President Bola Tinubu praises General Abdulsalami Abubakar on his 84th birthday, describing his 11-month transition as the foundation of Nigeria’s 27 years of uninterrupted democracy.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has showered immense praise on former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, characterizing his legendary 11-month democratic transition as the singular act of integrity that rescued Nigeria from the brink of total disintegration.
In an address delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima during Abubakar’s 84th birthday celebration and triple book launch at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja on Saturday, June 13, 2026, the President described the retired General as a rare soldier-democrat, a noble gentleman, and a foundational pillar of modern Nigerian statehood.
The prestigious gathering, which drew continental icons including South Africa’s former President Thabo Mbeki and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, served as a national platform to reflect on the historic 1999 handover that successfully birthed the ongoing Fourth Republic-marking 27 years of unbroken, enduring civil rule across the federation.
In a deeply personal reflection, President Tinubu recalled the intense anxiety that gripped pro-democracy coalitions like NADECO during the late 1990s, when activists widely believed the military junta would never willingly relinquish its decades-long chokehold on political power.
The President revealed that his own decision to end his bitter exile and return home to participate in the transition process was entirely prompted by a direct, reassuring phone call from General Abdulsalami himself, who guaranteed the safety of exiled activists and promised an uncompromised path to civilian governance.
President Tinubu explicitly credited that singular gesture of honor for his own political trajectory, noting that without Abubakar’s unyielding selflessness and willingness to choose national interest over the intoxicating allure of absolute power, he might not be standing as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces today.
Beyond orchestrating the landmark transition, the President highly commended General Abdulsalami’s continuous role in nurturing the country’s delicate stability through his chairmanship of the National Peace Committee, which has successfully bound political actors to peaceful conflict resolutions since 2014.
Tinubu further described the octogenarian statesman as one of his most trusted, highly discreet presidential advisers who routinely provides invaluable counsel through confidential memos rather than public criticism.
To permanently immortalize this extraordinary legacy of peacebuilding and patriotism, President Tinubu issued an executive directive to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to immediately allocate a prime parcel of land within Abuja for the construction of the newly established Abdulsalami Abubakar Africa Resource Centre, ensuring that future generations can draw inspiration from a true national hero.
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