From former military President, Ibrahim Babangida came
a shocker yesterday when he revealed that Lord Lugard created Nigeria to last
for only 100 years.
The self-acclaimed evil genius said this in Lagos
yesterday at the presentation of 2 books in honor of his foreign affairs
minister, Bolaji Akinyemi.
Speaking yesterday Babangida had said “As Nigerians,
we are aware of the great doubts that have been cast about what 2014 portends
for the continuing existence of our nation. I am aware that Nigerians have
taken great umbrage at these predictions. Even Lord Lugard who founded what has
been called Nigeria gave it a life-span of 100 years. I regard it as a
challenge to our intelligence to ensure that this portends and prophesies does
not become self-fulfilling. Continue after the cut...
“We should engage these predictions on an intellectual
level, testing whether the facts justify the conclusions.
“But on a practical and public policy level, we must
import honesty into our public policy assessment. First, we must identify the
problems that need to be addressed. Secondly, we must address these problems
honestly. Thirdly, we must identify the most current and the most appropriate
mechanism for addressing these issues.
“Let me make this clear. My position is not dictated
by the fact that foreigners are making these predictions. We don’t even need
foreigner sources as a reference point. The Nigerian media is awash with
alarming news about our problems.
“My position is dictated by my conviction that
Nigeria is precious enough to be saved. It deserves an investment of our time
and resources to make Project Nigeria a success. But the starting point has to
be an admission that we need to fix things.”
Babangida also stated that mistakes of past
administrations are putting pressure on the country today though he refused to
identify the mistakes or the past administrations that made them.
He said: “Some of the mistakes of the past have now
come to haunt us. But let me make one thing clear. Not all these mistakes were
made out of callousness or bad faith or malice.
“Most people in office do their best. They act to
the best of their ability. Unless we think that our leaders have divine
ability, we have to admit that even with all the best of their abilities and
even with the best faith and with the best of all intentions, human beings will
still make mistakes,”
In his own comments, Professor Akinyemi called for a
national dialogue saying “Zoning, federal character, rotation, marginalisation
of the brightest and the best will only make the much prophesied collapse of
Nigeria in 2014 a self- fulfilling prophecy. We cannot build a nation on a
system that takes care of the few while condemning the many to penury. A system
that cannot take care of the many that are poor cannot save the few who are
rich."
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