Former President of the Senate, David Mark, on Tuesday described former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), as a rare Nigerian patriot and leader of all seasons.
In his tribute to Babangida on his 80th birthday, Mark said that his successful military career, leadership dexterity and political brinksmanship remained a huge lesson for study in future.
In a statement signed by his Media aide, Paul Mumeh, Mark said: “no matter the twist of history, no one can controvert Babangida’s eventful sojourn on earth, particularly his insightful leadership and mentorship of the younger generation.
He said Babangida’s legacies of infrastructural development and widening of the public service space remained reference points in the annals of the nation’s development.
Mark listed the legacies to include the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), amongst others,
“His political will to move Nigeria’s capital from Lagos to Abuja, thus spreading development and offering a new headquarters and home for all Nigerians is a legacy generations of our country men and women would ever cherish,” he stated.
The former senate president, pointed out that IBB’s accomplishments were not without obstacles, but he remained undeterred, focused and result oriented.
Mark added that Babangida’s charismatic leadership, sense of justice and equity strengthened “our bond of brotherhood.”
According to him, 28 years after the military president left office, he had continued to dispense goodwill to all, without tribe, ethnic or religious boundaries.
“IBB is a statesman of inestimable value, an unrepentant African patriot and a worthy citizen of the world,” he added.
Mark prayed that God in His infinite mercies would grant the former military president good health, wisdom and peace in the years to come. (NAN)
