•Ex-President
GOODLUCK JOHANTHAN Explains
Many do not
know that former President Goodluck Jonthan and his media aide at the time. Dr.
Reuben Abati shared a very close relationship while Jonathan was in power. It
was said then that, if you needed to see the President urgently at short
notice, Abati was the go-to man. He was one of the few personal aides of the
president who saw him every day. Not only that, he was never far way from the
President except when he was away from Abuja. President Jonathan trusted his
capability and had absolute confidence in the decisions he took. This was one
of the reasons why he described Dr. Reuben Abati as a younger brother and
friend. He also went further to explain some of Dr. Abati’s qualities that
prompted him to make him his media aide.
Goodluck
Jonathan made the remarks at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs
(NIIA), Lagos, during the presentation of books authored by the veteran
journalist and former presidential spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati.
The former
President said, “My political journey looked like a political miracle. From
deputy governor to becoming president of this country within four years — it
was a miracle. It’s only God that made it possible.”
He went on
to commend Abati for his intellectual depth and for documenting experiences
from his administration, noting that the books provide a detailed account of
Nigeria’s political landscape.
Goodluck
Jonathan also recalled how his path and Abati’s crossed. In his tribute to the
celebrant, he revealed how Abati impressed him with his intellectual depth.
“Today is a special day for Reuben Abati, you’re celebrating your diamond
jubilee today with your beautiful wife. Let me start by saying happy birthday
to my younger brother and good friend, Reuben Abati. I know that Genesis 6
verse 3 says a man should live 120 years, not the Psalm 90 that talks about 3
scores and 10. So, today that you’re celebrating, you still have another 60
years to go and luckily for you, Kiki will still be very elegant in the next 60
years and she will still attract thjose beautiful love letters. So, we wish you
well, and we join you to celebrate you at 60. It’s a remarkable age to
celebrate and you have achieved significantly and I don’t want to bore the ears
of everyone gathered here by repeating those testimonies all over again.
As a person,
let me also commend you significantly. I first met Reuben is it 2010 or so,
that was the beginning of facebook and I had a lot of fans that were posting
all kinds of things on the facebook. Then, your late friend, Oronto Douglass,
compiled all those facebook posts and called it Friends of Jonathan. And we
launched that book in Lagos and you were invited to come and review the book.
And those facebook posts were very tiny little things, so when you look at it,
it doesn’t really make so much sense. But when Reuben Abati took over the
review of that collection, I said this is somebody that has something upstairs.
You showed that you’re a scholar, a brainy, intelligent person, no wonder all
your colleagues have been pouring encomiums about your contributions to mass
communication to Nigeria. We pray you continue doing that till the next 60 years
before you get to the biblical 120 years.
And on the
books, I want to thank you for contributing to knowledge. I always like it when
people write about me because its so difficult for you to write about yourself
because sometimes people know you more than you know yourself. Sometimes when
you tend to write about yourself, probably there’s this tendency to overpaint
yourself in too many bright colours that you probably don’t deserve. But when
people write about you, it makes more meaning. So, I will be very interested to
read about How Goodluck Jonathan Became President from verse to verse, and I
need to do that in the next couple of days. And when you talk about how I
became President, the man who made me President is right here, I hope you
properly reflected that in your book. I hope you captured his role very
vividly. As a journalist, you followed up on my story even before you joined me
in the state house. There were a lot of ups and downs in my political journey,
but my political journey looks like a political miracle. From Deputy governor
to become the President of this country, it was a miracle, its only God that
made it possible. I thank you, Abati, for documenting it, and I know your
scholarly competence and I know this will be on e of the best collections if
somebody wants to read about Jonathan in the state house. I sincerely thank you
and I am very grateful.
Reuben Abati
served with me very well, he is like a younger brother to me and I have to
appreciate some of his kings and traditional rulers who are here, Governor Alex
Oti, Gbenga Daniel and others who are here, I thank you very much, ” he
concluded his tribute which was followed by a resonating round of applause.
Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chaired the event, lauded Abati’s evolution as
a journalist, commentator, and political aide. He stressed the importance of
truth in achieving both personal and national success.
Chief
Obasanjo remarked, “The truth that what I stood for then, you have now come to
stand for. I am happy that in my lifetime, I can say I have a son in Reuben
Abati who has matured, understood, and progressed. You have made progress; now
you must make success.” The book reviewer, Louis Odion, described Abati’s
trilogy as reflections of Nigeria’s high and low points while showcasing the
nation’s potential for unity and progress. The works include: Portraits:
People, Politics and Society (642 pages), How Goodluck Jonathan Became
President (285 pages), A Love Letter and Other Stories (402 pages).
Abati
assured the audience that additional publications revealing more about the
Jonathan presidency are forthcoming. The event featured a keynote address by
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Hassan Kukah.
Several
dignitaries attended, including former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba, Abia State
Governor Alex Otti, Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, EFCC Chairman Ola
Olukoyede, and traditional rulers such as the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun
Gbadebo, and the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir.
Other
notable attendees were former governors Gbenga Daniel and Adams Oshiomhole,
Ambassador Godknows Igali, media executives including Joseph Adeyeye of Punch
Newspapers and Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru of The Guardian, advertising mogul Biodun
Shobanjo, sports administrator Amaju Pinnick, and entertainer Shaffy Bello.
Abati’s
wife, Kikelomo Abati, and other family members were also present.
WALE LAWAL (08037209290)
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