Human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has faulted the description of former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), as a statesman.
Farotimi, in a post on X on Tuesday, said celebrating Babangida with such titles only helps to normalize the “evils” he claimed the former leader visited on Nigerians.
“Not telling these ruinous cretins exactly what they are, contributes towards the normalization of the evils that they have visited on the people, and this mutual affirmation strategy is what has helped to sustain the evil. IBB is no statesman, and you can stop lying to yourself,” he wrote.
His reaction followed a congratulatory message by the former president of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who had hailed Babangida as one of Nigeria’s “foremost elder-statesmen” in a birthday tribute.
Adesina praised the former Head of State’s “patriotic fervor, devotion and commitment to Nigeria’s peace, unity and progress,” while wishing him continued good health as he marked his 84th birthday.
This online medium reported that Babangida, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, celebrated his 84th birthday recently.
