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Economic intelligence chief warns against Babangida Presidency
UNDAUNTED by the presence of at least one past Head of State, a general, chairman of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) Professor Ibrahim Ayagi, did not mince words in warning against the return to power of former ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida.
"It would be disastrous, for both Nigerians and Nigeria should Babangida return to power come 2007", Ayagi declared.
Speaking as Guest Speaker at the Inauguration and Foundation Day of the Development Policy Centre (DPC) in memory of Professor Ojetunji Aboyade in Ibadan, Ayagi took a critical look at the nation's economy since 1983 and submitted that Babangida destroyed the economy and laid the foundation for the current economic woes during his (Babangida) eight-year rule.
"God forbid the return of the man who destroyed the economy and the nation" Ayagi prayed.
According to Ayagi, based on the antecedent of Babangida, his return to power in 2007 would do more harm to the nation's economy.
His words: "If you are a leader and you destroyed the economy, should that person come back? God forbids why should Babangida come back to destroy again? You can only be judged by our antecedents, he is coming to destroy the economy and nothing more".
Ayagi, who spoke on the theme, "The Economics of Nation Building: A critique of the Obasanjo's Administration", said that in terms of effective nation building, President Obasanjo's administration was the best that had ever happened to Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria had a patriotic government between 1984 to August 1985 with a resolve to tackle and solve the nation's social and economic problem, until Babangida came into power.
"All of a sudden, a group of military rulers that was patriotic, nationalist, transparent and honest changed to the almost complete reverse qualities, just by extracting the leader and his deputy, putting them behind bars. That was the government that ruled Nigeria for eight years; that was the government that dribbled Nigeria and Nigerians to undesirable situations; that was the government that effectively stopped the fight against indiscipline in Nigeria".
Ayagi pointed out that the period of Babangida's reign as head of state had shown that the most important element in nation-building is leadership, adding that if a nation is led by the right leader such a country would make progress.
His words, "One man could reverse the process of nation-building from good to bad, from positivity to negativity, from morality to immorality, from discipline to indsicipline, from fight against corruption to corruption permeation and from patriotism and nationalism to the sell-out and mortgage of national resources".
On the issue of nation building under President Obasanjo, Ayagi said by facts and figures in terms of effective nation building, the Obasanjo administration was the best government Nigerian had had for a very long time.
The EIC chief said Obasanjo adopted an economic policy based on the guiding principles that the economy exists for the people and is for the general well-being of all the people, adding that the "middle-class" that was erased had been re-introduced by the present administration.
In his address, former Head of State, General Abdusalam Abubakar, who was the special guest of honour at the event, expressed regret that despite awareness of the importance of capacity-building in development, its practice still leaves much to be desired and continues to pose challenges that may be addressed only in the long term.
Abubakar argued that without adequate capacity, all development efforts would not yield much fruit.
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