General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd)President Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged the statesmanship role which the former self-styled military President of Nigeria, retired General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has been playing in the nation’s affairs.
In a message today, August 17,congratulating Babangida on his 78th birthday, President Buhari said: “on this special day of your life, the reminiscences of your courage and invaluable service to the army in protecting the sovereignty of the country come to the fore. Thank you for the role of statesman you are playing in the affairs the nation.
“As you age gracefully, the country will continue to look up to you for guidance and wisdom. May Allah continue to increase your health and grant you the strength to give your best to your family and the nation.”
This was even as the Presidential flagbearer of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2019 polls, Atiku Abubakar described Babangida as a great patriot, statesman and iconic visionary leader.
Atiku, in a congratulatory birthday message, acknowledged the nation-building roles played by Babangida.
“General Babangida, as a young officer, fought for the unity and indivisibility of our fatherland. And as head of state, he not only spearhead the physical relocation of the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja, but politically too, championed and implemented the ideal of a two-party system which enlisted majority of Nigerians.
“In and out of office, General Babangida carries himself with immense grace, comportment and dignified charisma.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atikiu Abubabar, as the most worthless in election litigation history. He therefore asked the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to dismiss the petition for lack of merit.This was even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar insists that the President is unqualified to contest the election. He urged the tribunal to quash his victory.
These are contained in the final written addresses submitted to the court, which they are expected to adopt on August 21 when the court will hear final submissions from parties to the petition by Atiku and the PDP, challenging the outcome of the last presidential election.
Buhari and the APC argued that not only are the reliefs sought by the petitioners “ungrantable and meaningless,” they (Atiku and the PDP) failed woefully to prove the allegations as contained in their petition.
Buhari and the APC, after analyzing the evidence by witnesses called by the petitioners, argued that in their attempt to establish their allegations, they dumped documents on the court in the name of tendering documentary evidence.
“It is submitted with every force that in the annals of election petition proceedings in Nigeria, this particular petition has been the most starved in terms of evidence, whether oral or documentary.
The petitioners also woefully failed to appreciate that this court does not wrought miracles, but decides cases according to law, and not based on sentiments.
“Whereas, the petitioners are challenging results of election in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and have pleaded in paragraph 107 of their petition that there were 119,973 polling units in the country, they called only five polling unit agents to give evidence, i.e PW5 of Mai Angwa Yclwa 008 Polling Unit of Jigawa State; PW6 of Farin Dutse 001 Polling Unit of Jigawa State; PW12 of Polling Unit 009 of Nasarawa “B” Ward of Niger State; PW46 of Unit 009, Karu Ward of Nasarawa State, and PW49 of Unit 1, Morowa of Nasarawa State.
“Apart from the fact that these witnesses made no impression on the petitioners’ case, a pertinent question arises, to wit, what happens to the remaining witnesses in respect of the outstanding 119, 968 polling units in the country?
On this note again, respondent submits that the petitioners are not in the least bit, serious at ventilating any grievance against the presidential election of 23rd February, 2019 before this honourable court. From the presentation of the petition, through to the calling of witnesses, the petitioners would appear to be very unsure and unsteady as to what they want precisely.
“This is not surprising as the entity of the petition is based on assumptions, speculations and conjectures. The petition itself is based on live conflicting and irreconcilable grounds, the last two of which glibly suggest that the 2nd respondent (Buhari) was not qualified to contest the election under reference.
“As against the grounds, the evidence given, both oral and the dumped documentary, suggests something different; the five reliefs sought are not any shade better than the grounds, but they vividly bring to the fore the confusion enveloping the entire petition.
“Reliefs (b) and (c) wishfully pray this honourable court to, not only to declare the 1st petitioner (Atiku) as the winner of the election, but also to issue him a certificate of return. Yet, throughout the gamut of the terse evidence presented, it has not been demonstrated by any strand of evidence at all, how the 1st petitioner secured the highest number of lawful votes cast at the election, to warrant a certificate of return being issued to him.
“Reliefs (d) and (e) trivially pray the court to determine that the respondent, who was a military Head of State between 1983 and 1985; a former Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces; a former Military Governor of the old North-Eastern State; a former Federal Commissioner of Petroleum, a democratically elected President of Nigeria, between 2015 and 2019, etc., was not qualified to contest the said election. ‘I’here is an alternative relief, which is neither here nor there.
“In purporting to present a case before this court, the petitioners called 62 witnesses, While the respondent called seven witnesses. The seven witnesses called by the respondent were called out of abundance of caution, more particularly so, that at the close of the petitioners ‘case, the respondent has extracted every bit of evidence needed to not only deflate the entirety of the petitioners’ case, but also to establish the facts pleaded in his reply.
“As for the much propagated non-qualification of the respondent, not a single one of the witnesses called by the petitioners gave any scintilla of evidence to support this presumptuous claim. Out of abundance of caution, the respondent called four witnesses in respect of his qualification? who not only gave evidence as to their class and course relationships with the respondent, but also tendered photographs. results, transcripts, among others.”
“The 1st petitioner, who has made and continues to make a mountain out of the molehill of an otherwise irrelevant issue, has failed, refused and neglected to tender or produce any educational certificate of his. The Form CF001 which he claims in paragraphs 18 and 19 of his reply to the respondent’s reply has not been tendered before this honorable court.“
Source: The Nation.
Zakzaky IbrahimThe Federal Government of Nigeria has narrated how the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites, Ibraheem El-zakzaky planned to use his supposed medical trip to India to escape and seek asylum in another country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has recommended sports of different kinds to both the young men and women as well and old people for the purpose of attaining good health, apart from also generating incomes and promoting healthy local and global relationships as well as ensuring unity.Speaking today, August 16 when he received in audience in his Daura country home, Katsina State, organizers of the Muhammadu Buhari Cup Competition and some soccer teams, the President said: “I want the younger generation of our population to take part in sports so as to keep away from mischief and lawlessness.”
President Buhari stressed that in addition to physical and mental fitness, sports also provides employment and ensures wellbeing.
“Sports provide jobs opportunities. It is also a business from which you can earn respectable incomes.”
The President said that those who compete and excel at state and zones will eventually rise into national reckoning with focus and determination.
The President commended organizers of the competition for maintaining unity among the youths in the Emirate, adding that by keeping the young people positively engaged, sporting activities also protect them from negative influences.
The Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee of the competition, Malam Aliyu Bello told the President that before introduction of various cup competitions, young people in the Emirate were contending with idleness, lawlessness and in some cases, drugs abuse.
He said revival of sporting events in the state by Alhaji Sani Abu had brought a decline in negative activities.
The Director of Sports in Katsina State, Nalado Iro Kankia, assured the President that Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s administration will continue to provide facilities and opportunities for promotion of sports.
The Muhammadu Buhari Cup Competition is held annually in Daura Emirate to encourage youths to develop interest in sporting careers and enhance their skills.
“We vehemently condemn the way the security agents whisked him away upon arrival without allowing the multitude of journalists that were waiting for him for hours to have a chat with him. We urge the security agency holding him hostage to declare to the public where they are keeping him in the country.”These were the exact words contained in a statement by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), known also as Shiites as their leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky landed at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport from India today, August 16 after what the group called “his aborted medical treatment in India.”
The statement signed by the spokesman of the group, Ibrahim Musa, said that the Nigerian authorities had tried all its antics to see that the El-Zazaky wasn’t given a medical leave, saying that the Shiite leader declined the government’s offer of a jet to take him to the destination because he had earlier survived attempts to poison and kill him while in detention in Nigeria.
“Our leader, Sheikh Zakzaky declined the offer and chose to pay for his trip through the Emirates Airline.
Their ordeal started right here in Nigeria when they were schedule to board the plane to Dubai. After a 2 hours’ drive from Kaduna to Nnamdi Azikwe international Airport in Abuja, they were not given enough time to rest before boarding the plane.
“They endured an 8 hours flight to Dubai and another 3 hours flight to New Delhi. Under normal circumstances, as patients suffering life threatening ailments they shouldn’t have been subjected to such exhaustion. Nonetheless our leader and his wife endured the journey hoping that they will get good treatment when they reached New Delhi.
“However, despite their need for rest, they were forcibly wheeled to a hospital on arrival without their personal physician that accompanied them from Nigeria. They were then subjected to physical examination in the absence of the doctors that initially examined them in Nigeria and when they requested for their presence, it was turned down. Another physician that came from London was also denied access to them despite his familiarity with the Sheikh’s case from Nigeria. It was at this point that Sheikh Zakzaky lost confidence in the whole process and refused any further attempt to have him forcibly treated.
“Moreso, the Hospital compromised its independence and medical ethics, treating without obtaining consent of the patients. The health workers were further more interested in taking selfie with the Sheikh and posting on social media, thereby violating their privacies. When the Sheikh noticed some physical assault in addition to the background circumstances, he lost complete confidence in the hospital and demanded to see his own doctors for a substitute arrangement. It is well within every patient’s right to decide whether or not to be treated and to also decide who attends to his health. It is called giving of consent, which every sane autonomous person with capacity is entitled to.
“Contrary to the Nigerian government’s press statement, that misinformed that it was against “medical ethics and standard practice,” it is in fact at the very essence of medical ethics, which every elementary medical person knows.
“The interference of the government raised suspicion that it was planning to kill the Sheikh in India using its international connections. He insisted that if he would not be allowed to see the doctors that brought him to India he would rather come back to Nigeria and seek another destination for his treatment. This became clear because of the government’s stance insisting on other doctors than the ones that he was in India to meet. They finally decided to bring him back for refusing to succumb to be treated by their chosen doctors.
“It is worth noting that the Kaduna high court allowed the Sheikh to go to India with the government only supervising, instead the federal government presented him to the Indian government as a dangerous suspect with an unknown ailment coming to India and demanded stringent security placed on him. There was even a report that the security agents in India subjected him to physical assault.
“It is glaringly clear that the Nigerian government had an ulterior motive it was nursing using its connections in India when it violated court order and interfered with the procedures of the Sheikh’s treatment. This can also be deduced from the way the security agents whisked him away to unknown destination after arrival at Abuja International airport, without allowing him to have audience with the journalists that were waiting for his arrival.
“The Islamic Movement will however continue its struggle to ensure that our leader gets the appropriate medical treatment he deserves as ordered by the Kaduna High court. And as we continue with the struggle, we wish to reiterate our call for the federal government to comply with an earlier Abuja high court that has freed him since 2016. We believe obedience to this court order will finally solve the crisis that has been lingering since the Zaria genocide of December 2015.”
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd)I wrote the last tribute on the occasion of the anniversary of former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) in 2017 on his 76th birthday titled: “At 76, IBB sustains his essential rhythm.” I had introduced the subject matter by pointing out how special the month of August is to him, being the month of his birth and the month he stepped in and out of the saddle as military president.
Nothing has changed or can change the fact that the eighth month in the annual calendar holds a great deal of significance for him and intense attraction to his admirers in the contemplation and celebration of the IBB persona, which is wrapped in enigma. The phenomenal individuality that lives on the mythical Hilltop in Minna marks his 78th anniversary on August 17.
Interestingly, at an age shy of 80, IBB continues to maintain his important beats. But, it is about time he confronted his existential conundrums before he takes his deserved place in the pantheon. At 78, IBB can laugh death to scorn. In other words, as a veritable human institution, he has overcome the fear of death- certainly no more points to prove. He can fittingly appropriate the Latin phrase attributed to Julius Caesar, in a letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela, “Veni, vidi, vici”, meaning I came, I saw and I conquered.
As a sui generis statesman, IBB had defined his eon with the magnitude of his character, military discipline and political beliefs. He had compulsorily fought a number of battles; he had also deliberately chosen some battles to fight while in the face of imminent defeats in some other battles, he had beaten tactical retreats; and, perhaps guided on those occasions by the eternal words of Demosthenes, an epic Greek orator, after the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC where, according to notes, he deserted, to wit: “For he that fights and runs away, may live to fight another day.”
One of such occasions was the annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. IBB had stepped aside following national and international pressure against his plan to elongate his stay in power. The other was the battle to return to the presidency via the ballot box, but which plan he abandoned in 2007 under the tension of counter goal and intimidation by the powers-that-be. By stepping aside amid the ballyhoo that greeted the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, IBB had cleverly negotiated his survival against so many forces that had engaged him in a survival battle.
That episodic event was after he had been largely sustained in power with the support of a carefully selected crop of academics and brilliant minds, with whose cerebral resources, he had survived the dialectics and polemics of intellectual interrogations of the contents of his transition programme from the wider community of the nation’s anti-military eggheads. IBB had also surmounted the political confrontations by the old guard of barely principled politicians, who piled pressure on him to surrender power to civil authority, as well as the tangible strain of his own military constituency, which was ready to explore the coup option as a last resort to bring his regime to a terminus.
As I wrote before, in the peak of the commotion, the army general who survived a bloody coup masterminded by Major Gideon Orkar, had decided to stop the seeming unending mesmerism of the polity, characterized by continuous shifts of and adjustments in the transition timetable. In the face of obvious loss of popular support and national goodwill, the famed Maradona of Nigeria’s political landscape, had thrown in the towel and emplaced an Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. He had retreated to his Hilltop mansion in Minna for power-brokerage communion.
Since 1993, the avuncular IBB has continued to minister to the needs of his loyalists as an oracle of sorts, building for himself a seemingly impregnable myth of the ultimate power broker until it was shattered in 2006 when the then president, General Olusegun Obasanjo, unleashed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on his first son, Mohammed, for his alleged 24 percent shareholding in Globacom under the chair of Otunba Mike Adenuga. The melodrama of Mohammed’s invitation by the EFCC happened about the eve of IBB’s 65th birthday in 2006. It was also a prelude to the widespread agitations by IBB’s followers to have him join the race for the presidency in 2007.
Between hunting down Adenuga, who was believed to be a trusted business ally of IBB and Mohammed, was IBB himself who, although was untouched, got the message that he should not attempt to vie for the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any other party’s platform for that matter. Since that incident, which saw IBB withdraw his interest after picking the expression of interest form, he has remained content with his pastime as a perceptive “prophetic” or “oracular” diviner. His influence in shaping the direction of leadership and governance has not been diminished by the reality of the socio-economic and political conditions that served as an endgame to his regime in 1993.
I have always argued that the political ferment that culminated in the anti-climax of his historic egress was an inalienable part of the corpus of knowledge that underpinned the nation’s ill-fated Third Republic, over which his regime superintended. Notwithstanding, he chose to be his own prophet, declaring that he was stepping aside. He did so with the intention of returning to power some day, but his prophecy did not come true. The year 2007 had marked a dramatic retreat by IBB into his shell. It was a denouement of sorts.
Opposition to his presidential aspiration had come from Obasanjo, the man he helped to power in 1999. He had to withdraw from the race because he could not secure Obasanjo’s critical support. In his letter of withdrawal, which he sent to Obasanjo, he had said he was withdrawing because of the moral dilemma occasioned by the entry of General Aliyu Gusau and Alhaji Umar Yar’ Adua both of whom he described as a friend and a younger brother respectively into the race.
Surprisingly, in 2010, following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, IBB was listed among the northern presidential aspirants shortlisted by a group of northern leaders chaired by the late Malam Adamu Ciroma for the choice of a consensus candidate that would be supported by the north in the PDP presidential primary. But Atiku Abubakar had emerged the eventual consensus choice of the northern leaders. IBB had maintained a studied silence subsequently, not acting in any way that would unsettle the polity.
Perhaps, since after the 1993 experience, he considers no sacrifice too much to make for national unity. This must have informed his resolve in 2007, in particular, to quietly ease out of the presidential race without embracing the idea of confronting Obasanjo in a witty and gritty succession battle. Even now, the gap-toothed general understands better the dynamics of the Nigerian political landscape. He knows how to sustain his own political rhythm or relevance.
But, in sustaining his essential relevance in the ambit of the perception, conception and construction of a united and stable nation, IBB must be fair to himself by taking steps to shed the garbs of “evil genius”, “Maradona” and other insalubrious monikers that had been foisted on him by the significant others in describing his individuality. What do I mean? It is time IBB declassified once and for posterity his roles in a number of incidents in which he reportedly featured prominently.
Consider some of them: the coup for which his best friend, General Mamman Vatsa, was killed in order to clear some insidious insinuations; the June 12, 1993 presidential election annulment to clarify the roles played by all the actors; the allegedly misappropriated $12.5 billion Gulf Oil Windfall despite a court dismissal of the suit against him in 2012; and the assassination of Dele Giwa via a parcel bomb under his regime, among others. An autobiography is a veritable medium by which he can declassify his roles and those of the significant others; otherwise, he would go with his own sides of the stories to his grave.
But is this the essential legacy, a legacy of unresolved riddles and obfuscated brainteasers, that IBB wants to leave behind as a statesman? He must obligatorily ponder this on his anniversary. This is wishing IBB well on his 78th birthday.
Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, contributed this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com
Ex football international, Kanu Nwankwo, has said that his organization, Kanu Heart Foundation, is planning to build heart surgery hospital in Nigeria to domesticate several heart challenges in the country.“We are also planning to build our hospital in Nigeria because we are tired of taking them out of the country every time. It is all about sacrifice.”
Kanu Nwankwo, who spoke to news men shortly after an audience with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, said that he was soliciting the support of not only the Oyo State governor but other governors, to support 200 patients that are currently awaiting surgical operations through his Heart Foundation.
He said that his heart foundation had since establishment, sponsored 561 surgical operations, adding: “we have 200 on the waiting list and Kanu alone cannot do it. That is why I have been moving from one governor to the other to solicit support.
“I pray they respond by coming to our aid.
A Chieftain of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said that it is a disgrace to Nigeria for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to say in this 21st century that it did not use server for the 2019 general elections.George, who is a former National Vice-Chairman (South) of the PDP, in an interview on Arise TV in Abuja, conducted by Dr Reuben Abati, former spokesman of President Goodluck Jonathan described INEC’s claim of not using server for the election as a disgrace and not heard of in the 21st century technology age.
“In 21st century that we don’t have server is a disgrace. Results should be transmitted in a way that it is not open to manipulation.”
The PDP chieftain admitted that his party’s 2015 electoral loss is a thunderbolt of magnitude, saying: “in the 2015 elections, we were hit by a thunderbolt; it takes time to come back.”
He said that it was unbelievable that the ruling party for 16 years could be upstaged by the then opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
George said however, that PDP is re-strategizing for the future, saying: “we are almost settling down. We are waiting for the verdict of the Presidential Election Tribunal.
“Win or lose, we are waiting for the end of the judicial process but we believe we won the election.
“Waiting is not a sign of weakness. We went to court instead of taking laws into our hands. After the judgment we will do a post-mortem analysis.”
Olabode George, who is former military governor of Ondo State, restated his call on President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as his “oga’’ (senior in the military) to urgently convene a national dialogue to discuss the situation and proffer solutions.
“Insecurity in the country is a tragedy; everybody is on the edge. The summit will be like a feedback for the President, who should also participate in the summit.
“What is going on? What are we doing to ourselves? Nigeria is built on camaraderie of the various ethnic groups that have been living peacefully for years. Something must be done urgently.”
El zazaky in a plane | photo credit: ReporterwallThe controversial leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), known also as Shiites, Ibrahim El-Zakzaki and his wife are said to have been on their way back to Nigeria from India, alleging that they were ‘harassed’ in India.
Information reaching us indicated that El-Zakzaky departed New Delhi along with his wife in a commercial airline today, August 15 at about 5pm Nigerian time
A London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) non-profit organization, said in a statement today, August 15: “Sheikh Zakazky and Mallimah Zinat have stated they will return to Nigeria rather than continue to be harassed and denied the medical care they require in India,”
The couple were quoted as having said that New Delhi was preventing them from contacting their own medical team, lawyers, advocates and even friends at Abuja’s request.
The Human Rights Commission stressed that the couple had “lost all faith” in the prospect of receiving proper treatment in India.
“The actions of the Indian authorities in facilitating the harassment of the couple at the hands of the Nigeria security services are extraordinary.”
Tijjani Yusuf: The Titan Bows Out, By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
There are times when we hear something and it is very hard to believe our ears. One of such hard-to-believe news came to us at the Presidential Villa in Abuja penultimate Wednesday. It came like a bolt from the blue in form of an announcement of the death of Tijjani Yusuf.
Until his death, Tijjani Yusuf was the Special Assistant (General Duties) to the Permanent Secretary, State House. He retired from Public Service as a Director/Special Assistant (Special Duties) in the Presidency in 2016 after decades of serving several Nigerian military and civilian leaders.
A very likeable and unassuming gentleman, Tijjani Yusuf was known for his excellent service and administrative skills, which explains why he was given the national honours of Member of the Order of Niger (MON) in 2006 and the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2012.
For many years, Tijjani Yusuf coordinated the presidential swearing-in and oath-taking ceremonies for chief justices, ministers, permanent secretaries and commission members. He handled meetings of the weekly Federal Executive Council and other sundry issues relating to the President’s office and official residence.
Tijjani Yusuf graduated with a B.SC in International Studies from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and relished his work, especially the private times spent with visiting Heads of Government, like United States President Bill Clinton. According to him, the contacts served as motivation and broadening of horizon, including the local and international trainings, conferences and official visits on the federal government’s delegation.
Today, with Tijjani Yusuf gone, all of us who knew him are united not only in our desire to pay our individual respects to him but, rather, in our need to do so. For such was his extraordinary appeal that many people, including those who only read or heard about him and never actually met him, feel that they too lost someone close to them on that fateful Wednesday.
Indeed, Tijjani Yusuf was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of diligence. And, in the Presidency, he was a symbol of selfless humanity. Thus, we all feel sad that he was taken from us but, at the same time, grateful that he came in the first place. And only now that he’s gone do we truly appreciate what we are now without him.
For all the status, the glamour, the applause, he remained close to everyone and this quality has made us to cherish and admire him. He stood tall enough as a human being of unique qualities so much that to sanctify his memory would be to miss out on the very core of his being, his wonderful sense of humour with a laugh that used to gladden hearts.
Like journalists, Tijjani Yusuf was too inquisitive; eager to know everything about something and something about everything. He was a reservoir of happenings in and around the Presidential Villa, and a journalists’ delight. His scoops were authentic, but unfortunately often not publishable because of their sensitive nature.
I will miss him beyond words. Like countless other compatriots who came in contact with him at one time or the other, one could testify that he was the kind of personality that could rightly be described as “one in a million.” I often stroke the chairman of State House Press Corps (SHPC), Mr Ubale Musa, our mutual friend, and that used to unsettle the late Tijjani Yusuf, and, he would say, laughing that “Kai Abdullahi, abokin ka ne fa.” That really underscored his commitment to friendship.
Aside from being personable and likeable, he had so many endearing qualities and virtues. He was a veritable embodiment of his brothers’ keeper. It is after his demise that I now appreciate why he was always defending the Permanent Secretary of State House, Mr Jalal Arabi. Tijjani Yusuf saw in Jalal Arabi a saint, and you dared not speak evil of him in his presence. Such was his commitment to their friendship. I didn’t know the extent of their bond until I read Jalal’s tribute to his fallen friend. It was a great loss for him and for us.
The days Ubale Musa and I spent with him in his office were full of laughter, education and richly rewarding in every respects. These were days I will always treasure.
Indeed, we are all chewed up with the sadness at the loss of a man who was not even our contemporary. How great our suffering is, born out of his loss, can only be imagined.
But we thank God for the huge mercies He has shown us by bringing us together with him. We all give thanks for the life of a man I am so proud to be able to call exemplary, the unique, the extraordinary and irreplaceable, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds for many years.
As we mourn the passage of this incomparable compatriot, we are comforted by the indisputable fact that Tijjani Yusuf came, saw and conquered by living a life whose gifts, talents and opportunities were judiciously utilised. Rest on, Tijjani Yusuf.
Gulloma is the State House correspondent of Blueprint newspaper.