IBB Spits Fire: Denies Boko Haram Sponsorship

IBB Spits Fire: Denies Boko Haram Sponsorship

  February 13, 2012

Says “Haliru Sani’s Statements Are
Effusions of A Deluded Mind”
The Ibrahim Babangida camp has at
last offered a response to the
allegation of sponsorship of the Boko
Haram sect levelled against the former military
President. A statement issued by General Babangida’s
Media Spokesman denied any links with Sani Haliru,
the repented Boko Haram member.
The statement raeds inter alia “We feel a deep sense of
concern that the country is going through these
obvious challenges of insecurity and bad leadership
that are threatening the very fabric of the country’s
foundation. We have read and assimilated the
effusions of a deluded mind by name Sheik Sani Haliru,
who for want of very cheap relevance decided to
mention the highly respected name of IBB as one of
the “sponsors” of what he called Boko Haram. From our
first reading, we felt it would amount to giving undue
relevance to a confused mind if we volunteer a
response, but for our teeming supporters, associates
and friends of IBB, and for the price we owe history,
we decided to offer this disclaimer.
First, General IBB cannot in his frame of mind
remember any of such names called Sheik Sani Haliru
whether as an Almajiri or a jihadist or both. Reading
through the interview, one is easily confronted with a
number of inconsistencies and well orchestrated
conclusions that are spuriously out of place. One, Dele
Giwa did not die of suicide bombing as claimed by Sani
Haliru. It is public knowledge that he died of parcel
bomb and the latest insight by Rev.Chris Omeben as
published in Sunday Sun of 5th February, 2012 will
form an instructive reading. Secondly, we have every
cause to believe that the interview was carefully
scripted to convey the message intended and not one
conducted under a question and answer basis. The
responses of the said Sani Haliru attest to this fact.
From that premise therefore, it will be save to
conclude that the interview was structured by certain
agents of government to satisfy pre-determined
position. Thirdly, the questions by the interviewer are
also leading questions, tending to achieve the
predetermined end of the initiators of the interview.
The emphasis on seeing Islam as a religion of violence
is a clear indication of this motive. Fourthly, on the one
hand, the interviewee declared himself to be a
converted Christian, while on the other hand, he was
asking for someone that will connect him to God. He
talked about his fear of going to jail, why will a man
of God be afraid of incarceration or jail if the cause he
is pursuing is truly altruistic? How could someone with
facts about Boko Haram be saying that he is afraid the
SSS will arrest him if he ventured those facts, when the
whole wide world is patiently waiting to get a road
map out of the Boko Haram pogrom? There are also
instances where third person narrative tenor is given
to Sheik Sani Haliru, thus making the whole exercise
curiously misleading and utterly unconscionable to
warrant any serious recognition.
In all of these, so many conjectures, hearsays,
deductions, impressions and lies were bandied in the
said interview thus making the entire contents suspect.
For example, his reference to the October 1st bombing
in Abuja is totally at variance with what the State
Security Service has unravelled about the masterminds
of that dastardly incident. We are therefore at sea to
reconcile any of the claims as truly reflective of any
sound mind save that we have every reason to believe
that this is purely a well-scripted interview to give our
revered IBB a bad name. What the real motive of the
interview is remains to us very worrisome because we
cannot in any way rationalize the immediate or
remote intentions of the interviewee and the
interviewer.
For purposes of record, General IBB wishes to disclaim
whoever that might have granted such interview and
wish to emphatically state that there is no iota of truth
in whatever the interviewee must have put down.
There is no connection whatsoever between himself
and the so-called Sheik Sani Haliru. It will serve good
purpose if the said Sani Haliru could disclose his age in
1985, 1987 and 1992, because his claim of 44 years of
Boko Haram activities could be self-contradicting if we
are able to know his real age. 1985 till date is a record
27 years. By the time we subtract that age from 44 ,
the guess is as good as mine. One couldn’t possibly
know what feat a 17 years old boy would perform in
1985 to warrant any linkage with IBB. It will also be of
good use if he could disclose the instances where IBB is
directly and indirectly connected or linked to his
activities, how much money he was given, who gave
the money and what period of time?
The uncomplimentary adjectives he used to describe
General IBB further expose the underpinning lies in the
interview. Every Nigerian that has had opportunity of
interacting with this great Nigerian called IBB from
North to South, East to West, would concede to the
bare-faced fact that General IBB is generally a likeable
person, generous, kind and very hearty personality
whose contributions to national development and
unity of Nigeria remain unparalleled in the history of
Nigeria. For such a leader who has put his all in the
development and unity of the country to now get
involved in such heinous activities as described by the
so-called Sani Haliru stands logic on its head. All the
insinuations as to the deliberate effort of IBB trying to
Islamise Nigeria are clear indications that Sani Haliru is
suffering from self-delusion. Perhaps, he did not
realize the fact that IBB’s Vice-Presidents and some of
his key players in his cabinet were Christians. He also
might have forgotten that it was in the same regime
that our broken diplomatic ties with Israel were
restored to allow Nigerians embark on Holy Pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. If we are to follow all the writings in the
Bible, and interpret them likewise, one will be
tempted to say that the Bible is preaching violence too.
But the word of God cannot be interpreted on its face
value; hence men should be wary about drawing
conclusions that are informed by their limited
understanding of the word of God.
We therefore wish to inform the public to disregard
and ignore whoever might be the face behind that
name called Sheik Sani Haliru and the message of
doom that he seems desperate to propagate. We wish
to assure our teeming members’ world-wide that as
elder statesman, General IBB will not desist from
offering his plausible contributions to national
discourse and that no amount of blackmail can take
that leadership away from this great icon. The unity
and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria is very dear to
General IBB and having fought in the 30months civil
war of the late sixties, he would do everything
humanly possible to avert any descent to anarchy in
our fatherland.
We challenge both the interviewee and interviewer to
disclose the documents they claim to have to prove us
wrong, otherwise, they should keep their mouths shut
forever.”
PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA
MEDIA SPOKESMAN TO GENERAL IBB