Word: babangida
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...stack of correspondence at his desk in the spartan Dodan Barracks in Lagos, where he lives and works. Outside, two armored cars and two tanks evince the might of the Nigerian military. They are also reminders of the dangers that the country's youthful President, Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, faces as he goes about reshaping Nigeria's corrupt and debt-ridden society. The President recently granted a 50-minute interview to TIME Correspondent James Wilde. Throughout, he displayed a ready smile and a penchant for easy laughter. Excerpts...
...Nigeria (estimated foreign debt: $20 billion), where there have been two military coups in the past two years, the petrocrisis could not have come at a worse time. The second coup, in August, led to the accession as President of Major General Ibrahim B. Babangida, who in December announced a stiff austerity budget to begin rebuilding the devastated local economy. The latest oil-price collapse, however, has not helped the government in its planning, having made Nigeria's projections of $8.1 billion in oil revenues this year appear decidedly optimistic...
...Babangida, a career soldier trained at U.S. and British military schools, declared in his first address as head of state that Buhari was "too rigid and uncompromising." Later the new President repealed a law that banned criticism of the government, released several journalists from prison, reviewed the cases of an estimated 500 political prisoners jailed by Buhari, and promised to curb excesses by the secret police. Radio Lagos reported he had also approved the appointment of 28 military and police officers to the governing Armed Forces Ruling Council. Perhaps the most important promise made by the new military leaders...
...Nigerians. Despite Buhari's increasingly repressive regime and his mismanagement of the economy, his fate may not have been sealed until earlier this year when he ordered the dismissal of 30,000 soldiers as a cost-cutting measure. The cashiered troops reportedly began terrorizing and looting the countryside. Babangida indicated his dissatisfaction with Buhari in a rare speech this year in which he warned, "Those who advocate less spending on defense cannot win." He also proposed supplementing oil revenues by turning Nigeria into a major arms-manufacturing country...
...Muslim, Babangida waited to make his move until the religious holiday of Id al-Kabir, when Buhari returned to his native town of Daura in Kaduna state, and Idiagbon was on the hajj to Mecca. In July, Babangida had made a visit to army troops around the country, during which he is said to have gathered support for the takeover. Some Western diplomats believe that Babangida's ability to hold on to power depends on his success in turning around the Nigerian economy. Whatever his plans, he knows he must act quickly and | decisively. He has only to look...