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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has said that Nigeria’s National Assembly and the entire democratic system are “beneficiaries” of former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s sacrifice in returning democracy to the country, praising him for refusing to prolong his tenure despite having “absolute power” to do so.
In a goodwill message on behalf of the 10th Assembly at the public presentation of three books honouring General Abdulsalami on the eve of his 84th birthday, Akpabio described the retired general as a leader who “brought democracy back to Nigeria” and shut out those who sought to extend his rule for personal gain.
Akpabio framed General Abdulsalami’s 11-month transition as a defining sacrifice that enabled the existence of Nigeria’s current parliament. “We are the beneficiaries of the great sacrifice done by your enhancing overpower to a democratically elected government,” Akpabio said.
“You brought democracy back to Nigeria,” he added. “So, we have been beneficial.”
He said the very existence of the legislature is a product of that transition: “Because every government will have the executive, government will have the judiciary, but only democracy will have the parliament. So my presence here is an indication of the fact that you have covered all. And that you deserve the honour that we are giving you today.”
Akpabio highlighted how Abdulsalami faced pressure to prolong his rule but chose to hand over power as promised.
“In government, there is a lot of sycophants. You have all sorts of advice. Some came to you and said, ‘Extend your tenure,’” Akpabio recalled. “You have absolute power to do so. Nobody would have questioned you. Others said, ‘add six months.’ Others said three months. Others said whether to go a little bit further.”
But he said those advisers were not acting in Nigeria’s interest:
“They were not speaking in the interest of Nigeria. Not even speaking in your interest. They were speaking in their personal interest.”
Akpabio explained that many around leaders in government are “sycophants around them that benefit from the government. And they want you to go on so that they can use you to prolong. The way they lot the government and the way they enjoy the government.
“But you were able to shut them all up with conviction of the man who knew where he was going,” he said.
Akpabio praised General Abdulsalami as a leader of clear purpose and conviction. “I’d like to follow somebody like you, a man who knows the road and follows the road,” he said.
“So today I salute you. I salute you for your courage. I salute you for your sacrifice. And I salute your work. In the whole of Africa and the global community. And I salute the fact that God has kept you alive to see 84 years.”
He prayed that General Abdulsalami would live longer: “I pray, together with my colleagues, that you will see more decades of life because of your good path in Jesus’ name.”
Akpabio also mooted that the National Assembly should formally honour General Abdulsalami with a special day in recognition of his contribution to democracy.
“We should actually give your Excellency a day to honour you in the National Assembly,” he said.
“We are the beneficiaries of the great sacrifice done by your enhancing overpower to a democratically elected government.”
He said his presence at the event was itself a sign of respect: “So my presence here is an indication of the fact that you have sacrificed all. And that you deserve the honour that we are giving you today.”
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He congratulated Abdulsalami for authoring his autobiography and for the two additional books launched in his honour.
“I need to congratulate you for putting down your thoughts in your autobiography. And I need to also salute those who have added two books in your honour,” he said.
He recalled an incident when a representative of former Ghanaian President John Kufuor seemed to misrepresent history, and General Abdulsalami gently corrected him by shaking his head.
“If you noticed when the representative of the [former] president of Ghana was speaking, he tried to add a little bit of history of your life, which you did not agree. I turned, I looked at you, you shook your head. That the kind of history that will have come from across the whole world. People will say certain things about you. Sometimes, because if you didn’t do this, how would you have been able to represent yourself well?”
“Future generations will never be misled because we were able to put the right things on the table,” he said.
Akpabio also shared a personal story about his conversation with General Abdulsalami involving the late President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, to illustrate that “destiny may be delayed, destiny can never be denied.”
He recalled that Rawlings had a conversation with General Abdulsalami “about three to five days before you became head of state of Nigeria,” and in his “normal brusque way, dismissed all your suggestions.”
“And then you left Ghana. Then three, four days later, you were announced as head of state and commander-in-chief in Nigeria.”
Rawlings’ secretary later rushed to his office to inform him that the man he had dismissed was now Nigeria’s head of state.
“He (Rawlings) said, ‘Oh my God, he had to close work early that day. So, what do I do now? I had a very good relationship with Nigeria, and the man came and I did not receive it as well as I should have done. Who is going to speak for me now?’”
Akpabio said this showed that:
“Destiny may be delayed, the destiny can never be denied. So, it was the destiny to rule this country and to take this country to a democratic rule, and God has bestowed it, but God bestowed that on you, and you were able to discharge it with a lot of sacrifice.”
Akpabio acknowledged current challenges in Nigeria, including insecurity and poverty, but said these are normal in a democracy and that Abdulsalami’s example will help Nigeria overcome them. He also assured that under President Bola Tinubu, the challenges would be addressed.
“Today, many are conscious of insecurity in our country to paint that democracy you fought for in a bad colour. But I can tell you that with the determination of President Bola Tinubu, that the enemies we see today we will see no more.”
“You can imagine in a country where a child would come up to kill the father because of all sorts of situations we see today, with the example you have left behind, we will definitely be victorious.
“We will defeat poverty in this country, and Nigeria will take its vital place in the global community,” he said.
In his closing, Akpabio offered heartfelt congratulations to Abdulsalami.
“Congratulations to you. Happy 84th birthday and congratulations to all of us. May God bless Nigeria in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
