Eminent Nigerian leaders, including Olusegun Obasanjo and Kashim Shettima, gather in Enugu to pour glowing tributes on former Power Minister Professor Bart Nnaji during a landmark 70th birthday symposium celebrating his transformative legacy.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State led a distinguished assembly of eminent Nigerians on Friday to pay high-profile tributes to former Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, on his 70th birthday.
The glowing accolades were delivered during a special birthday symposium themed “Powering Tomorrow: 70 Years of Engineering the Common Good,” hosted at the prestigious International Conference Centre in Enugu. Shifting the spotlight onto the celebrant’s indelible marks in academia, public service, and industrial infrastructure, the prominent speakers unanimously framed Nnaji’s career as a stellar masterclass in patriotism, resilience, and nation-building.
Serving as the chairman of the auspicious occasion, former President Olusegun Obasanjo lauded Professor Nnaji as a remarkably successful leader whose entire life journey has been defined by uncompromising excellence and transformative leadership.
Obasanjo remarked that true success must never be calculated using purely personal achievements, but rather by an individual’s enduring ability to radically improve institutions and communities.
Declaring that the renowned engineer had effectively left every public and private institution better than he found it, the former president prayed for his continued long life and vitality, expressing a warm hope that Nnaji would comfortably surpass his biblical three score and ten years to witness the legendary longevity of Moses.
Echoing this profound admiration, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Infrastructure and Power, Mr. Sadiq Wanka, described Professor Nnaji as Nigeria’s structural equivalent to the legendary American inventor Thomas Edison.
Shettima praised the visionary entrepreneur as a stubborn, relentless builder who fundamentally understood that electricity can only drive widespread economic emancipation when backed by strong transmission and distribution channels.
The vice president highly commended Nnaji’s transition from lecturing at some of the world’s finest global universities to building the practical, ring-fenced Geometric Power project in Aba, calling on subnational governments to actively replicate this sustainable model across the federation.
Host Governor Peter Mbah warmly celebrated the innovator as one of Enugu State’s most distinguished and inspiring sons, pointing out that his journey from a humble local background to the absolute pinnacle of global robotics and artificial intelligence research remains a powerful beacon for younger generations.
Adding a strong economic perspective, the Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, and Governor Alex Otti of Abia State both took the stage to praise Nnaji’s immense courage in navigating decades of stifling bureaucratic and regulatory roadblocks to anchor the real economy through indigenous private-sector investments.
Responding to the overwhelming outpouring of affection, a deeply moved Professor Nnaji expressed his profound gratitude to the dignitaries, specifically thanking former President Obasanjo for granting the foundational project approvals decades ago, Governor Otti for providing critical banking sector interventions during the project’s infancy, and the current presidency for its unwavering commitment to expanding the national grid.
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