“In fact, I was a very good advocate of two-party system and when I said the nation should operate two-party system during my tenure as military president, you said no and that I am a soldier and an idiot. But now you are seeing reasons why I advocated that and I think now you are seeing reasons why I said so. I think I am happy at the new development because it is working for the nation’s political development,” he stated.
IBB’s government established the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) through a decree ratified by the then Armed Forces Ruling Council, the highest decision making body of his military regime.
He, however, deplored the present situation among the political class for not making concerted efforts at enlightening the ordinary Nigerians who formed the bulk of the nation’s eligible voters and whose overwhelming votes determined the clear winners in a free and fair general election in the country. Accordingly, he said, “things are getting better because we are now talking about it.
Though we can continue to dissipate our energies in talking about appointment portfolio but when you allowed an ordinary man who is not well informed, or who does not know what is happening because he has not been gingered to believe in himself and what he is fighting for. Unless we achieve that as a democratic nation, we will still have problems.”
Speaking further, Babangida expressed delight that the National Examinations Council (NECO) formerly known as National Board for Educational Measurements was cited in Minna, his hometown in Niger State. “I have a very close relationship with the examinations body because we run a school and I know what roles they are playing in trying to help us to attain certain standards in education and we have a confidence that we have such an outfit and it is a blessing to the education sector and development of this country.”
He said the fact that NECO, despite its 10 years of existence, was still being run on generator set because it had not yet been connected to the national grid was a Nigerian problem, but expressed the hope that the council would soon be connected to the national grid.
“You go to Lagos where you find WAEC which has been here for over 50 years. They are still being run with generator set. Education is one of the greatest challenges in Nigeria today because if we fail as a nation to educate our people then we are in trouble,” said IBB.
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