By Adeola Aderounmu

Maryam was 61 when she finally succumbed to the cold hands of death. She battled with ovarian cancer for several years.

Maryam for the record was the wife of one of Nigeria’s former evil ruler-Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Babangida is famous for plotting coups and he ruled Nigeria for 8 wasteful years (1986-1993).

Babangida stole more than 12 billion dollars during the gulf war alone. It is not known how much he stole in 8 years of tyranny. Maryam Babangida was obviously part of the evil reign of her husband.

Babangida could probably learn a lesson from the death of his wife and give us back our money. Life is transient and nobody will leave this world alive!

The money stolen by the Babangidas was meant for millions of Nigerians who are now living in extreme poverty and hopelessness. Meanwhile the Babangidas have been living large and far beyond the means of their military father.

There are a lots of online responses to the death of Maryam and many of them have not shown any sort of sympathy to the Babangida family. This ia largely because they consider Maryam to just be one person like anyone of us. Therefore her death is a childs’play compared to the effects that the rule of her husband had on the nation.

Babangida is reputed to have institutionalise corruption in Nigeria. his greatest evil against Nigeria and Nigerians was that he oversaw the annulment of the June 12 1993 elections. That election remained the only peaceful, free and fair election in the history of Nigeria.

But Babangida annulled that election that would have brought MKO Abiola to power as the president. MKO was killed later in detention by the Nigerian military and probably with the help of some American collaboration. Abiola died while receiving visitors sent by Bill Clinton. One question the US has not been able to address…what roles did the American entourage play in the death of Nigeria’s legitimate president?

Anyway, Babangida annulled the election/ results and created confusion that resulted to the deaths of hundreds of Nigerians in the aftermath as riots broke out nationwide.

It is not uncommon for Nigerian politicians to pay homage to Babangida. This is because the man stole Nigeria’s money like no other; he allowed corrupt people like him to occupy key offices and indeed many useless politicians in Nigeria owe their wealth and breakthroughs to Babangida. This is why the Minna home of the Babangida has become a point of rally for evil and political absurdities.

So don’t be surprise by the eulogies that will come from the political circle to honour Maryam and don’t be surprised that in the next few months from today-all roads lead to Minna.
This is Nigeria, the land of bad politics and tyranny.

Maryam is dead. Is there anything that she would have changed if we could turn back the hand of time? What were her last wishes? Definitely nothing close to evil desire of looting money!

Are there any lessons for our greedy politicians about the essence of life? Is Babangida going to give back to the Nigerian people the money he stole or would he continue to live above the law?

What will happen in Nigeria or to Nigerians that will lead to the re-emergence of good?

Judgment is coming to town and those who have eyes, let them see. Those who have ears let them hear. Yar Adua is wasting away in Saudi Arabia. There will be no greater judgment than the “feedback-evil” befalling those who knew the right thing but ended up doing the wrong thing.

Those who are still looting and doing one little thing or the other that adds up to destroy Nigeria will be rewarded accordingly while they are alive and before our very eyes.

As I close this blog entry I am completely indifferent to the passage of Maryam. If her husband and the rest of the evil rulers in Nigeria have done what they ought to do, she would have been in a Nigerian hospital rather than an American hospital. Now that Yar Adua is in Saudi Arabian hospital, let it be known that judgement may have come to town.

Death is certain, life and power are transient.

Live and let’s live..!