By Prof. M. K. Othman
His corporate appearance was American, but his amiable disposition was African, and his intonation reflected northern Nigerian influences. I promptly greeted him in Hausa before you could say, ‘Jack Robinson, ‘and we embraced like old friends who hadn’t seen each other for decades. Within minutes after the occasion, I was lavishly treated to Chinese dishes at a classic restaurant in downtown Des Moines, Iowa State, USA.
I was hosted in his smothered house in the next few hours but missed his wife. He took me to his friend’s house, Dr. Yusoupha, a Gambian working in the same university. That was the Kingly reception accorded to me when I coincidentally met Prof. Ahmadu Baba-Singhri, a Nigerian-American, on October 18, 2017, during the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate, which was awarded to Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the President of African Development Bank. Dr. Adesina is a pride to Africa and a motivator for young scientists across the globe.
Professor Ahmadu A. Baba-Singhri is the Chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Grand View University in Des Moines. He was born in Tafawa Balewa town, Bauchi State, and moved to the USA in the early 1980s after completing his diploma in Agriculture.
In America, he transitioned from agriculture to social science, became a criminal law professor, married a Jamaican-American, and was blessed with children who grew up to become adults. Prof. Baba loved Nigeria with unmatched passion, far exceeding that of many of us who live in Nigeria. His love for Nigeria is a forceful bond linking the two of us; we all believe in Nigerian great potential, have concerns about bad governance, poor leadership, corruption, and insecurity, and pray that one day, the light will appear at the end of the tunnel and that the dream of Nigerian founding fathers will become a reality.
In the last eight years, we have been communicating with each other, sharing our concerns and ways forward. He commented on my article on IBB, and I felt it was worth sharing with my esteemed readers for another perspective on the IBB book. Many of us thought IBB was content with his prestigious position of kingmaker and blessing people to vie for political positions who consider his palace a mecca. To be a successful politician in Nigeria, you must pay homage to his hilltop edifice, or else, your fate will hang in the air. After about two decades of his relative silence, has IBB not kicked a hornet’s nest? IBB is lucky to explain himself convincingly or unconvincingly in his book.
IBB had to explain himself on some thorny issues (June 12, SAP, death of Dele Giwa, etc.) that occurred during his leadership, and his book is the perfect platform. I am still reading it slowly and steadily. However, comments kept pouring in. Happy reading.
IBB’s seemingly ghostwritten book and money-driven launch vindicated those who saw him then and still see him now as double-talking or “Maradona,” an absolute evil genius ingrained in his typical disingenuousness. This can be deduced from his reckless and corrupt utterance of getting into the anti-Abacha bandwagon sentiments of the likes of the current President and his supporters who look away from the lootings of their kinsfolks but take every media opportunity to bash the late Gen. Abacha to stick it to the Northerners. It’s a pathetic, desperate apology looking for more money and relevance.
If you compare Abacha’s regime with IBB’s and thereafter, none has matched Abacha’s positive leadership and love for Nigeria. As a related commentator pointed out, this is a man (IBB) who killed his own “brother, “Gen Maman Vatsa, with whom he reportedly shared a childhood bed, much like the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible- except this was real.
This is the man who introduced the notorious SAP program, which allegedly resulted in the reported deaths of many university students during the protests against it. It’s hardly surprising that some analysts view IBB as an angel, similar to how BAT is perceived today.
Some have used his cash-seeking so-called book to revive a painful memory of the war by asserting it exonerated the Igbo regarding the allegations of the January 15, 1966 coup that resulted in the massacre of northern civilian and military leaders, both Christians and Muslims.
Sadly, the blinded wannabe apologists’ anti-northern sentiments camouflage the so-called Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen (groups created to counter northern interests), seemingly corrupted by a desire for a few more dollars. Such sentiments align with these seemingly fallacious narratives. But that’s what history is said to be: “a lie agreed,’ according to a social observer.
Throwing Gen. Abacha, Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the top northern military leaders under the bus for dollars and relevance is, indeed, the work of a dirty, evil genius. One wonders how much the other half of his family and the so-called “northern minority” play a role in these ghostwritten lies in a blueprint. Prof Ahmadu Baba-Singhri
Professor Othman, you have come again. Many may assume it is too late when the head is cut off. However, the outstanding achievements of IBB speak volumes about Nigeria’s development, which we are experiencing. I wouldn’t have found words to explain when Nigeria’s capital city is still in Lagos, especially with the plans and calls for secession by some of the current cabinet members of PBAT. We must wake up because, at all costs, they want to win the upcoming elections. Otherwise, Nigeria should break up. Clear indicators reveal their intentions. IBB must checkmate most of these grandmasters, but his ability to do more for Nigeria, combined with age and health challenges, poses a significant hindrance. The northern elites need to wake up.
Let’s gear up by identifying unbiased, credible, and educated leaders who understand the terrain and the suffering of the masses and possess the political will to salvage the issues facing Nigeria’s territories and beyond. It is a herculean task, but politics is a game of numbers. May Allah extend IBB’s life in good health, safety, and prosperity. Ameen thumma ameen. Engr Hassan Bawa
Excellent,insightful, and fantastic write-up! More power to your elbows, Prof. Establishing an e-library, an e-learning center, skill acquisition programs, and other human capital development initiatives will be more beneficial than creating the proposed library. I hope IBB will read your article and agree with your suggestions. I am sure he will, if he comes across it. Thanks. Abdullahi Abubakar Zaria
