General Babangida was different. Those who know him from close quarters can acknowledge that his qualities, skills and style of leadership are nonparalelled when it comes to motivating his men. IBB knows that a general is nobody without his footmen. IBB is obviously the people’s manager who does not rely solely on authority but on shared values to extract loyalty and commitment from his men. He understands the principles of relationship management and situational leadership. He identifies with his people at all times. This is why despite leaving power almost 30 years ago and despite unfair smear campaigns against his person from a section of the press, he still maintains his influence in the polity.
General Ibrahim Babangida is a statesman with broad views on national issues. He sees the whole nation not his tribe as his constituency. And religiously too, he was never fanatical. He is also proactive and percipient in his policy issues. One proof of that was in the creation of two political parties (SDP and NRC), something that drew scathing criticisms in some quarters but the current dominance of two political parties PDP and APC in our nascent democratic dispensation indicates that IBB was indeed right and futuristic.
One of the main qualities of a leader is ability to identify skills and talents. IBB identified and engaged the best brains in the land and productively engaged them. He developed men and built institutions. The institutions he built bear eloquent testimonies to his vision and commitment to building a virile and egalitarian society that will uphold the ideals of our founding fathers.
He understands the concept of leadership. He understands strategic engagement. He is a leader with listening ears. He built institutions like MAMSER now (NOA) for the purpose of interfacing with people and carrying the people along by keeping them abreast of government programs and getting feedbacks from the people. No leader in the annals of our political history has paid attention to the rural areas and the poor more than IBB. He paid significant attention to the poor, the rural folks, the women and the marginalized people through his programs, appointments and stakeholder engagement. His government though military in name but was civil in practice. He is a soldier like no other with genial and amiable disposition. He was never like the stereotyped jackboot officers who believed that inflicting punishment on others is discipline. He knows the difference between the complex civil society and the regimented military community.
The establishment of agencies and institutions like DFRRI, Peoples Bank, Community Bank (now Micro-finance Bank), NDE, OMPADEC among others indicated his determination to empower the people and improve the quality of lives of the masses.
But regrettably, after a careful and dispassionate review of IBB’s achievement vis-a-vis that of the regimes before and after his, it was a wonder to me that he was still being maligned by some people. There is no doubt that he was a victim of bad press; sectional press with primordial agenda. It is very clear that he was vilified, maligned and pilloried for being a statesman who paid attention to all not to those who feel the country belong to them alone. Is it not astonishing that those who denigrated and pummeled him while he was in office are now tongue-tied in the face of the woeful performance of the current regime? What an irony! To his critics, performance means nothing; what matters are for their own selfish will to be done.
Indeed, after reading the piece, I was impressed because it also tells me that truth is truth no matter the effort by hypocrites to suppress it. Moreover, it dawned on me that there are still some objective minds around us that refused to be corrupted or distracted by lies and inane propaganda. My take home from all of these is that truth will always prevail; it is only a matter of time. IBB’s contribution to the making of modern Nigeria cannot be swept under the carpet no matter how hard his traducers try.
Hajia Mohammed, an actress, social activist, politician, writes from London, UK via [email protected]
