SCARED OF BUHARI, IBB PITCHES TENT WITH JONATHAN?

Icheoku says too scared of the threat imposed by a possible Muhammadu Buhari's presidency, to both his personal liberty and amassed stupendous wealth, the Evil Genius has decided to throw his weight in support of the weakling President Jonathan; and Icheoku wonders who, being so similarly situated, wouldn't?  Icheoku says yes, it was a calculated-risk decision by Babangida but not that the incumbent president has so far impressed anyone, including Babangida himself, on why he meritoriously deserves a second term. 

Babangida drove a Brutus stab into Buhari's back when he overthrew him in 1985; Babangida also stole himself blind when he amassed stupendous wealth following his stay in office as Nigeria's head of state for eight long years and Babangida also locked Buhari up in prison for three long years following his ouster, so he is smart to smell a vendetta being in the offing with a Buhari's presidency. Therefore a thinking Babangida calculated that he will be better off with Buhari stopped at the gate of Aso Rock rather than to deal with a safely anchored inside Aso Rock Buhari. So like he struck before against Buhari in 1985, he is once again trying to strike to stop Buhari in 2015 and not allowed him into Aso Rock by pitching his support to Jonathan.  Babangida concluded that there would be simply too much exposure to risk for him under a Buhari presidency and decided to support a man, already known to be too timid to go after these top heavy looters of Nigeria, including Babangida. 

Icheoku would have rather been surprised had it been the other way round with Babangida risking it all by throwing his support for Buhari. Or like another analyst suggested, to see the unlikely scenario of Olusegun Obasanjo throwng his support for Abubakar Atiku, knowing fully well that both men have some unfinished business to do with them, sort of some axe to grind, and would probably come calling for their pounds of flesh respectively if empowered. Icheoku says all these retired generals and former heads of state are mere survivalists and are only interested in how they would ride off into their sunsets without much inconvenience both to their body and level of comfort. They don't care about Nigeria or Nigerians, otherwise when they had the opportunity, what did they do to showcase their love for country? They just want someone that would protect their butts and who would not probe nor prosecute them or hold them up to give account of their stewardship. They want a safe berthing president they can feel free to live with and thats their sole driving force and nothing more, period.

Now listen to the proverbial 'Nigerian Maradona' extol Jonathan, during the visit of the president to his Minna residence. Speaking to the media after the visit, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida said, “What I will say is simple: The President means well for this country and he is working well for this country. Anybody who means well for this country should support the President to make sure that Nigeria survives as a united country.” 

Icheoku answers in rebuttal, who the heck is Babangida to preach about "meaning well for Nigeria"  when he is the chief culprit and continuing danger to Nigeria's overall well being? Please Nigerians, who is Babangida to talk about someone meaning well for Nigeria when personally he did not mean well for Nigeria when he annulled a duly conducted and completed election of MKO Abiola, June 12; and nearly threw the whole country into a turmoil from which it has not yet fully recovered till date, if ever? Icheoku maintains that the Evil genius lacks the moral standing and authority to preach to Nigerians about meaning well for the country when he never meant well for the country either? All he did with this latest Jonathan's endorsement was to play his usual surviving game, which he readily plays and is now once again playing with Jonathan under the guise of meaning well for Nigeria? 

Icheoku asks did Babangida mean well for Nigeria when Dele Giwa was blown to pieces with his parcel bomb? Did Babangida mean well for Nigeria when he took a secular Nigeria into the membership of the Islamic OIC? Did Babangida mean well for a united Nigeria when he watched Ebitu Ukiwe walk away from his government because of his religious bigotry? Did Babangida mean well for Nigeria when he introduced SAP? Did Babangida mean well for Nigeria when he killed the poet Mamman Vasta because of a long running family feud and needless competitiveness between them, known two childhood friends? Icheoku lampoons that if Babangida meant well for Nigeria he would not have failed to retire Sani Abacha while stepping aside, only for that midget of Kano to later show Nigerians real pepper? Icheoku asks since when did IBB started meaning well for Nigeria or Nigerians or is it a case of Fela's reprimand, "teacher, please don't teach me nonsense?' 

Icheoku says the only discernible thing out of this endorsement of Jonathan by Babangida is that Babangida wants to be seen as a king maker. Now that he has thrown his hat in the ring against Olusegun Obasanjo, who is supporting the APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari, it is obvious that their lasting struggle for the control of Nigeria, now continues. So with Obasanjo supporting the APC and its  presidential candidate Buhari, it somewhat seems apparent that Babangida would support the other side of the polar opposite, so PDP and Jonathan naturally benefits. With the two Nigerian nemesis, ex generals and former heads of state from hell, whose venomous happenstance on the Nigerian stage, Nigerians are still to recover from, now pitched their tents respectively, it is going to be battle royale for who wins the 2015 election. At the end of the day, whoever comes out victorious amongst this two men would have consolidated his hold on Nigeria and possibly for the very last final time as both men are nearing their graves. 

Why each ex-head of state has pitched his tent as pitched  is quite obvious to any thinking Nigerian. Obasanjo, having failed to coral Jonathan and be the recognized defacto president is desperate to bring him down. First he made sure that his other nemesis Abubakar Atiku did not get anywhere near the presidency by not securing the APC ticket; but having failed to secure his preferred Tambuwal, has no choice but to support whoever the opposite of Jonathan is. Ibrahim Babangida on the other hand is deathly afraid of what a potential Buhari's presidency would bring alongside with it; and not prepared to gamble with so much risk, and because also his Tambuwal project failed have been aborted by Bola Tinubu, now is settling for Jonathan. It is a game they all play and with all the players now fully emerged and known, the decider in chief would be the Nigerian people who will make their votes count on February 14, 2015.

Finally, like Icheoku has always maintained, none of the two candidates, Jonathan or Buhari, is the best Nigeria could have offered; but given that Nigerians are now stuck with either of them - a sort of no choice choice situation,   Icheoku would elect with Babangida that Jonathan is a lesser of the two evils. Icheoku therefore calls on Nigerians to evaluate the weighty decision they will make with their votes on Valentine's day 2015, fully seized of their chances between the devil and the deep sea. Icheoku strongly believes that since the devil is an assured destruction, the deep sea might be a lesser-risk choice because as with  Jonah of Nineveh, a whale might come to their rescue? Icheoku's preference of Jonathan to the mega-dictator, Muhammadu Buhari, is also predicated on the fact that Buhari has neither apologized for his high-handedness in office nor adequately assured Nigerians that the leopard has changed its spots. Anyway, Nigerians you decide, but please decide with a clear mind after weighing what 2015 holds in stock both for you and the country. Salute!