Former Military Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.)
Publisher of SaharaReporters and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has slammed former Military Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), accusing him of contributing to Nigeria’s present-day critical challenges.
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, popularly known as IBB, clocked 85 on Monday, August 17, drawing a wave of congratulatory messages from political leaders and well-wishers across the country.
The former leader ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, stepping aside after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election, an outcome widely believed to have been won by the late business mogul, MKO Abiola.
Reacting to the birthday celebrations, Sowore, in a post via his verified X handle late Monday, said IBB was privileged to have lived long, but was “no longer living well.”
The human rights activist argued that Nigeria would have been in a far better place today had IBB not exercised power with what he described as “wickedness and selfishness.”
“Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, the man who did Nigeria dirty, is being celebrated by his cronies on his 85th birthday. He lived long but is no longer living well; but had he not been so wicked and selfish in the exercise of power, Nigeria would not be where it is today. History should remember not just the birthday celebrations, but the consequences of the choices he made while holding power that ruined Nigeria,” Sowore wrote.
Sowore added that the former military ruler’s legacy was not one of nation-building, but of decisions that entrenched corruption, weakened democracy, and left generations of Nigerians bearing the cost.
