Former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has shared insights into his unexpected path from a dream of civil engineering to a career in the military during a live radio program on ‘Search FM’, hosted by the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna campus radio.
Recalling his initial ambitions, Babangida revealed that his childhood aspiration was to become a civil engineer.
He, however, said the government’s deliberate policy at the time in Northern Nigeria redirected the trajectory of his life, compelling young individuals like him to join the Nigerian army.
According to him, the policy prompted him to transition from completing his education at Bida provincial secondary school to enrolling at the Military Training College in Kaduna.
Reflecting on his military career, Babangida expressed the complexities of the Nigerian civil war, highlighting the sorrowful experience of facing former schoolmates and friends on opposing sides.
“It’s not a very nice experience I must say. First of all, you had people you went to school with, people you trained with, people who were your friends; suddenly, as a result of the war, you find yourselves facing each other on opposite sides.
”It is not very comfortable but then we had to do it. The purpose was to unite the country to keep it one, not to break it, so that’s the uniquely sad aspect of a civil war, and I pray it never happens again,” he said.
Babangida reiterated war’s desire to become a civil engineer when asked what he might have pursued if not for the government’s policy.
Discussing his leadership style, which has drawn both admiration and criticism, Babangida emphasized the multifaceted government’s leadership.
