On the 27th of August 1993, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida announced he was stepping aside as Nigerias military president. Many persons could not fully digest the meaning of his declaration. Was he stepping down or stepping aside? What is the difference between stepping down and stepping aside? Was it the end of his hold on power or a strategic retreat from the climate of military politics prevailing at the time? People wondered. Whatever the interpretations were, the fact is: IBB gave way and from the sidelines the great General watched the unfolding permutations and configurations of power. Some observers believed he laid aside his ambition in the larger corporate interest of the institution that made him. Others thought otherwise and continued to invoke the psychosis of a hidden agenda. So it was that IBB stepped down his ambitions and consequently stepped aside from the power tussle of the time, believing that he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. To this day, observers are still puzzled at the myth or reality of the continuing influence of IBB on the Nigerian political space. Indeed with the instrument of providence, the divine continues to define the affairs of mortal man.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 04:06:40 +0000
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