posted                      

quote:

---

It looks like Obj is not allowing sacred cows--Kunle

---

posted                   

quote:

---

IBB Alleges Persecution
From Jide Orintunsin in Minna, 08.18.2006

Former military President, General Ibrahim Baba-ngida, has said he was not disturbed by recent political persecutions members of his family and himself were going through in the hands of state operatives.

Speaking for the first time after the ordeal of his first son, Mohammed, in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over a 24 per cent share, which he was alleged to have in Globacom, the nations’ second telecoms national carrier, and his involvement in other business interests, the former President said he was even prepared for more of such.

Babangida, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Colonel Habibu Shuaibu, during a special prayer session organised by family members to mark his 65th birthday in his country home in Minna, Niger State, told the mammoth crowd of supporters who came to celebrate with him, that he would not be deterred by the recent developments.

According to Shuaibu, “we are all aware of the tribulations the family had recently passed through, we are not deterred because we know that, Insha Allah, they (the persecutors) will not succeed,”

The chief of staff, who was the immediate past military administrator of Niger state further told the crowd that family members and Babangida himself were prepared for the battle ahead of the journey to Aso Rock next year.

According to him, Baban-gida was conscious that the end to such tribulations have not yet come.
He then expressed appreciation to those present, noting that the family had prepared for a very low keyed celebration, but wondered how the crowd of uninvited guests turned the celebration to a carnival.

“Your large turn out, even when we did not send out invitations, was an indication of your conviction of the caliber of the man (IBB) we all are looking forward to for the leadership of this country come 2007,” Shuaibu stated.
Shortly after the welcome address by Shuaibu, a set of Muslim Clerics took turn to pray for the good health of the celebrant, his family and his presidential ambition come next year. Prayers were also said for the peace, unity and progress of the country.

No sooner the prayer session was over, various groups and associations clamoring for Babangida’s presidency in 2007 took their turn to greet the celebrant, who had earlier cut his birthday cake with his wife and children.
Chatting later with newsmen briefly, Babangida said that his decision not to have official and publicly declare for 2007 presidency was deliberate, stating that at the appropriate time he will do so.

“I am only studying the situation. At the appropriate time, we will formally and publicly declare,” he stated.

The ceremony later turned into a carnival with various pro-IBB groups trying to out- smart one another, as the celebrant, in company of Niger State governor, Engineer Abdulkadir Kure, moved round to greet guests.

The ceremony peaked with an aerial stunt by an aircraft with a banner trailing it with an inscription “Happy Birthday IBB”.
Babangida had Tuesday warned that the nation's unity was under threat and could be destroyed over what he said were “issues long presumed resolved" returning to cause tension.
He therefore called on leaders to ensure that the peace and stability of the country is safeguarded.

Speaking at a public lecture in his honour to mark his birthday, Babangida identified the setbacks Nigeria and Africa have suffered in their democratic efforts and called on political leaders to ameliorate the situation.
He said: "Issues that had long been presumed resolved have once again come to the fore with greater clarity and compelling stridency. Minority rights are being expressed and pressed with increased militancy. Primordial cleavages have resurfaced and sometimes threaten the foundations of national unity.

"Faith and creed long held as belonging in the realm of private experience have resurfaced to make public claims on the loyalty of citizens sometimes competing with loyalty to the state and constituted authority. Ideas and views long suppressed and even held as taboo are now being openly canvassed as previously silent sections of the national community have found new voices and fresh impetus", he said.

He also observed that "Those who assumed the mandate of the people have to grapple with the imperatives of ensuring the stability and sometimes the survival of the very nation states they are elected to rule".

He added that “because the needs of our peoples remain basic and mostly existential, our new democracies are challenged to pursue strategies of economic development that sometimes violate some of the fundamental principles of democracy in a bid to deliver the dividends quickly and to the greatest majority.”

---

posted                         

quote:

---

We have to be careful to avoid unjust persecution just to score cheap political points.

The use of a sectional press aparatus to intimidate a former head of state and his family is a matter of concern. - Adamu

---