Why I adopted “Babangida” as my surname instead of “Badamasi”- IBB

Former Military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), said he adopted “Babangida” instead of “Badamasi” as his surname to clarify his origin and resolve identity question around his persona.

Babangida said that some military officers had thought he was Yoruba in his early days as an officer.

He said most military officers confused his name, “Badamasi,” for the Yoruba name “Gbadamosi.”

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This, he stated, led him to adopt his father’s name, Babangida, to clarify his identity.

Babangida hails from Minna in Niger State.

Disclosing this in his book, “A Journey in Service,” Babangida wrote: “I returmed to Nigeria from India in January 1964 as 2nd Lt. Ibrahim Badamasi, with personal Army number N/438. I was promptly deployed in the reconnaissance squadron (the ‘Turaki’ Squadron), First Brigade, Kaduna.

“Although the overall Commander of the First Brigade was Brigadier Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, young officers hardly had contact with him. I had Major Chris Anuforo, Major Hassan Katsina, and Major Okpo Isong as my immediate commanders. These senior officers were very kind to me in their different ways.

“However, before I settled down to work at the First Brigade, a particular incident led me to add ‘Babangida’ to my name. During official engagements that led to my deployment in Kaduna, officers who confused the Yoruba name ‘Gbadamosi’ with my last name, ‘Badamasi,’ repeatedly asked me whether I was Yoruba.

“That question had also come up a few years before, during my enlistment interview for the military. Since that question persisted (and since I knew I wasn’t Yoruba!), I decided to take on my father’s other name as my last name. And I remember joking about it then and saying: ‘Regardless of the name change, I am still my father’s son!’

“As happens with new and young entrants into the profession, especially those on overseas courses, I was put on probation for months after returning from India. Somewhere along the line, a final report arrived saying that I was okay and ready for work.”