Shehu Sani was arrested in October 1994 and later sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal for treason.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Human rights activist and former federal lawmaker Shehu Sani has objected to the views of fellow activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, regarding former military Head of State Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, also known as IBB, insisting the former ruler is a “great Nigerian”.
The former Kaduna Central Senator expressed his opinion about IBB on Thursday via his official X page whilst wishing him a happy 85th birthday.
Sowore had in an earlier post taken a swipe at some Nigerians who celebrated the former military ruler, who turned 85 on Monday, 17 August.
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While disagreeing with those hailing him, he wrote: “Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, the man who did Nigeria dirty, is being celebrated by his cronies on his 85th birthday.
“He lived long but is no longer living well; but had he not been so wicked and selfish in the exercise of power, Nigeria would not be where it is today.
“History should remember not just the birthday celebrations, but the consequences of the choices he made while holding power that ruined Nigeria.”
However, while giving his own assessment, Shehu Sani insisted that IBB isn’t such a bad person despite sending him and some other citizens to prison.
The former vice-chairman of the Campaign for Democracy further noted that Babangida’s infrastructural development strides as a military head remained unmatched in Nigeria.
Sani wrote: “IBB as a young man gorgeously dressed in Kaduna in 1969. Even though he sent some of us to prison in the 90s, he is still a great Nigerian, unequalled in infrastructural development. I wish him a happy 85th birthday.”
