JUNE 12 ELECTIONS : AN OPEN LETTER TO GEN.IBB
JUNE 12 ELECTIONS : AN OPEN LETTER TO GEN.IBB
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
June 12, 2024
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Good Day Your Excellency, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, IBB, GCFR. I do hope you are in good health. May the Almighty Allah forgive your shortcomings and bless you with good health.
Permit me to re-repost my five years old "Open letter" to your Excellency the former, President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR which I was reliably told by your aid Mr Deyemi Saka that my open letter dated 12th of June, 2019 got to you on the 23rd of June, 2019. Mr Saka told me that you promised a response on same. As I await for your positive response, permit me to write a reminder.
You may recall sir, in the said letter I call on you , to please and please write a book on your own side of the story on several issues related to you. Please and please ! We need it our dear general . I hope this reminder letter will get to you through the power of both social and conventional media.
Sir you need to write your own side of the story on the following : (1)The annulment of June 12 election of 1993, (2) The Late Gen. Mammam Vatsa's coup, (3) The Late Mr Dele Giwa murder , (4) The Structural Adjustment Program, SAP, (5) The late Lt. Col. Dimka's coup, (6) The late Col.Orkar's coup and (7) The Nigerian Civil War among others. Sir, you should write it in your best "interest" and the interest of the younger generation. If you put your own side of the story on paper, history will surely be "kind" to you, but otherwise am very afraid. There are many accounts out there, but ours is highly needed.
May the Almighty God give you the "strength" and the "will power" to write it soonest. May He give you "Good health" and long life .May He forgive your shortcomings. No doubt, as an Ex- military man and a former president you have paid your dues. Permit me to congratulate you for paying your dues to your motherland.You fought the Civil War in order to keep the country one.You even got shot by "bullet" that you are still suffering from the "wound". May the Almighty God "heal" you. You kept the country "one" in your 8 years of reign.
However, I know for sure, there is "No" perfection in humanity.To "err" is human, perfection is for the Almighty. Sir arguably you are the most influential Army General alive! It is often said that you have the loyalty of the Nigerian elite. I strongly believe that you and most of your colleagues in the military truly believe in the unity of this country! Writing a book especially on Civil War will go along way in safeguarding our future.
In my understanding, even the perennial agitation for Biafra is a product of one-sided account of the Nigerian Civil War which dominated the market. We the Northern youth and the rest of Nigerian youth are leaving in danger of knowing only one-sided “story” about the Nigerian Civil War. We need a balance account of the war not the one-sided account presently in circulation. In the next fifty years when most of the people from your generation are gone we will be left with the “Books” mostly written by the Biafran side! Whatever they documented about the Civil War must be accepted rightly or wrongly.
In my observation, ninety eight percent of the Books written on Biafran War were written by Igbos or Biafan sympathizers! It is an open secret that most of the books were written in order to show how injustice was done to a particular set of people which was totally untrue. In my view , Northern soldiers did not do well to us by not writing enough books own their accounts if truth be told. Very few have written!
President Obasanjo who fought for the Nigerian side wrote a book called “My Command", Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojuku wrote “Because I am Involved”, One of the Five (5) Majors, Major Adewale Ademuyega wrote “Why we Struck” , Major General Alexander Madiebo wrote “The Nigerian Revolution and The Biafran War”, Professor Chinua Achebe wrote “There was a country”,Emefiena Ezeani wrote “In Biafra Africa Died: The Diplomatic Plot” and Major Nzeogwu Junior, Prof. Okele Peter Nzeogwu wrote” Fighting the illusive Nigerian Enemy from Childhood to Death” etc.
There were a lot of hyperboles on most of the Books written to favour one interest or the other. We need a balance record that will promote reconciliation,Integration, and Unity, but not the ones currently in circulation.
As far I know, those who fought from the Nigerian side did not write enough books about the Civil War except of Course, few ; such as: the Former Governor of North West, Usman Faruok, CON who wrote "The Victors and the Vanquished of the Nigerian Civil War: Triumph of Truth and Valour over Greed and ambition”, General Paul Tarfa Profile in courage and General Domkat Bali’s poem on Civil War.
Sir, I beg you and your contemporaries of Northern extraction to write something about the Nigerian Civil War in order to set the records straight for the future and national unity. I know you have the capacity, ability and the intellect to do that. I know too very well that you have the influence to convince all your contemporaries to write theirs too. I beg you in the name of Almighty God to write something for posterity. May the Almighty God give you good health.
May God bless Nigeria!