In his recently launched memoir, A Journey in Service, former Nigerian military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida attempts to recast his controversial tenure with a veneer of contrived humility and selective amnesia. The book, unveiled on February 20, 2025, at Abuja’s Transcorp Hilton Hotel, has been met with a mix of skepticism and criticism, particularly from those who remember the stark realities of his regime.
On the June 12 Annulment:
Babangida’s narrative suggests that the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election—a poll widely regarded as the fairest in Nigeria’s history—was an unavoidable decision forced upon him by political and military pressures, particularly from General Sani Abacha. This is a tired excuse, a revisionist attempt to shift blame while ignoring his own central role. The same Babangida who outmaneuvered rivals for eight years suddenly claims he was powerless to prevent an injustice of national consequence? If he lacked the courage to resist anti-democratic forces, then what exactly was his leadership worth?
The reality is that Babangida was not a victim of circumstance; he was the architect of the crisis. He annulled the election to protect entrenched military interests and his own survival, not to prevent chaos. If a coup was inevitable, history would have at least remembered him as a leader who stood for democracy. Instead, his name remains synonymous with betrayal.
On Dele Giwa’s Assassination:
The book conveniently sidesteps the state’s complicity in the assassination of investigative journalist Dele Giwa, who was killed by a letter bomb in 1986. Babangida’s suggestion that he had no knowledge of the murder is as implausible as it is insulting. If his government could orchestrate complex security operations, crush coups, and manipulate elections, how could it be so clueless about the country’s first letter bomb assassination? The revelations from the Oputa Panel exposed state involvement, making it impossible to exonerate his regime. His refusal to take responsibility only reinforces the perception that he ruled through deception and impunity.
On His Economic Policies:
The book takes credit for initiating privatization and economic liberalization but glosses over the devastation wrought by the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). While Babangida portrays himself as a reformer, the truth is that SAP triggered massive inflation, unemployment, and poverty, pushing millions of Nigerians into economic hardship. The so-called economic transformation he boasts of was a mirage—one that left the country vulnerable to perpetual financial instability.
Even more damning is his silence on the $12 billion Gulf War oil windfall. That money could have been Nigeria’s foundation for economic transformation, yet it disappeared without accountability. To claim economic foresight while sidestepping one of the biggest financial scandals in Nigeria’s history is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians.
On ECOMOG and Military Prestige:
Babangida attempts to frame his leadership of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) as a grand strategic achievement, but the reality is more complex. While ECOMOG played a significant role in West African peacekeeping, its success was largely due to Nigeria’s oil wealth, not Babangida’s military genius. His book fails to address how his administration’s corruption and mismanagement weakened the Nigerian military over time. Today, Nigeria’s armed forces struggle against insurgency and banditry—a far cry from the era he romanticizes. If Babangida truly had a vision for military strength, why did he not institutionalize reforms to ensure its sustainability?
Conclusion:
A Journey in Service is less a memoir and more a self-serving attempt at historical revisionism. Babangida writes as though Nigerians have forgotten the betrayals, economic hardships, and political turmoil his administration caused. He wants to be remembered as a leader of warmth and charm, but charm is no substitute for accountability.
If history remembers anything about his service, it will not be the selective recollections in this book. It will be the June 12 annulment, the unsolved murder of Dele Giwa, the economic suffering of Nigerians under SAP, and the staggering corruption of his administration. In the end, Babangida’s “journey in service” was a masterclass in self-preservation, and no amount of literary whitewashing will change that.
