Ex-military ruler IBB releases long-awaited memoir 32 years after exiting office

The controversial former military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, also known as IBB, is set to launch his long-anticipated autobiography.

The memoir, ‘A Journey In Service,’ will be unveiled at an event billed for the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on February 20, 2025.

This development comes barely 32 years after IBB left office following his annulment of the June 12 presidential election, in which the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) was in a clear lead.

Throughout his eight-year tenure in office, IBB faced relentless public criticism of his regime's unpopular policies and crackdown on human rights.

The former Head of State initiated the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) policy, which sparked a nationwide riot among other economic regulations.

Other controversial issues plagued the regime, including the unresolved murder of veteran journalist Dele Giwa and the June 12 annulment.

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He was popular with sobriquets such as “evil genius” and “Maradona” during his time in office.

Regarding how he got the nicknames, IBB said the media manufactured them because of his “deft political moves.”

“That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people; you have to anticipate them.

“If you anticipate them, then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’; I marvel at that. The contradiction is that you can’t be evil and then a genius.”

“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it.”

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu will lead former Nigerian leaders and their counterparts in other African countries to grace the launching of the much-anticipated autobiography.

As stated in the invite dispatched to dignitaries this week, the IBB Presidential Library Foundation's board of trustees said the book launch will coincide with fundraising for a presidential library.

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According to the organisers, former President Olusegun Obasanjo will chair the event, with Tinubu as the special guest of honour.

The former president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has been pencilled to deliver the keynote address, while former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo will review the autobiography.

Ex-presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan are among the guests expected.

Former Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma and BUA Group Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu were named Chief Launchers.