Former Nigeria President Ibrahim Babangida on Wednesday express anger over pro Jonathan Campaigner attitude of demonising past military leaders of the country,through a series of documentary aired on Television.
He made it clear that this one of the reason why the military take side when the chips are down,adding that most people in Jonathan's government are past military men, like it is in America with nearly all their leader with military background,
Babangida revealed that PDP was formed in his home, the platform Jonathan is standing election,The statement he made available through his media house reads:“In clear attempts to whip up support for President Goodluck Jonathan, certain persons, groups and individuals have embarked on several campaigns of calumny against former military heads of state and presidents who have had the opportunity to govern this country.
“Of particular reference is a one-hour documentary aired on Silverbird Television on Tuesday night; March 24, 2015 that deliberately impugned the integrity of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, my humble self; Ibrahim Babangida, the late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and T. Y. Danjuma; all of whom have had the privilege of presiding over the affairs of this great country at various levels.
“It is either that those promoting the hate documentary are intellectually deliquent or they suffer memory loss; or a combination of both.
“I have my very strong reservations about the contents and thematic focus of the said documentary. Apart from promoting hate campaign which clearly undermines the modest contributions of these former presidents, the commentaries in the documentary against the former presidents leave a sour taste in the mouth.
“Nobody is stopping anyone from campaigning for their preferred candidates contesting various positions in the elections, but to do that at the expense of the reputation, contributions, patriotism, loyalty and sacrifice of former presidents to the Nigerian state is, to say the least, immature.
“It is on record and this is incontrovertible that the government I ran paraded some of the best brains this country can be proud of. I still remain eternally grateful to those wonderful brains who participated in our government to fashion a new roadmap for re-engineering the country.
“Some of our policies have remained unsurpassed till date and most of what the country enjoys today was a creation of the military.
“The military is an institution that is so dear to my heart. It is an institution that nurtured my growing up and my achievements in life. I am not only sold to the military institution and by extension the Nigerian state, I am betrothed to it. As a profession, retirees are bound to participate in politics and democracy as an all-inclusive process, same way that doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses and civil servants get involved in it.
“It is the reason why I ventured into politics in 2003 before I quit in 2010. It is the same reason why General Obasanjo participated and got elected; and now General Buhari. It is, therefore, very curious that promoters of President Jonathan’s aspiration would attempt to demonise and stigmatise former military leaders and cast
Fact is; the military fought a civil war to keep this country together. What I suffer today is a consequence of the injuries I sustained during the Nigeria Civil War.
“I am not sure there is any patriotism that is more than that. Some of us were prepared to die for the country. The military is presently combating the dreaded Boko Haram sect to restore Nigeria’s territorial integrity. What law under a democracy forbids retired military personnel from participating in politics and presenting themselves for election? Over 90 per cent of American presidents have military background. Leadership training is better grounded in the military than any other profession. And the military parades some of the best brains in any country, including Nigeria.
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