FYI: Babangida's Achievements; Chronicles of An Over Achiever
xok...@yahoo.com
Contrast that with Ribadu's laziness and you will get my point. NOTHING of substance has come from Ribadu other than assuring us he wants to be President using other people's stolen funds. He is running around with thugs and thieves and berating us into calling him a saint. Na wa O!
Contrast that with the poorly written communiques from GEJ. Grammatical errors every where, disgracing an already humiliated nation everywhere. Mr. Obama-has-a-Facebook-account-so-I-must-have-one-also. Mimicry, mimicry, mimicry is our surname! Ordinarily, it is the tuen of GEJ to be president but I do not want to see that man in the kitchen of Aso Rock longer than one day more than necessary ;-))))
My people, vote IBB for a vote for IBB is a vote against thugs and thieves. Reject the Tinubus, the Atikus, the Ribadus, the El Rufais, and all the other thieving moneybags telling you nonsense on Facebook. Vote for IBB. Things must get worse in Nigeria before they get better. IBB will get us to hell quicker!
- Ikhide
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
The facts below speak for themselves. Let the truth be told, no government since the IBB era has come even close to recording these unprecedented number of judicious use of public funds. This is in spite of the financial windfall experienced by successive governments.
Building a New Ultra Modern City - Abuja
IBB realized the vision of Abuja as Federal capital city by providing its most vital infrastructure and moving the seat of government from Lagos in 1991.
Telecommunications
Mobile telecommunications, which is so commonplace today in Nigeria, was introduced as a result of the liberalization of the telecom industry by the Babangida administration, an initiative that over the years has made massive impact on the Nigerian economy.
Privatization
The privatization of the broadcast industry, the licensing of private universities and airlines; the liberalization of the banking industry, including the establishment of community banks (now micro-finance institutions), rank among his best legacies.
Economic Policy (IBBnomics)
The Babangida economic policy was predicated most importantly on the need to reverse the downward trend of the economy and arrive at a realistic exchange rate for the naira. The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was a necessary strategy to achieve economic recovery. It was not a capitulation to the dictates of the World Bank and IMF, but a critically-considered plan aimed at providing the platform for successfully recapturing the inflationary trend within a stipulated period of economic emergency. Deregulation, privatization and economic self reliance were key elements in the policy thrust. In the process most of the poorly-performing government-owned enterprises were sold off to private investors. The new policy also did away with the regime of import licensing which in turn allowed the entry of essential commodities into the country, thus ending the long and tiring queues, which Nigerians, for some years, had to endure for food.
Rural Development
Rural development was a very key aspect of the Babangida regime’s economic plan for Nigeria. Approximately 90,857.40 kilometres of feeder road were constructed, thus opening up hundreds of rural communities to the rest of the country for the first time; electricity, water supply and improved health services reached many more rural folk than ever before. Most of those projects were implemented by DFRRI – the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, an agency created by the Babangida administration.
Gender Equality
The Babangida administration was the first to implement a gender sensitive agenda. It created a National Commission for Women that later became the Ministry of Women Affairs. Many women were appointed to key positions in national institutions, among which was the first female vice-chancellor of a Nigerian university; and women occupied strategic portfolios in the Federal Cabinet for the first time. The Better Life for Rural Women, a programme which was anchored by the late First Lady, Hajiya (Dr.) Maryam Babangida, was highly successful in mobilizing women to rise to the challenge of economic empowerment.
MAMSER
MAMSER (Mass Mobilization for Self-reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery), was and still remains the best ever exercise in political re-orientation undertaken by any administration in Nigeria. Its central goal was to canvass nationwide support for the Babangida administration’s Political Transition Programme and to promote self-sufficiency in the nation’s economy.
Youth Employment
In order to halt the ever increasing rate of unemployment among the youth, the Babangida administration created the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in 1987. Its main task was to alleviate their suffering and provide them with the necessary skills to be self-employed. By 1997 nearly 107,000 youths had received the benefits of this initiative, and many more still do.
Consultative Government
Despite heading a military regime President Ibrahim Babangida ran the most consultative administration ever in the annals of Nigerian history. Before deciding on the IMF loan, the issue was subjected to a nationwide public debate. When the people gave a resounding NO verdict Babangida went along with their wishes and called off further negotiations. The commencement of the Political Transition Programme in 1988 was also preceded by a nationwide quest to find the right political system for the nation. Conducted by the Political Bureau to a highly enthusiastic participation by the public, the debate produced very concrete suggestions for the establishment of a more balanced and united Federation, and the key elements distilled there-from served as the template for the subsequent structural and constitutional realignment of the Nigerian nation.
National Unity
The Babangida administration, conversant with the geo-politics of Nigeria, particularly the fears of ethnic domination and marginalization, sought to correct the perceived structural imbalances of the Federation by the creation of more states. Eleven states of Nigeria, two of which were born in 1987 (Akwa Ibom, Katsina) and the latter in 1991 (Abia, Anambra, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Osun, Yobe and Taraba); and over 200 new Local Government Areas, owe their existence to this August effort.
Foreign Policy
Under the Babangida administration Nigeria demonstrated to the world its capacity to play the highest leadership role in African affairs. The formation of the West African Peace Monitoring Force, ECOMOG (a Babangida initiative), anchored by bold and heroic Nigerian troops, brought peace to war-torn Liberia and Sierra Leone, an achievement that further cemented the role of Nigeria as the great protector and promoter of international peace.
Other Notable Reforms and People-Oriented Programmes
- Abrogation of Decree No 4 (Protection of Public Officers Against False Accusation Decree) 1984
- Abrogation of import and export licencing regime
- Dissolution of Nigerian National Supply Company
- Abolition of commodity marketing boards
- Elimination of price control
- Reduction of import duties on newsprint
- Ban on the importation of rice
- Ban on importation of wheat
- Establishment of the National Planning Commission
- Institutionalizing Central Bank autonomy
- Establishment of the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM)
- Deregulation of capital and financial markets
- Establishment of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)
- Establishment of National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND)
- Abolition of fixed exchange rate for the naira
- Establishment of the Peoples Bank
- Licencing of more banks and finance houses
- Introduction of community banking system
- Introduction of bureaux de change
- Establishment of stable tariff regime
- Introduction of civil service reforms
- Establishment of the Political Bureau and conduct of nationwide public debate on the IMF loan
- Introduction of two party political system
- Introduction of Open Ballot and Option A4 voting System
- Introduction of Local Government Reform
- Educational sector reform and the Introduction of 6-3-3-4 System
- Establishment of more federal Universities and Polytechnics
- Establishment of the Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization of Public Enterprises under which 55 public enterprises, including nine banks, were privatized through public offers on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
- Reform of obsolete colonial laws; and abrogation of law making ‘’wandering’’ an offence
- Establishment of the Urban Mass Transit Progamme
- Institution of the Primary Healthcare Progamme
- Establishment of the National Commission for Women
- Establishment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency
- Enactment of Copyright Law and establishment of Copyright Council
- Allocation of oil prospecting acreages to Nigerian oil companies
- Establishment of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority
- Establishment of special supervised Agicultural and Industrial Credit Schemes
- Establishment of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the creation of the Calabar EPZ
- Conduct of the 1991 National Population Census
- Establishment of the Federal Road Safety Corps
- Establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme
- Establishment of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC)
- Establishment Of the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), now the Niger Delta Development Commission
- Establishment of the National Boundary Commission
- Establishment of National Communications Commission
- Establishment of the National Broadcasting Commission
- Institutionalizing of the National Housing Fund
- Establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
- Establishment of Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission
- Reorganization of Nigerian Police into zonal commands
- Establishment of National Guard
- Reduction in the size of the military
- Reorganization of security services into three arms from the former single Nigerian Security organization, i.e. State Security Service, National Intelligence Agency, Defence Intelligence Agency
- Resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel
- Establishment of Technical Aid Corps
Major Projects Completed
- Federal Government Secretariat (Phase 1 & 11), Abuja
- International Conference Centre, Abuja
- Abuja International Airport (Phase 1 & 11)
- The Presidential Villa, Abuja
- National Assembly Complex, Abuja
- The Supreme Court Complex, Abuja
- Lagos Third Mainland Bridge
- Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road dualization
- Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri-Ore standard-gauge railway line
- Digital telecommunication gateways: Lanlate (North), Enugu (East), Lagos (West)
- Onne Fertilizer Plant in Rivers State
- Kaduna Superphosphate Fertilizer Plant
- Warri Petrochemical plant
- Elesa Eleme Petroleum Refinery in Rivers State
- Kaduna Petrochemical plant
- The Escravos-Lagos Gas pipeline
- Jebba and Shiroro hydro-electricity projects
- Egbin Thermal Power Station in Lagos
- Challawa Gorge Dam
- Nigeria House in New York, USA
- Ajaokuta Steel Plant (Phase 1)
- The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project, Bonny
- The Oso Condensate Plant in Akwa Ibom State
- NNPC headquarters in Abuja
- Aluminium Smelter Plant in Akwa Ibom State
- NigerDock (Africa’s largest dry dock), Snake Island
- Nigerian Machine Tools Manufacturing Co., Oshogbo
- Military cantonments, Abuja
- National Intelligence Agency administration headquarters
- Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company factory, Abuja
OLADMEJI ABORISADE
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - FYI: Babangida's Achievements; Chronicles of An Over Achiever
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From: xok...@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 08:13:21 +0000
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