The National President of Ilorin Emirates Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alhaji Abdulmumini Abdulmalik has described the demise of immediate past President, General Muhammadu Buhari as a great loss to the nation and the entire humanity.
Reacting to the news on the death of President Buhari in a London Hospital on Sunday, Alhaji Abdulmalik recalled that, aside working for the peace and greatness of the country since he enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1962, the former President had a special relationship with the people of Ilorin Emirate.
He also recalled that the late former President had a remarkable working relationship with a son of the Emirate, late General Tunde Idiagbon, who served as his deputy when he ruled as the military Head of State from December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985.
According to him, “General Buhari stood firmly by our community when we lost General Idiagbon. General Buhari, in the company of General Magoro, promptly paid the family and the community condolence visit and stayed some days behind in Ilorin till after the fidau prayers for Idiagbon”.
Alhaji Abdulmalik also said that the people of Ilorin Emirate would remain grateful to the late President for settling for the Wambai of Ilorin and former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, CFR, as his second and last Chief of Staff in his presidency.
He added that President Buhari’s civilian administration also appointed several indigenes of the community into influential positions.
The community leader, who is a retired Assistant Comptroller-General (ACG) of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) also testified that President Buhari was so friendly to the Ilorin community that he even accepted to serve as the Chairman of the opening ceremony of the Union’s national conference in 1997, an event that was, however, aborted by an unfortunate political development in which a prominent son of the community was implicated in a fathom coup.
Alhaji Abdulmalik however sympathised with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, CON; Government and the people of Katsina State; particularly the family of the late former President and prayed to Allah to forgive his inadequacies and admit his soul into Aljanat Fridaouz.
