Younger Generations Cannot Rule Nigeria - General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida

Former military president and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, said in an interview that he was planning a come-back to office because of the non-availability of capable younger people who can steer the ship of state.

Speaking to the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) monitored in Kaduna, Babangida said: “Because we have seen signs that they are not capable of leading this country and so we feel we should help them. May be they are not given the proper education that is why. I have spent 17 years since I left office.
“But a country like Nigeria cannot be ruled by people without experience. People like the (President Barack) Obama that you are speaking about have the experience. He started from the state House of Assembly to the House of Represen-tatives and to the Senate. If our youths are like this, we will say they have the requisite experience. But we have not reached that level. Honestly, it is our wish that God will bring the younger people that will take over from us if they are available.”

Babangida, who answered questions from the BBC on almost every aspect of his administration during his eight years in office, said he was seeking a return to the Presidency, if elected next year, to contribute his quota in taking the country to the next level.
The former military President in the 15 minutes interview also absolved his eight year tenure of promoting corruption. He said the level of corruption in the country today is a far cry from what was witnessed during his time.

Asked what was attracting him to run for the office of president this time around when he declined to run in 2007, Babangida said, “I gave my reasons for not contesting in 2007 and it was published in many newspapers in the country. Therefore, Nigerians know my reasons for not contesting at that time. But now, Alhamdudillahi, things have changed.

“My position as a Nigerian. Anything that God wants me to do to help this country, I will do it. If I am given the chance, I will know what to do and by the grace of God, I will do it. Nigeria is a country of 150 million people and any of this 150 million people can be president.
Babangida told the BBC that his godfather in Nigeria was the masses when he was reminded by the BBC that the June 12, 1993 election was made possible by the masses but he still went ahead to annul it.

He then said: “But what you should take into consideration is that there has never been an election like that before. That election convinced not only Nigerians, but even the international community that it is possible to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria,” he said adding that as head of the government at that time he takes responsibility for annulling the election.

The following is the full text of the interview:

You wanted to contest for the Presidency in 2007, but at the end of the day you didn’t submit your papers, how can you assure Nigerians that this time around, you will contest?

I gave my reasons for not contesting in 2007 and it was published in many newspapers in the country. Therefore, Nigerians know my reasons for not contesting at that time. But now, Alhamdudillahi, things have changed.
Don’t forget we are talking of helping the country. What we are talking about, is something that happened some 16 years ago. We should be thinking of what we can do to make progress.
Nigeria is facing a lot of problems, if by the grace of God; you become the president again, what are these new things you never did in the past that you will want to employ in tackling these problems.
God in His infinite mercy gave me the leadership of this country for 8 years…. Remember the Nigerian people have not changed, and since they have not changed, we are in a position to tell them that we can do it again.

There are speculations that the United States of America (USA) wants you to contest for the presidency. What do you have to say about this?

How can that be possible since it is not Americans that will vote? It is Nigerians that will vote.
But America is an influential country in the world and it has its interests in Nigeria.
Nigeria is an influential country too. If somebody wants something in Africa and he hears the voice of Nigeria, it is like he has heard the voice of Africa.
But they said the American Assistant Secretary of State paid you a visit.
Yes, he came to greet me. He is somebody I have known. He came to condole with me over the death of my wife. When we were in the hospital in America, he was coming to greet us…

The issue of the dwindling Nigerian economy is blamed on your administration. You invited former World Bank Economist in charge of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Prof. Joseph Tigris, who you used to ruin the nation’s economy. Why did you do that?

…Today, we are talking of exactly 24 years, but SAP has not changed, they keep on modifying it. If the economy was ruined, by now, we would have been history. The Nigerian economy was not ruined.
But they say Nigerians are going through serious hardship as a result of your economic policies.
I want you to know that if you read all the books on the economy of Nigeria, you will find out that from 1960 to 1995, Nigeria made far-reaching progress. I left office in 1993. You should be asking what have those who came after us done.

Your administration was accused of massive corruption. If you become the president again, how would you address the problem of endemic corruption in Nigeria?

If you compare what is happening now with what happened during my administration, you will commend me. I sacked a governor for embezzling N300, 000 during my regime, but now, what do you see? During our time we were not enmeshed in this kind of things we see today.
During your time, there was this $12 billion made from the sales of oil. What happened to the money?
The $12 billion was the money realised from the sale of oil for 8 years. Let me repeat, it was money made from the sales of oil in 8 years. It was money that we saved in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) within those 8 years. There was an additional $1.2 billion… So all they are saying about this money are lies. If you read the Okigbo report, you will see that the money was made in 8 years.
But the Financial Times reporter who published the story was sent out of Nigeria because of the report. If it was not true, why was he sent away? 

Frankly speaking, I can send the Okigbo report to you to read. I have been explaining this over and over. What I realised from oil in eight years is what somebody makes in one year.
You have been a major player in the leadership of this country for a longtime.

Don’t you think it is time to allow the younger generations take over from you the older ones as it happened in America and other parts of the world?
Honestly, it is our wish that God will bring the younger people that will take over from us if they are available. I was the one who introduced the politics of new breed in this country.

Why didn’t you step aside and give the younger generation a chance to lead since they are fresh and strong.
Because we have seen signs that they are not capable of leading this country and so we feel we should help them. May be they are not given the proper education that is why. I have spent 17 years since I left office.
Haba! The younger generation is supposed to be in charge by now.
But a country like Nigeria cannot be ruled by people without experience. People like the Obama that you are speaking about have the experience. He started from the state House of Assembly to the House of Representatives and to the Senate. If our youths are like this, we will say they have the requisite experience. But we have not reached that level.

If by the grace of God, you become the president what new thing will you do which you did not do during your eight years in power.Which are the mistakes you would want to correct?
 
The politicians are asking me what I forgot in the Presidential Villa that I want to go and pick. When I left power, the naira was N22 to the dollar. Petrol was selling at 70 kobo per litre. So there are things that I did that will make me come back.
These things were not like that when you came to power. You were the one that devalued the naira.
How? During my time, the naira did not exceed N22 to the dollar. Now it is N150 per dollar.
But how much was it before you came to power?
It was N4.5 to the dollar.
So you devalued the naira.
Some people destroyed the value of the naira…

Nigerian Hip Pop Awards Nominees 2010

The highly anticipated nominees list of Hip Hop World Awards 2010 was unveiled on Tuesday, April 6,at a brief breakfast event held at the awards secretariat in Lagos. But why were some of the biggest songs of 2009 were missing from the list?

Songs like “Kondo” by Dagrin, “Free Madness part 1” by Terry G, “Choko the Choko” by Sean Tero, Ekaette by Maye Hunta, amongst others were nowhere on the list; and fans and pundits are already wondering and asking “why”?

In a chat with the Secretary of the awards committee, James Silas, he explained that one of the criteria for nomination is that no music materials that encourage fraud, alcohol abuse, narcotics and wanton sex are eligible for nomination, except if said songs have radio-edited versions. You may recall that “Shayo” by Bigiano was also missing from the nominees list in the 2009 edition of the awards for the same reason. “This screening process is our social responsibility and contribution to the sanitization of music in our entertainment industry,” he added.

‘‘Terry G is undoubtedly one of the most controversial artists in Nigeria today, but he was smart enough to make a radio-edited version of “Free Madness Part 1” which made “Free Madness Part 2” eligible for nomination in the song of the year category’’ Silas adds.

In recent times, music of Nigerian origin has been replete with reckless content, glorifying fraud, alcoholism, drug and other substance abuse, sex and get-rich-quick-mania. The NBC-although belatedly- have banned many of these materials, while responsible media organizations are stiffening their NTBB regulations. It is our desire at HHWA, to help encourage artistes to be responsible with the music they churn out; and in cases where they choose to cross the line; to at least provide broadcast edit; and also label albums properly.

The 2010 edition of Hip Hop World Awards will hold on Saturday, May 29 at Eko hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos and the theme is “Power. Prestige. Pride

Beyonce gets 2 million Dollars to sing at Bella Adenuga's Wedding

It was heared that Beyonce Knowles was paid $2M . . . to sing at the wedding of Nigeria's richest man's daughter.

According to the source, Nigerian billionaire entrepreneur Chief Mike Adenuga Jr hired Beyonce to sing at his daughter's wedding. His daughter, Bella Adenuga and her fiance Jameel Disu are scheduled to be married next week.

Linda Ikeji's "It Takes You" is Officially Out

Blogger, Ex-Model and Entertainer "Linda Ikeji" now adds to her list of title as she officially rolled out her first book "It Takes You" 

Linda: "My book came out two days ago and it's been really exciting for me. Totally proud of myself. I decided to do this book in January...and by April, I actualised that dream. That's why I titled the book - It Takes You. Everything in our lives is really up to us.

From now on when you want to address me, you must include Author. For example, ex-model, blogger and author, Linda Ikeji...oh yeah...loves it! lol"
 
Basic info you all need to know.

The book - It Takes You, (A Book of Inspiration) is a 130-page book of 30 inspirational, motivating and life changing articles written by ex-model, entrepreneur and blogger, Linda Ikeji. (Make sure you write my title like that :-))

It will sell for N800 naira at the bookstores (You can start buying at the stores after the launch). But if you buy directly from me, it's just N600, but totally free to students. I don't have that many copies to give out for free, that's why I'm hoping to find a generous individual or a corporate organisation to pay for the cost of printing more copies. I'm talking to one already. Hope it turns out well.


Book Launch/Signing
The official launch date is May 5th, @Theatre 5, Genesis Deluxe Cinema, The Palms, Lekki.
Time: 5pm prompt.
Book signing is 8th May at the Hub Media Store, The Palms, Lekki.
Time is 2pm.

Home/Office delivery.
The book is N600, but if you want it delivered to your home or office anywhere in Lagos, it will cost you an extra N1000. Anywhere at all in Lagos. If you want a copy, please call Uche on 08030529633. Just text her your address and how many copies you want and it will be delivered to you...then you pay when you get your delivery. 

If you live abroad and want a copy or some copies.. contact me directly. (I want the western union in my name and my name alone :-)). The book is less than $5 but to deliver it to you will cost money. So you will be looking at buying a copy between $30 to $50 or even more depending on where you reside. Contact me - lindaikeji@gmail.com or 08033595004.

Rapper Dagrin in a Minor Accident

Rising rapper Dagrin was in a minor accident Wednesday evening, NET sources have confirmed.

The hip hop act, who had been underground for years, before finding favour with fans last year, had his car – a black Nissan Maxima- damaged yesterday while driving to Surulere (in Lagos) with his friends, after a careless truck driver ran into him and tore off his car fender. They were returning from Ikeja.

There was a brief argument, multiple sources tell NET; but no one was injured – and no punches were thrown.

Here’s a picture of the car Dagrin was driving.

The rapper has been unreachable, and repeated attempts at getting him to comment proved abortive. ‘The calls were getting too much, so he had to put off his phone’, one of his close friends who was in the car with him told us.

The source says the truck driver has agreed to be responsible for the damages; but we are unable to confirm this from Dagrin or a rep.

Larry King and Wife files for Divorce in Los Angeles

Larry King joins the list of celebrity divorce 2010 as he ends his 13-year-old marriage on the ground of "Irreconcilable Differences"

The 76-year-old host of CNN's "Larry King Live" filed hours before Shawn King filed her own petition. Both cited "irreconcilable differences."

The couple were married in a hospital room in 1997 three days before Larry King underwent surgery to clear a clogged blood vessel. They have two sons, ages 11 and 9. The petitions differ in that Larry King is seeking joint custody, while his 50-year-old wife wants physical custody.

Larry King is also asking a judge not to award his wife any spousal support and to invalidate an agreement in which he transferred property to her, court records show.

Shawn King's petition seeks spousal support from her husband, along with ownership of the couple's home in Beverly Hills, Calif., and two properties in Utah.

"His major concern is the welfare of his children," said Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Larry King, adding that the talk-show host would not comment further on the divorce.

King's nightly news and interview show has been a CNN mainstay for nearly 25 years. He has three children from previous relationships.

The couple started house-hunting in California shortly after their marriage and lived in Beverly Hills. He is a Los Angeles Dodgers season ticket-holder and announced the start of the team's home opener to fans Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo News