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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)
