• Says, corruption worse under civilian rule

Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), says a competent leader in the sixties should emerge as Nigeria’s president in 2023.

IBB, who served as head of state between 1985 and 1993, also said corruption was more endemic in the country under civilian regimes than the military rule.

His suggestion has thus technically ruled out a former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, from the 2023 presidential race since they would be in their 70s by the next election.

Although IBB as Babangida is fondly called did not in any way mention their names as not eligible for the nation’s number one seat, he suggested that individuals in their 60s should be the focus of Nigerians as presidential candidates in 2023.

By the next general election in 2023, Atiku, who is 75 this year, would be 77; while Tinubu, who marked 68th birthday in March, would have turned 70 years.

IBB, who will be 80 on August 17 this year, expressed confidence that the nation had been endowed with both human and natural resources. He said there were a few individuals in their 60s that had the capacity to effectively run the country.

He spoke in an exclusive interview aired on the Arise News Friday morning, saying, “I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person who travels across the country and has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to, and he knows at least one person that he can communicate with. That is a person, who is very versed in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already their sixties.”

Focusing on the state of the nation, IBB said one of the reasons Nigeria had refused to progress and achieve the dreams of the founding fathers was because Nigerians no longer believed in the future of their own country.

The former leader accused the Nigerian people of creating and at the same time, destroying their own country.

He identified bad leadership as a major reason for the nation’s socio-economic challenges.

Specifically on the importance of leadership in nation-building and where he thought the likes of Atiku and Tinubu no longer fit the bill, IBB said, “If you get a good leadership that links with the people and tries to talk with the people; not talking on top of the people, then we would be okay.

He urged government officials and all politicians to always obey court orders, stressing that flouting court decisions should not be tolerated if democracy must be allowed to thrive.

Speaking on corruption in the country, IBB said it was obvious that that the social vice was worse under the civilian regime than the military rule.

The former military head of state said people who stole public funds under civilian administrations were on the streets walking free.

He said during his time as military head of state, he sacked a governor for misappropriating less than N313,000.

He said, “From what I read; from analyses, I think we are saints when compared to what is happening under a democratic dispensation. I sacked a governor for misappropriating less than N313,000.

“Today, those who have stolen billions and are in court are now parading themselves on the streets. Who else is better in fighting corruption?”