Aliyu Babangida and The New Nigerian Vision

One of the outstanding legacies of the eight-year rule of Olusegun Obasanjo was that it methodically brought to limelight, the terrible division, in and among Nigerian tribes. The emergence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) are all thanks to the lack-luster government of Obasanjo.
The more intense the agitation became by the day, the more the mindset of many Nigerians became beclouded and it was also, the more the Nigerian nation progressed towards the brink of collapse.

Between the years 1999 and 2007, it became very clear that the giant of Africa had only succeeded in rising above the dictatorship imposed by military rules only to crash into a more deplorable dictatorship of ethno-governance, characterized mainly by a sort of cow-boy mentality. It was quite revealing, (though that remark presented an opportune moment to do some historical stock-taking) when last month, the governor of Niger State told the South South people to go to hell with their oil money. The new argument is that the North can do well without allocation from oil money.

That kind of unreasoned statement by His Excellency, Alhaji Aliyu Babangida, the executive governor of Niger State lacked everything excellent and executive. However, it was a remark that roused a lot of critical thoughts in the minds of many. If a section of Nigerian goes to hell, they may as well decide to drag their other Nigerian brothers and sisters to that same spot of heat and restlessness. By telling a section of Nigeria that another section can do without the necessary revenue accruing from their own sector, it was an implicit statement that “we can also do without you”. And of course, everyone knows the possible implications of such a statement. Such a remark by a high ranking Nigerian could also be interpreted to mean a denial of the solid economic back-bone which the South South has offered to the Nigerian nation over the years.

Furthermore, it ultimately revealed the putrid mentality with which many leaders in Africa (especially in Nigeria) have approached the art of governance. Coming at a time when tensions have mounted both nationally and internationally as a result of the agitation coming from the Niger Delta youths, it marks a crass ignorance on how and when to calculate speeches on the overall political time-table of someone who calls himself a 'career Politician'. Such an absolutely ice-making statement coming on the eve of a search for the most appropriate way to go about the Niger-Delta summit, only plays a vital role in prolonging the day of peace and tranquility.

However, the remark of Aliyu Babangida while evaluating our history as a nation that is supposed to be one, also sets an agenda; namely: the agenda of where we are from 1960-2008. It also shows the new face of Nigeria which was heralded on May the 29th 1999. To the question of where this new face will direct us in the future, we only make good to say that the answer is blowing in the wind.