Ibrahim Babangida

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For the footballer, see Ibrahim Babangida (footballer).

General
Ibrahim Babangida
GCFR
Presidential portrait of Ibrahim Babangida
Portrait, c. 1985–1993
8th President of Nigeria
In office
27 August 1985 – 26 August 1993
Vice President
Preceded by
Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi
Succeeded bySani Abacha
Personal details
Born (1941-08-17) 17 August 1941 (age 82)
Minna, Northern Region, British Nigeria
(now in Niger State, Nigeria)
Political partyPeoples Democratic Party
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1969; died 2009)​
Children4, including Mohammed
Alma materRoyal Armoured Centre
Occupation
  • Politician
  • military officer
Military service
Allegiance Nigeria
Branch/service Nigerian Army
Years of service1962–1993
Rank General
Battles/warsNigerian Civil War

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida

GCFR (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian retired general and statesman who served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Chief of Army Staff, going on to orchestrate his seizure of power in a coup d'état against Muhammadu Buhari
.

He rose through the ranks of the Nigerian Army fighting in the Nigerian Civil War and at various times being involved in almost all the military coups in Nigeria, before advancing to the full-rank of a General and ultimately as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; and as an unelected President and military dictator from 1985 to 1993, ruling for an uninterrupted period of eight years. His years in power, colloquially known as the Babangida Era,[1] are considered one of the most controversial in Nigerian political and military history, being characterized by a burgeoning political culture of corruption in Nigeria,[2] with Babangida and his regime estimated at least 12 billion dollars (23.9 billion today).[3]

The Babangida regime oversaw the establishment of a state security apparatus; survived two coup d'ètat attempts and the subsequent execution of

Abuja Treaty and the military engagement of Nigerian troops in Liberia and Sierra Leone
.

Abroad, Babangida's military regime cemented traditional relations with the English-speaking world of the United States and the United Kingdom; and implemented economic liberalization and the privatization of state-owned enterprises alongside a national mass mobilization. The fall of Babangida and his regime was precipitated by the transition toward the Third Nigerian Republic and the subsequent militarization of politics in the 1993 presidential election which Babangida annulled.

Early life

Ibrahim Babangida was born on 17 August 1941 in

Mamman Vatsa, Mohammed Magoro, Sani Bello, Garba Duba, Gado Nasko and Mohammed Sani Sami.[7]
Babangida joined the Nigerian Army on 10 December 1962, where he attended the
second lieutenant as a regular combatant officer in the Royal Nigerian Army (a month before it became the Nigerian Army) with the personal army number N/438 from the Indian Military Academy on 26 September 1963.[9]
Babangida attended the Indian Military Academy from April to September 1963.

He was Commanding Officer of 1 Reconnaissance Squadron from 1964 to 1966. From January 1966 to April 1966, Babangida attended the Younger Officers Course at the

Aguiyi Ironsi replacing him with General Yakubu Gowon.[11]

Military career

Civil war

Further information: Nigerian Civil War

Following the outbreak of the civil war, Babangida was recalled and posted to the 1st Division under the command of General Mohammed Shuwa.[12] In 1968, he became commander of the 44 Infantry Battalion which was involved in heavy fighting within Biafran territory. In 1969, during a reconnaissance operation from Enugu to Umuahia, the battalion came under heavy enemy fire and Babangida was shot on the right side of his chest.[13] He was then hospitalized in Lagos, and was given the option of removing the bullet shrapnel, which he refused and still carries with him.[14] Away and recovering from his wounds, Babangida married Maryam King on 6 September 1969. He returned to the war front in December 1969, commanding a battalion.[15] In January 1970, Babangida was informed by his sectional commander General Theophilus Danjuma of the capitulation of the Biafran Army to the federal military government in Lagos, signaling the end of the war.[16]

After the war

In 1970, following the war Babangida was promoted twice and posted to the Nigerian Defence Academy as an instructor. From August 1972 to June 1973, he attended the Advanced Armoured Officers Course at the United States Army Armor School. In 1973, he was made commander of the 4 Reconnaissance Regiment. In 1975, he became the commander of the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps. Babangida attended several defence and strategy courses. Colonel Babangida as Commander of the Armoured Corps was a key participant in the coup d'état of 1975.[17]

He was later appointed as one of the youngest members of the

National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.[17]

Army Staff Headquarters

Babangida was the Director of Army Staff Duties and Plans from 1981 to 1983.[18] He orchestrated the coup d'ètat of 1983 which led to the overthrow of the Second Republic, with financial backing from his close associate and businessman Moshood Abiola. Babangida alongside his other co-conspirators later appointed the most senior serving officer at the time General Muhammadu Buhari as military head of state from 1983 to 1985; and Babangida was promoted and appointed as Chief of Army Staff and member of the Supreme Military Council.[19]

Coup d'état of 1985

Further information: 1985 Nigerian coup d'état

Planning

Following the coup d'état of 1983, General Babangida (then Chief of Army Staff) started scheming to overthrow military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari. The

Mamman Vatsa, Gado Nasko, and younger officers from his days as an instructor in the military academy (graduates of the NDA's Regular Course 3), and gradually positioned his allies within the echelons of military hierarchy.[20]

Execution

The execution of the palace coup was initially delayed due to General Tunde Idiagbon the 6th Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, and ruthless second-in-command to General Muhammadu Buhari. At midnight on 27 August 1985, the plot metamorphosed with four Majors: Sambo Dasuki, Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, Lawan Gwadabe, and Abdulmumini Aminu detailed to arrest the head of state.[21] By daybreak, the conspirators had taken over the government and Babangida flew into Lagos from Minna where he was announced as the new commander-in-chief in a radio broadcast by General Sani Abacha. Babangida justified the coup in a speech describing General Muhammadu Buhari's military regime as "too rigid".[22]

Promulgation

Babangida ruling by decree promulgated his official title as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and placed Muhammadu Buhari under house arrest in Benin until 1988. He established the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) as the highest law-making council serving as Chairman; he also restructured the national security apparatus, tasking General Aliyu Gusau as Co-ordinator of National Security directly reporting to him in the president's office he created the: State Security Service (SSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).[23]

Presidency

Shortly after coming to power General Babangida established the Nigerian Political Bureau of 1986. The bureau was inaugurated to conduct a national debate on the political future of Nigeria, and was charged amongst other things to:

Review Nigeria’s political history and identify the basic problems which have led to our failure in the past and suggest ways of resolving and coping with these problems.

The exercise was the broadest political consultation conducted in Nigerian history.

Between 1983 and 1985, the country suffered an economic crisis. In 1986, Babangida launched the

Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to restructure the Nigerian economy. In 1987, Babangida launched the Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery
(MAMSER), following a recommendation from the Political Bureau, to increase self-reliance and economic recovery. The policies involved in the SAP and MAMSER were:

  • deregulation of the agricultural sector to include the abolition of marketing boards and elimination of price controls
  • privatisation of public enterprises
  • devaluation of the Nigerian naira to improve the competitiveness of the export sector
  • relaxation of restraints on foreign investment put in place by the Gowon and Obasanjo governments during the 1970s.[24]
  • re-orient Nigerians to shun waste and vanity, promoting economic recovery
  • shed all pretences of affluence in their lifestyle, promoting self-reliance
  • propagate the need to eschew all vices in public life, including corruption, dishonesty, electoral and census malpractices, ethnic and religious bigotry, promoting social justice

Between 1986 and 1988, these policies were executed as intended by the IMF, and the Nigerian economy actually did grow as had been hoped, with the export sector performing especially well. But falling real wages in the public sector and among the urban classes, along with a drastic reduction in expenditure on public services, set off waves of rioting and other manifestations of discontent that made a sustained commitment to the SAP difficult to maintain.[24]

Babangida contributed to the development of national infrastructure. He finished the construction of the

Yobe.[25] Bringing the total number of states in Nigeria to thirty in 1991. Babangida also increased the share of oil royalties and rents to states of origin from 1.5 to 3 percent.[26] Babangida and his Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory led by Mamman Vatsa, Hamza Abdullahi and later General Gado Nasko, led the regime's relocation of the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja on 12 December 1991.[27]

Babangida strengthened the

Northern Nigeria, where there is a Muslim majority population. However, non-Muslims criticised the move likening it to an Islamisation agenda of Nigeria, a secular country. Babangida's then second-in-command Commodore Ebitu Okoh Ukiwe, opposed the decision to join the Islamic organization and was removed as Chief of General Staff.[28]
Close to the end of his tenure, he paid a state visit to the queen of the United Kingdom making him the second Nigerian leader after Yakubu Gowon to do so.

Crisis of the Third Republic

Further information:
Option A4
. This process advocated that any candidate needed to pass through adoption for all elective positions from the local government, state government, and federal government.

The

National Assembly, but on 7 August 1992, the NEC annulled the first round of 1992 presidential primaries. Babangida annulled the 7 August presidential primaries which Shehu Yar'Adua emerged as the SDP presidential candidate and Adamu Ciroma as the NRC candidate order to get rid of the old guard in both parties. In January 1993, Babangida rejigged the ruling military junta – the AFRC – replacing it with the National Defence and Security Council, as the supreme decision-making organ of the regime. He also appointed Ernest Shonekan Head of the Transitional Council and de jure Head of Government. At the time, the transitional council was designed to be the final phase leading to a scheduled handover to an elected democratic leader in the slated 1993 presidential election
.

On 12 June 1993, the presidential election was finally held. The results though not officially declared by the

National Electoral Commission – showed the duo of Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) defeated Bashir Tofa and Slyvester Ugoh of the National Republican Convention (NRC) by over 2.3 million votes in the 1993 presidential election. The elections were later annulled by military head of state General Babangida, citing electoral irregularities. The annulment led to widespread protests and political unrest in Abiola's stronghold of the South West, as many felt Babangida had ulterior motives, and did not want to cede power to Moshood Abiola, a Yoruba businessman. Babangida later admitted that the elections were annulled due to national security considerations,[29] which he didn't specify.[30]

The lingering June 12 crisis led to the resignation of General Babangida in August 1993. Babangida signed a decree establishing the

Interim National Government led by Ernest Shonekan. As interim president, Shonekan initially appointed Abiola as his Vice President, who refused to recognize the interim government, the crisis lingered for months culminating in the seizure of power by General Sani Abacha
. Babangida at the height of the crisis stated "If I am sleeping and I hear the Yorubas beating the drums of war, I would go back to sleep."

Post presidency

Babangida (right) with Femi Fani-Kayode (left) in Lagos (2010)

From his hilltop residence in Minna, Babangida has cultivated a patronage system which cuts across the entire country. In 1998, Babangida was instrumental in the transition to democracy. Babangida is one of the founders of the Peoples Democratic Party alongside other prominent military generals such as Aliyu Mohammed Gusau. They were said to have supported General Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1999 Nigerian presidential election in order to springboard themselves back to power.

In August 2006, Babangida announced that he would run in the

Shehu Yar'Adua, as well as against General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, given IBB's close relationship with the latter two. It is widely believed that his chances of winning were slim.[34][35]

In September 2010, Babangida officially declared his intention to run for the presidency in the 2011 presidential election in Abuja, Nigeria.[36] Babangida was later urged by his military inner circle to withdraw his candidacy after the October 2010 Abuja bombing. President Goodluck Jonathan later emerged as the PDP presidential candidate and throughout his presidency sought counsel from Babangida and his military inner circle.[37]

In 2015, following the election of his long-time rival General Muhammadu Buhari as President, Babangida maintained a low profile. In 2017, Babangida had corrective surgery.[38] He is considered a foremost elder statesman, and has called for a generational shift in leadership to allow for a new crop of leaders to replace the 1966 military class.[39]

Personal life

A biopic titled Badamasi: Portrait of a General which chronicled his early life, life during the Nigerian Civil War as well as his time as the military head of state was produced by Obi Emelonye and released in cinemas on 12 June 2020.[40]

Family

Babangida was married to Maryam Babangida from 1969 until her death in 2009. They had four children together; Aisha, Muhammad, Aminu, and Halima. On 27 December 2009, Maryam Babangida died from complications of ovarian cancer.[41]

Personal wealth

Babangida is rumoured to be worth over US$5 billion.[42] He is believed to secretly possess a multi-billion dollar fortune via successive ownership of stakes in a number of Nigerian companies.[43]

Magazine Forbes assumed in 2011 that shortly before the Second Gulf War Babangida channelled US$12 billion of unplanned profits ("oil windfall") into his own pocket (the oil price jumped from 15 USD/barrel to 41.15 USD/barrel within weeks in 1990 and then crashed almost as quickly to the old value).[3] Investigations into this did not lead to any concrete results.[44] A critical remark is that the additional profit of USD 12 billion calculated by Forbes could only have been realised if Nigeria had sold the entire annual production volume of 630 million barrels exactly on 27 September 1990 at the annual peak price of 41 USD/barrel - instead of the officially stated 22 USD/barrel average during the whole year.[45] This is unlikely in view of the long-term supply contracts in the oil business and the sluggishness of the state-owned oil company NNPC. Babangida commented in 2022 on the above allegations that he and his staff had been "saints".[46] This account should be assessed with as much caution as Forbes' calculation.

Honours

Military ranks

During his military career, Babangida attained the following ranks:

Year Insignia Rank
1963
Second Lieutenant
1966 Lieutenant
1968 Captain
1970 Major
1970
Lieutenant Colonel
1973 Colonel
1979
Brigadier General
1983
Major General
1987
General

National honours

Year Country Decoration Presenter Notes
1983 Nigeria Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR); Shehu Shagari Third highest national honour in Nigeria
Nigeria Defence Service Medal (DSM); Defence Service Medal (Nigeria) Nigerian Army Military award
Nigeria Forces Services Star (FSS); Forces Service Star (Nigeria) Nigerian Army Military award
Nigeria General Service Medal (GSM); General Service Medal (Nigeria) Nigerian Army Military award
Nigeria National Service Medal (NSM); National Service Medal (Nigeria) Nigerian Army Military award
1985 Nigeria Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR); Himself Highest national honour in Nigeria

Foreign honours

Year Country Decoration Presenter Notes
1988 Yugoslavia
Order of the Yugoslav Great Star National Service Medal (Nigeria)
 Raif Dizdarević Highest decoration of Yugoslavia[47]
1989 United Kingdom Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) Military division; Order of the Bath ribbon bar Elizabeth II Fourth-most senior of the
British Orders of Chivalry
1989 Zimbabwe Freedom of the City of Harare Robert Mugabe Prestigious national honour in Zimbabwe
1990 Equatorial Guinea Grand Collar of the Order of the Independence Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Highest national honour in Equatorial Guinea

References

Notes

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 2039-2117
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  2. ISBN 978-2458-54-6
    .
  3. ^ a b Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Who Were Africa's Richest Dictators?". Forbes. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Remembering Dele Giwa, Nigeria's hero of journalism 34 years after". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Ibrahim Babangida 1941– Nigerian president and military officer". Encyclopedia.com.
  6. ISBN 9781906704964
    .
  7. ISBN 9781906704964
    .
  8. ^ Nnadozie, Chinwendu (23 December 2023). "I Pray Nigeria Never Fight Another Civil War — IBB". Independent Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024. Former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has said that his initial plan in life was to become an civil engineer, but the decision by the then government of Northern Nigeria that youths of his time should be enlisted into the Nigerian army changed the course of his destiny.
  9. ^ Agbese (2012). Ibrahim Babangida. pp. 48–49.
  10. ^ Agbese (2012). Ibrahim Babangida. p. 83.
  11. ISBN 9780875867090
    .
  12. ^ Agbese, Dan. Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. pp. 94–98.
  13. ^ Agbese, Dan. Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. p. 101.
  14. ^ Agbese, Dan. Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. p. 102.
  15. ^ Agbese, Dan. Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. p. 103.
  16. ^ Agbese, Dan. Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. pp. 103–104.
  17. ^ a b "Ibrahim Babangida". www.mynigeria.com. MyNigeria. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  18. ^ "BABANGIDA, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi (rtd.)". Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  19. ^ "1983: Power seized in armed coup". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Nigeria: Palace Coup of 1985 By Dr. Nowa Omoigui". www.waado.org. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  21. ^ "The Palace Coup of August 27, 1985 (PART 2)".
  22. ^ "Major-General Babaginda Address to the Nation - August 27, 1985". dawodu.com. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  23. ^ "The Palace Coup of August 27, 1985 (PART 3)". dawodu.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  24. ^
    S2CID 154925493
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  25. ^ "How Nigeria got to 36 States (Timeline of State creation in Nigeria)". 2 August 2018.
  26. ^ "Leadership, Policy Making, and Economic Growth in African Countries: The Case of Nigeria" (PDF).
  27. ^ "The City as Public Space: Abuja - the Capital City of Nigeria" (PDF).
  28. ^ Iloegbunam, Chuks, "Nigeria: Perspectives: Jubril Aminu And Ebitu Ukiwe: the Main Point", Vanguard, 14 December 2004.
  29. ^ "IBB at 80: A birthday tribute and his good leadership prescription". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Why we annuled [sic] June 12 Presidential election — General Ibrahim Babangida". Vanguard News. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  31. ^ Mahtani, Dino (15 August 2006). "Former military ruler of Nigeria seeks presidency". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  32. ^ "Nigeria's 'evil genius' enters election race", IOL.
  33. ^ "Babangida to contest Nigeria poll". BBC News. 15 August 2006.
  34. ^ Ologbondiyan, Kola, Sufuyan Ojeifo and Oke Epia, "IBB: I Withdraw for Gusau, Yar`Adua"], This Day, 12 December 2006, p. 1.
  35. ^ "Blow to Babangida's Nigeria bid", BBC News (11 December 2006).
  36. ^ "IBB Formally Declares to Contest for President". 15 September 2010.
  37. ^ Odunsi, Wale (27 December 2014). "Jonathan visits IBB, says "I needed to see my father to know how he is feeling"". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  38. ^ Buari, Jasmine (8 June 2016). "Death rumours: Babangida finally breaks silence on his health condition". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  39. ^ "IBB urges Buhari to step down in 2019 for digital leadership". Vanguard News. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  40. ^ "Filmmaker tells IBB's story in biopic film 'Badamasi: Portrait of a General'". Premium Times Nigeria.
  41. ^ "The life and times of Maryam Babangida". Vanguard News. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  42. ^ "Richest Politicians in Nigeria: The Top 10". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  43. ^ "On The Trail Of Babangida's Billions". Sahara Reporters. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  44. ^ punchng (22 August 2016). "IBB must face probe over $12.4bn oil windfall, says SERAP". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  45. ^ National Bureau of Statistics (2016). Petroleum Statistics: Crude Oil Production (Volume and Value) and Oil Refining. In: www.nigerianstat.gov.ng. Abuja: National Bureau of Statistics. p. 8.
  46. ^ "Gulf oil windfall not stolen - IBB". The Nation Newspaper. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  47. ^ "Svi uslovi za bolju saradnju". Borba. 67 (214): 6. 1 August 1988.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ibrahim Babangida.
Military offices
Preceded by
Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi
 Chief of the Army Staff
1984–1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Armed Forces Ruling Council of Nigeria
17 August 1985 – 26 August 1993 		Succeeded by
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