Olusegun Ariyo
President Bola Tinubu has recounted how former Military Head of State Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB, gave him a handshake after he confronted him over the postponement of the inauguration of the then Senate.
Speaking at the launch of Babangida’s memoir, “A Journey of Service,” in Abuja on Thursday, Tinubu stated, “Without you (IBB), people like me would not be in politics.”
He continued: “One thing I cannot forget—you were in office, you recalled that we were elected, yet you kept postponing the inauguration.
“You summoned us to Abuja, and we became rancorous. I did not expect to speak; I only planned to listen, convinced in my radical manner that this man would delay the inauguration again.
“But before we returned to the hotel, the doors were locked, no keys. Then, when I was summoned by Dele Cole to remark, I confronted you. I told you that you had an opportunity to make history that day, and you failed to do it. Why not inaugurate us? Why were you calling us back and postponing the inauguration again?
“I thought I would end up in jail. But at the end of the remark, you stood up and shook my hand. I will never forget that. You said, ‘You’re courageous.’ That was an inspiration that had a profound impact on my life.”
