Former Military President and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 elections, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has said the 2011 election will not be a do-or-die affair for him, saying win or lose, life continues.

Babangida spoke in Minna , Niger State on Thursday when a group, “Nigerians in Diaspora (North America and Europe)” visited him at his Uphill mansion to express their support for his presidential ambition. He pointed out that he has a conviction and would play politics of conviction.

“Win or lose, life will continue but I have a conviction and will go into the election with that conviction. I will play politics of conviction.”
The former leader said he expressed the hope that the election would be free, fair and transparent where according to him, each and every vote will count and above all, free from intimidation.

Babangida told the group which was led by one-time Minister of Information, Chief Alex Akinyele that his decision to seek a come back was borne out of his desire to take the country out of its present development challenges, stressing that the time to make genuine contributions to the development of this country is now. “It is now time to make a genuine sacrifice for this country. The time to lay a solid foundation is now for the sake of children of tomorrow because I will not be there in the next 50 years.”

He assured the delegation that he will provide the needed leadership where the young ones will be given the opportunity to make contributions saying, “At the age of 27, I fought for the unity of this country. I have a passion for the country and its development.” He urged Nigerians in the diaspora to believe in the country, according to him, 50 years in the life of the country is nothing because “this is a country that will exist for a thousand years to come.”

He assured them that if elected President in 2011, he would make sure that people’s votes count, stressing that “you can vote and be voted for like it obtains in other countries of the world”. Earlier, the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora for IBB 2011, Suleiman Balogun told Babangida that the style of his leadership has been acknowledged by Nigerians in diaspora with a strong belief that his wealth of experience would definitely be needed to move the nation forward again.
The chairman pointed out that Nigerians at home and abroad will never fail to appreciate his eight-years regime which he said was characterized by policy initiatives and fiscal measures as against lip-service most leaders thereafter, had paid to the development of this country.

“It is on record that you achieved a lot in many areas where others had failed. You created 11 more states, brought the government closer to the people by creating about 200 local government areas, reduced road accidents by creating the Federal Road Safety Commission, introduced the civil service reform, the establishment of National Women Commission which is now Ministry of Women Affairs among others”.

Balogun disclosed that as a group that believes so much in the IBB vision, it has privately embarked on several meaningful projects within and outside the country aimed at actualizing the IBB 2011, and these include the creation of an IBB website to project his image and awareness programmes to sensitize the public.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/sept/24/national-24-09-2010-002.htm