President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that he benefitted immensely from his close relationship with long-time confidant, Chief Bisi Akande, and that he considered himself lucky to have him.
Speaking Tuesday at a dinner held at the State House Conference Centre to celebrate the 85th birthday of the elder statesman, the President said he was delighted that the sentiments he had about the former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is also a former governor of Osun State, resonated well with other speakers at the event.
“Listening to the remarks from the podium, they are inspirational enough. It has been said that you are Mr. Integrity, we, the younger ones, are very lucky to have you. You deserve to be celebrated. Thank you for always being forthright and being honest. I do not want to repeat myself beyond the fact that, lucky enough for me, I have you. I thank God for your life,” the President said to Chief Akande.
He went further to paint a very personal image of the relationship he has with Baba Akande when he disclosed that the octogenarian taught him the virtues of perseverance, patience, honesty and management of resources.
He said, “we the younger ones are very lucky to have you. You deserve to be celebrated. Anyone who wants to learn forgiveness, candour and reliability should see Chief Bisi Akande.
“You’re a father to many and you’ve lived a life worthy of emulation…You taught me perseverance, patience, honesty and management of resources, be it human and capital resources”.
Recounting the role of Chief Akande in the process leading to the emergence of the APC as a mega party and its eventual election victory in 2015, President Tinubu stated that the lessons in forgiveness and patience that he learnt from the elder statesman eventually led him to becoming the President of Nigeria.
“Anyone who wants to learn about forgiveness, candour, reliability, should see Chief Bisi Akande. You taught us perseverance, patience, honesty, and management of resources, be it human or capital. See me standing before you, I am the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“You know how many times and how long that we spoke truth to power, deliberate on how to take the cuff off this nation, how to change and comply with our developmental objectives. You have been doing it whispering silently, ‘be patient, forget the past, look forward'”, the President said.
In his response, Baba Akande described Tuesday’s dinner as a surprise gesture from the first family, thanking the President and his wife, Senator Remi Tinubu.
According to him: “Yesterday evening when I got to Ibadan ready for today’s celebration there, because I wanted an educational talk, they said we were going to talk about leadership, I was happy.
“Early in the morning someone called me to say, have is seen what baba sent to me? I said ‘no.’ So I opened my phone. It was an invitation for this dinner.
“Like I felt when I was celebrated at 70, so I felt this morning and here we are. I don’t what you see in me, and I don’t know what younger people see in older people, but I will attend your 100th birthday. Thank you very much for being a loyal friend”.
Other speakers at the event, including Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio; House of Representatives Speaker, Hon Tajudeen Abbas; Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State; APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje; former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai; Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, and former Chairman of TETFUND, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, extolled the virtues of the elder statesman.
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
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