As a Nigerian and a writer, with interest in some of the political intrigues going on in the country since the return of democracy more than ten years ago. I must confessed that I am grateful to God and thank my stars to be alive today to hear, see and witnessed some of the bombardment of words against one of Nigerian popular power broker General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida since the old Nigerian military fox announced his interest to contest for the juiciest political office in the country as president elect come 2011, and true to his standing as one of the most controversial Nigerian ex military Head of State still alive after long years of khaki rule in Africa most populous rich nation, I am so thrilled to read and see some of the reactions from almost all the sentimental demarcated walls of this great enduring nation call Nigeria, a demarcation the charismatic general has promised to break down through the abolition of the retrogressive Federal Character System if elected President in 2011. Much as some of the attacks could be view as right expressions and opinions from concerned Nigerians, others to me are mere loud noises with no clear cut direction or understanding, which has turned into a circle of personal aggravations laced with sentimental and sectionalized colorization, which in actual sense would not lead us anywhere, because the fact remains: Babangida take it or leave it is still a relevant power broker in Nigeria political arena, whose input on who becomes the next President of this country can never be over look, no matter which side of the coin is tossed. A good political analyst will quickly deduced that the hilltop general no matter his crux still has a high stake in the Nigeria project, especially in the current political dispensation. And only a naive political analyst or player would think the retired, but not tired general could be kick to the sideline asa mere spectator in the controversial and uncertain mucky water of Nigeriapolitics and allowed himself to be swallowed by strong tides he could controland swim over, after all the years and experience in the corridors of power.Come to think of it are we all not daily swimming against various forces of life in our existence as human beings in this transitional life we all came to found ourselves without our request. So as expected we must expect different reactions from different sources around us, especially among those who sometimes see us as super human beings who are not bound or born to make mistake or commit sin. The Babangida's counter reactions so far to me have come to proved that Nigerians are now more enlightened and political conscious on what goes on around them. The sudden announcement of General Babangida to take another shot as the popular elected tenant of Aso Rock come 2011, has not only heated the Nigerian political terrain , it has also brought out the long accumulated frustrations and opinions of various Nigerians across the globe, on the right of this fellow Nigerian to contest as President in the forth coming general election without doubt as a distinguished Nigerian citizen that providence has made him to be, something we must have to accept either as critic or supporter alike, which in actual sense is the pivotal reason to this write up. So many critics have come out openly with strong patriotic and nationalist views on why the gap tooted general should and must not be allowed to contest for this revered position as the powerful tenant of Aso Rock, which in my view has demonstrated the civility and democratic freedom we now enjoyed as a people, but we should also not forget and hold on to the fact that power relatively in whatever circumstances really comes from NOBODY but GOD , the creator and owner of everything. While I don't want to proclaim Babangida as a saint which he is not, it is also important to remind us that we are all sinners with individual mistakes and failure as mortals who must all leave all the glitters, power and fame behind in this vanity world and return naked the way we came. I think the daily criticisms of Babangida ambition no doubt has revealed to him that 'Nigeria indeed has come of age' and as a human being with conscious and a free flow of blood in his vain he must have learnt or beginning to learn from his past mistakes and ready to amend his short comings, which he either do if providence would be kind to push this elusive power into his hands again, a transition that could happen, if what would be will be. But as expected due to some of the facts and fictions attributed to his regime his interest to correct his mistakes and probably contribute more effectively to the economic, social and political development of his country is being challenged, a challenged the general must learn to face and ready to accept as penalty for some time playing over the collective intelligence of group of people, who you can always fool sometime, but can never really fool all the time. I think It should then be our responsibility as an enlightened people to educate and correct the mistakes of this mortal as teachers and observant who mostly were on the sideline when God trusted him with the power to lead us to economy and political freedom which he failed to achieve in his eight years in office due to reasons that without doubt are best known to him and his creator, bloopers I believe he now want to rectify if Nigerians would be humanly enough to forgive and forget his short coming as a human being who truly is never above mistake and should never be expected to be perfect in his policies and political ideas.
Though the fact is no amount of propaganda or sycophancies can actually changed the truth that Babangida had his shortcoming as the former number citizen of the country, a position I believed he found himself by the providence of God who made his coup successfully. So what happens if the owner of all decides in His lone wisdom to return the Minna General as the occupant of Aso Rock come 2011,the way it happened mysteriously in 1999, when He dusted out Chief Aremu Obasanjo from the gallows and matched him triumphantly into Aso Villa , where he remained as tenant for eight years, a feat so many political analysts have attributed to Babangida and some other human mortals among us, deluding from the natural laws of nature and the equivocal fact that power in actual sense is in the hands of God the almighty and the giver. So I believe the notion that a Babangida brought in Obasanjo to power or an Obasanjo gave power to Yar'adua is pure fallacy and away from the common sense of power and position. So part of the salient questions we should put to ourselves are: what if it's Babangida again come 2011? Who among us can actually stop the mystical metrics of power from taking place? Should we shelve aside the negative mistakes of this fellow citizen and see what we can gain from his positive side? Are we really looking inward with a wise comprehension that as the silent sound of2011 ticks by none among us really know what would befalls anyone of us before then, if only our panic and confused politicians, including the exited propelled electorates would learn from the current Yar'dua's debacle , a sign that has again proved to us that no mortal really has a say over what befalls him or her at any given time and in actual sense what can anyone of us really do if it is Babangida once again that is chosen as temporary occupant of Aso Villa come May 2011?, unless of course there is anyone out there who feels he or she can stop the metrics of power in its mystical strides, which I doubt and like many other prudent thinkers out there, still subscribed to the fact that power comes from nobody among us ,but from God the creator and owner of everything under the sun.
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Excellent
