The entire staff and family of Newstimeworldwide wish The Former Head of State/ President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Ibrahim ( Abraham ) Badamasi Babangida GCFR, Happy Birthday, Almighty GOD ALLAH JEHOVAH continue to bless you always. Amen and Amen.
Newstime Worldwide
There are some people you meet in life, and there are others whose presence becomes part of your journey.
Yesterday, August 17, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida turned 85.
I had sincerely wished to be with him on his birthday. Circumstances beyond my control, however, made that impossible. So today, I went to see him.
As I sat with him, I found myself reflecting deeply.
At 85, a man has lived long enough to have seen seasons come and go, witnessed history being made and remade, watched people rise and fall, and accumulated memories that no book could completely contain.
For me, however, sitting with IBB was not simply about sitting with a former Head of State or one of the most consequential figures in Nigeria’s history. It was sitting with a man I have come to regard, with genuine affection and gratitude, as a father figure.
I have visited him severally, and he has also graciously invited me to his home on several occasions. Beyond the stature, the history and the public persona, I have experienced a side of him that is deeply personal to me: the warmth of a father, the generosity of an elder and the quiet reassurance of someone who has always looked out for me.
Today, as I looked at him, I couldn’t help but think about the passage of time.
There was a time when men like IBB seemed almost larger than life, occupying the centre of Nigeria’s political universe. Decades have passed. The country has changed. The people have changed. History has moved on. Yet here he is, 85 years old, still carrying the memories of a remarkable and complicated journey through our national life.
Whatever one’s assessment of his place in Nigeria’s history may be, history itself cannot be told without him.
But my own relationship with him is not a history lesson.
It is personal.
And perhaps that is why today’s visit meant so much to me. I went a day late, but I left with a heart full of gratitude. Gratitude for the privilege of knowing him beyond the headlines. Gratitude for the kindness he has shown me. And gratitude for the lessons that sometimes come not from formal conversations, but simply from sitting in the presence of someone who has lived through so much.
At 85, perhaps birthdays are no longer merely about counting years. They are about counting the lives touched, the relationships built, the storms survived, the lessons learned and the footprints left behind.
Happy 85th birthday, Sir.
I may have arrived a day late, but I am grateful I came.
May God grant you more years in good health, peace and fulfilment.
Happy birthday, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR.
With deep respect and affection.
Solomon Dalung Esq.
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