Alhaji Babagana Kingibe’s appointment as Secretary to the Government of the Federation was ab initio seen in patriotic circles of the polity as a grave miscalculation and an egregious misjudgment by the President, Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua (“Kingibe Kayoed,” TheNEWS, 22 September 2008 edition).
Kingibe’s fall is belated, even though welcome. It does not reduce, however, the legitimacy albatross hanging on the neck and shoulders of the Yar’Adua government.
Kingibe was a security spook and traitor of the June 12 cause. He traded away his senior partner on the Presidential ticket, the late Chief MKO Abiola, and without compunction served ingloriously in General Sani Abacha’s murderous junta. Kingibe dined as Minister with Gen. Abacha while his own mentor, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, pined away in Abacha’s gulag, finally and fatally meeting his own waterloo therein. How then can Kingibe qualify as democrat? How can he be loyal and not dishonest?
In my locality, there is an aphorism that “he who pursues wealth inordinately ends up ultimately grabbing grinding poverty”. With a little adaptation and hindsight, the metaphor of Kingibe hitting the dust from his Olympian height should not surprise an objective observer!
Ebuns Kemekola,
Port Harcourt.
That Kingibe was removed from the cabinet of Yar’Adua should not be a surprise to the Nigerian populace. I believe he has reaped what he has sown. It is the God of yesterday that gives you time before meting out the deserved punishment for one’s misconduct. As far as I am concerned, Kingibe deserves this big shame.
Bose Ajayi,
Emure-Ekiti.
With the sack of Babagana Kingibe, it is pertinent to know that this is just the beginning of the end for Yar’Adua’s government. What Yar’Adua does not know is that he has listened to wrong advice from enemies of his government who have been seeing the presence of Kingibe as a threat to their plan of either seizing or destabilising his government. I am sure that time will tell.
John Anjili,
Maiduguri.
It is unfortunate that Kingibe did not deem it fit to drop the ignoble trait of disloyalty he has been infamously known for over the years. Imagine, how could he be scheming to succeed President Umar Yar’Adua who had so much respect for him. I think apart from the sack, Kingibe deserves to be charged with treason.
Ogunseye Moruf,
Alagbado, Lagos.
There are certain people who sully others wherever they find themselves. And there are others who never fail to rubbish themselves no matter how clean the environment they find themselves may be. Kingibe is a mixture of both, but more of the latter.
Mohammed Isa,
Kaduna.
I always considered Babagana Kingibe to be a lucky fellow. After doing Moshood Abiola and the people of this country in, he managed to bring himself back to relevance. But like a fly destined for the grave, this time he has done the hatchet job on himself. I hope it is for good.
Anwali Kazeem,
Ilorin.
Babagana Kingibe’s removal did not come as a surprise to most Nigerians. Such is usually how overly ambitious people end. His career could not have ended differently.
Jude Okonkwo,
Enugu.
I have no pity for Babagana Kingibe, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation. I hope he has learnt his lesson.
Abimbola Peters,
Abeokuta.
Babagana Kingibe’s fall was a disaster foretold. He is well known for always betraying his friends. What he has done is only adding President Umar Yar’Adua to his ignoble list.
Peter Asionye,
Asaba.
Believe it or not, Kingibe will find his way back to prominence in the country’s affairs. I believe he is another Maradona of Nigerian politics. He is a master of the game and another government will look for a role for Kingibe.
Tolani Jinadu,
Lagos.
I see no big deal in the action taken by President Yar’Adua. Even Kingibe himself did not really complain about his removal by the President, claiming that there is time for everything. While the issue may not be as simple as Kingibe is trying to make it appear, every public office holder in Nigeria today knows that it cost the Yar’Adua administration nothing to sack him and replace him with someone else.
Bilkisu Obans,
Okene.
There is no way one will not conclude that Kingibe’s removal from his exalted post was the outcome of his inordinate ambition as usual. The ambition which saw him abandon the cause of his former principal, MKO Abiola, in the June 12 saga was about to be played out in the absence of President Yar’Adua. What he failed to reckon with, however, is that this is a different era. He paid the bitter price for this grave miscalculation.
Titilayo Obajemu,
Ilorin.
President Umar Yar’Adua should be wary of his fellow Northerners in government. Alhaji Babagana Kingibe could not have been alone in the attempt to capitalise on Yar’Adua’s ill health to snatch government from him. I believe it is a group effort. But I blame the President for surrounding himself with too many Northerners in key positions. I, however, hope he has learnt his lessons.
Abubakar Haruna,
Kano.
If Kingibe is the man I know him to be, he is not likely to retire into his shell, lick his wounds regarding his removal and gradually drift into oblivion. He is sure to have an ace up his sleeve, considering the calm manner in which he took Yar’Adua’s action against him. However, only time will reveal his game plan.
Ayodele Bamidele,
Ayingba.
What pleased me most about Kingibe’s ouster was his replacement by Yayale Ahmed who is by all means equal to the task just handed to him. Even if Yar’Adua’s move against Kingibe was wrong in the first place, Ahmed’s choice as replacement cannot be faulted.
Olumide Oyeyipo,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
I believe, and strongly too, that this Kingibe matter has been over-hyped by the media. What is the big deal in losing your job as Secretary to the Government of the Federation? After all, the SGF job was not Kingibe’s birthright.
Ismaila Sabo,
Minna.
Why is there so much hoopla about the exit of Kingibe? The man has played his part in engendering national development and should be given a big pat on the back for service well rendered.
Alexandra Osaibufo,
Benin.
Kingibe remains my hero come rain or shine. He is my man, sack or no sack. The point is, Yar’Adua as a President has a serious problem which transcends the politics of Babagana’s ouster as SGF.
Israel Akibo,
Maiduguri.
The sack of Kingibe is quite unfortunate and uncalled for. The problem with the Yar’Adua administration transcends the booting out of Kingibe. Let it be told that Kingibe is not responsible for the failure of Yar’Adua to do anything about the poor power situation more than 17 months after assuming office.
Ernest Ekon,
Uyo.
The removal of Alhaji Babagana Kingibe as SGF by President Yar’Adua was not unexpected. Kingibe is more or less a chameleon who changed colour to suit any prevailing situation. His refusal to join in the struggle to actualise the mandate freely given in the 12 June 1993 election, in which he was to serve as Vice President to M.K.O. Abiola, is a clear attestation to the fact. Kudos to President Yar’Adua.
Segun Akinlade,
Osogbo.
Alhaji Babagana Kingibe is obviously desperate to rule the nation. As a true Muslim, he was expected to keep praying for President Umar Yar’Adua to get better rather than attempting to snatch his job. After all, he owes a lot to the President who brought him back to national reckoning. Kingibe is an ingrate.
Fatima Bello,
Maiduguri.
Ambassador Babagana Kingibe deserved to be disgraced out of office. It would now have dawned on him that all the people he thought were really political brothers and friends were mere sycophants. I will advise him to be more realistic in the manner he goes about pursuing his ambitions.
Eno Etim,
Calabar.
The removal of Babagana Kingibe was long overdue. Students of history would agree with me that it has always been in the character of Sai Baba to be a betrayer. The way and manner he betrayed the late M.K.O. Abiola is still fresh in our memory. Kingibe is a man never to be trusted. Thank God that Yar’Adua realised this quickly.
Dominic Usifo,
Benin City.
There is nothing special in the removal of Kingibe as the SGF. I don’t know why people should raise so much fuss over his ouster. He was appointed in the first instance, so the President was at liberty to remove him, and anybody else he appointed into public office, anytime he so desired.
Bamidele Sotunbo,
Palm Grove, Lagos.
Let us be realistic, Babagana is not the main problem of Yar’Adua. His problem is that he lacks ideas on how to rule Nigeria. I am also of the opinion that his failing health could also be responsible for his actions.
Grace Aigberemole,
Benin.
That Babagana Kingibe’s sack is generating the present level of interest is rather surprising. He was a political appointee and like any of his ilk, his employer gave him the boot when he no longer needed his services. What is so special about that? Please, stop giving relevance to those who do not deserve it.
Emeka Ibe,
Enugu.
I am still trying to come to terms with the way Kingibe was booted out of office just like that. Maybe Yar’Adua wanted to use the sack to restore his bruised political ego? Or maybe not? Anyhow, there is life after sack.
Raphael Ejiro,
Warri.
Ambassador Babagana Kingibe did not deserve the kind of treatment he got from Yar’Adua. Sacking him without any tangible explanation is not the best way to repay a patriot like the former chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Israel Meagu,
Lagos.
Now that Kingibe has been fired, I hope Goodluck Jonathan would have the capacity to exert his authority as the nation’s number one “standby generator”. No more excuses for non-performance or for his obvious colourless outlook. Goodluck, Dr. Jonathan.
Ade Ajakaye,
Ibadan.
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