War is no tea party — IBB Warns of Sudan, Rwanda experiences; canvasses state police
Former Military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babaginda has expressed worries over the altercations of hate across the country by individuals and organizations.
In a Sallah message titled, ‘I am a Nigerian,’ General Babaginda urged those beating the drum of war to have a rethink, saying those of them who took part in the Nigeria civil war still felt the pains decades after.
“The drums of war are easy to beat, but their rhythms are difficult to Dance to,” the former leader warned, adding, “Starting wars or political upheavals comes with the slightest provocation, but ending them becomes inelastic, almost unending.”
He said few nations survive two wars.
“In over a century of its formalized colonial architecture, Nigeria has grown and made remarkable progress in the midst of crises. The most tragic and horrendous episode in Nigeria’s history has been the 30-month civil war of July 1967 to January 1970, in which many of our compatriots lost their lives. Indeed, many others also suffered terrible injuries of human and material dimensions. So, who really wants to go through the depth and dimensions of another civil war in
Nigeria again?” he queried, adding, “War is bad, condemnable and must be avoided.”
Babangida called for reforms and restructuring that would be realistic with modern best practices, saying, “I will strongly advocate devolution of powers to the extent that more responsibilities be given to the states while the Federal Government is vested with the responsibility to oversee our foreign policy, defense, and economy. Even the idea of having federal roads in towns and cities has become outdated and urgently needs revisiting. That means we need to tinker with our constitution to accommodate new thoughts that will strengthen our nationality.”
He also advocated a state police, saying the idea was contained in his manifesto in 2010 when he attempted to contest the presidential election.
“The initial fears that state governors will misuse the officers and men of the state police has become increasingly eliminated with renewed vigour in citizens’ participation in, and confidence to interrogate power. “We cannot be detained by those fears and allow civilization to leave us behind… Policing has become so sophisticated that we cannot continue to operate our old methods and expect different results,” he said.
He appealed to the Nigeria media to be more circumspect in their news reportage, saying the media should always weigh the security implications of the contents of their news.