Former Nigerian military dictator, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida
A leader of one of the contending groups, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, took to the airwaves this morning to blast such former leaders as General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, characterizing them as “failures and shameless elders” who have brought disaster to the people of the north, and the country.
Junaid spoke on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America, and the programme was translated exclusively for us by a foreign university which offers Hausa as an academic course here in the United States.
The angry younger politician warned the older war-horses that their era was over and that God will hold them responsible for the atrocities and disunity they brought to the people of the region.
Below is the full transcript of the interview:
“This emerging group (Ibrahim Babangida and the likes of Abdulasalami Abubakar) are peddling (themselves) as elders of the north. Don’t put us in the same category. It was the same set of failed elders that brought General Olusegun Obasanjo as a big disaster to the people of the north and Nigeria. Because they imposed disaster and devastation to us.
“They are only jittery of the wind of change that we are now championing, feeling they are super powers of the past and present, and no one in their thinking is up to the task except them. So what they want is if their interests cannot be protected, [they will poison] the water and everyone will lose.
“If you check newspapers they have also come out to be saying that they are supporting national conference. And it is the same position we took over one month ago, imagine them and [their] band of lies! What do they know about the problems of the masses of the north? We have nothing [in common] with them, and have nothing to do with them. They are shamelessly saying they are [with us], and they are elders. If you check their histories and the positions they hold, they are today in their 70s and 80s and most of them held offices in their 30s [yet] today in their 80s they are still circulating and claiming to be knowledgeable because of their selfish interests.
“With this it has shown we have nothing to do with them, if they want to lead let them go gather their children and lead them. What we are doing is because of their mess and failures, we are tired of the mess we are in today and it is people’s orientated initiative born out of the desire for change.
“Go and asked them, when youths are doing something, it is only reasonable if elders give them advice but to come out as rivals it is injustice and shamelessness. It shows they will only want people to be their slaves and cronies, and if they sensed you are not such cronies, they will oppose you and kill your initiatives. They just feel you cannot be but only them, we are not with them, we started this since January and February, and now they are meeting in Abuja and Minna that they want change, and after all we know where the money is coming from. If there is anything bad about our backgrounds and attitude, let them come out and say it. We know their secrets and we will say it. We were the ones that started in Niger Lodge and people saw the people we gathered, anybody that came was known and for them to come out and blackmail us we will not tolerate them.
“They are all liars, and have nothing to offer. For example look at ACF for over 13 years, what have they achieve? Until now when they become jittery that they are coming out smoking as if they are serious, they asked them about Boko Haram and they said they cannot do anything about it. They were afraid when it becomes tough, they confessed with their mouths. I am a leader of this struggle and no one is controlling. We are focused and cannot be distracted, our first agenda is to fight injustices against us as northerners and southerners are just taking us for granted.”
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