BEVERLY HILLS, August 16, (THEWILL) – Former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has gone down memory lane into the time when he was in charge of the country’s affairs, revealing that he would do things differently if he had another opportunity at the seat of power.
IBB, as Babangida is fondly called, stated this on Tuesday while interacting with journalists at his hilltop residence in Minna, Niger state, as part of activities to mark his 75th birthday.
He said, “During my public life, there were several decisions we took as military officers or as political officers, that if given another chance, I would do differently. For example, in 1989, we proposed that the national assembly should be optional, that is part-time.
“I still believe that if I had the opportunity, I would make the national assembly part-time. I believe in that very strongly and is part of efforts to cut down the cost of governance in Nigeria.”
The former dictator went on to clarify that he is not the kind of evil genius some people consider him to be, insisting that, “I am not the evil genius that quite a lot of people consider me that I am”.
According to him, “I have had a very excellent background and training. We have to love one another. However, I can understand the feeling people have towards me.
“By the virtue of the job I was doing, I was bound to be misconstrued and my actions misinterpreted as evil. I consider what people say as an opinion as long as I am not what you think I was; I feel satisfied.”
