General Abdulsalami Abubakar: An officer and a gentleman
The year was 1988 and I was in the presence of the General officer commanding 82 division Nigeria Army, Enugu. His name was Brigadier General Abdulsalami Abubakar and he had come to Makurdi to secure the state for President’s visit. He was genial yet firm and everyone felt at ease in his presence. He watched […]
The year was 1988 and I was in the presence of the General officer commanding 82 division Nigeria Army, Enugu. His name was Brigadier General Abdulsalami Abubakar and he had come to Makurdi to secure the state for President’s visit. He was genial yet firm and everyone felt at ease in his presence. He watched the parades and took note of the position of every broadcast van. He made light of everything and did not intimidate us in any way. The entire presidential visit was flawless and we delivered on our jobs in a relaxed, secure atmosphere. Job over, the General returned to Enugu and it would be another ten years before I saw him again.
I was sitting in a friend’s home in Hong Kong in 1998 when International news channels broke the news of the death of former head of state, General Sanni Abacha.I was so far away from home and confused. What’s going on? I wondered. When you are that far removed from home, you never get enough information especially if the time zone between your country and where you are visiting is a wide divide. I sat in front of the TV waiting for more news at an unholy hour of the morning in a strange country, far from the comfort and emotional security of my home. In time the news became clearer and before long came, the swearing in of a new Head of state. As I squinted at the TV in that Hong Kong dawn, I tasked my brain hard. Why was this new Head of state looking so familiar? Then it hit me. This was the GOC 82 who I had met in Makurdi many years ago. Ten years to be precise. Wow! I thought. How life thrusts interesting positions at people. General Abdulsalami Abubakar was now Nigeria’s new Head of state. I returned home of course and carried on with my life.
Fate was to play a hand again when I was invited to compere an event about four weeks later, one of his earliest public appearances after he became Head of state. The event was over and everyone had crowded the new Head of state while I was sneaking out of the international conference centre, venue of the event. Suddenly, I heard my name loud and clear. I froze. It was the Head of state. I could not believe it. I tiptoed back to the centre of that crowd where he was standing and paid my respect.
“How is your husband?” he said “and the baby.” I could not believe that he even remembered me and the baby. “They are fine, your Excellency,” I managed to mumble. “The baby, a boy is ten years old.”
“Greet them,” he said. Everyone around him stared at me. “I shall.” I replied bemused, melting into the crowd.
I was quite honoured to have been picked out of a crowd by the Head of state and discussed it with my husband who agreed that it was an incredible honour to have been so recognised after being at an assignment where I had met him over the course of a one week rehearsal, ten years before. We soon forgot about the incidence and went back to our routines, until New Year’s Eve in 1998 and seven months into General Abubakar’s leadership.
I had retired at about 10 o’clock that night, but was still awake in my bedroom when an urgent knock drew me to my door. It was my younger sister whispering as she approached me. “What’s the matter with you?” I asked her. “Its soldiers,” she said trembling in fear and still whispering. “What soldiers?” I asked her getting annoyed. Was she dreaming? My husband let her in and tried to get her to be coherent. She explained that she had heard some unusual movements outside and looked through her window to find some soldiers in uniform approaching the house rather stealthily. She did not wait to find out what they wanted but had fled upstairs to let us know, being careful not to alert them. I began to panic and asked repeatedly why we were being visited by soldiers a few minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve. “Are you sure they are coming to our house?” I asked her pulling her to my side. She continued to whisper rather unintelligibly. My husband left us both talking to each other in incomprehensible babbles and stepped onto our balcony obviously looking down at our midnight visitors. I heard them ask after me and I heard my husband reply that I was asleep. Then I listened hard for the remaining conversation. Nothing. Then I heard my husband say, “A message, for her? I will come down and get it.” My sister clasped her hands nervously while I paced the room. What on earth could I have done? I had not stepped out of line or broken the law. What message, from soldiers, at midnight.
When my husband returned to the room, my sister and I rushed to the door. He walked in casually, a smile on his lips and he was carrying a large hamper. We both looked at him and the basket in his hand. After what seemed like eternity, he said, “A new year’s hamper from the Head of state. They were instructed to deliver it before the New Year.” I was speechless. My sister burst into a raucous laughter. “Go to bed,” my husband said to her. “Happy New Year!” I had received several hampers that year each containing pretty much the same regular hamper stuff but the one from the Head of state was one of the most special New Year gifts I had ever received. General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Head of state of the Federal republic of Nigeria, with so much on his mind and so many important personalities including other heads of governments and their representatives to think about, remembered me. It was a defining moment which reconfirmed my perception of him as a simple man, a soldier and a gentleman, avuncular in every sense of the word.
It is impossible to write about this elder statesman and International negotiator without talking about his lovely wife who has been by his side all these years. Honourable Justice Fati Abubakar, advocate of women’s rights, an excellent wife, a devoted mother and a veritable Aunty. It is to her credit that the general looks so well at seventy.
As a curtain call in this special tribute to the good general, I remember as I prepared to present my first book to the public in 2006, I had travelled a few times to his residence in Minna, to ask if he would honour me as Chairman for the Book presentation. He had been travelling a lot for an international assignment and Aunty Fati kept reassuring me. One evening she called to say he would come. I cannot describe my joy when I stepped into the NTA Arena venue of the launch and heard he had arrived a clear thirty minutes ahead of schedule into the anxious presence of the welcome party led by my husband. The General had arrived in the company of former Inspector General of police, Alhaji Mohammadu Gambo and a large entourage from the former first lady who could not make it. General Abdulsalami Abubakar played uncle throughout that ceremony and has continued to do so over the years. The speech he delivered at the book presentation practically blew me away. He commended my efforts, my dedication to broadcasting and my consistency. He also recalled the first time he met me those many years ago and said he knew by the way I discharged my duties then that I was in broadcasting for the long haul. He congratulated me for adding another feather to my cap through the written word, raised the book up and urged everyone to buy a copy. General Sir, you may never know it but it was one of the happiest days of my life. I could never repay your kindness and the joy you brought to a first time author by your sheer presence and encouraging words. It may not have seemed like a lot to you at the time but support, kind words and mentoring is what every young person needs to grow. May you and your family always know kindness and may you live the rest of your life in good health and great mirth, Amen. Happy birthday sir!
Eugenia Abu, writer and broadcaster, wrote this tribute to General Abdulsalami Abubakar as he turns 70, from Abuja.