Veteran journalist and former Commissioner for Information in Kwara State, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, on Tuesday paid glowing tributes to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Adedoyin, in a special tribute on Tuesday, described the passage of the former president as a great loss to the nation.
He recalled that the former president had launched a relentless fight against corruption, aiming to revitalise the economy and national institutions.
Adedoyin also said Buhari would be remembered for his legacy of public service and impact on Nigerian politics.
” I was not a fan (in fact, I was an antagonist) of General Muhammadu Buhari when he was Nigeria’s military head of the state.
” I was in the final year at the University of Lagos when he seized power in 1984.
”I was not an activist but the ‘aluta continua’ spirit drove me to be against his regime.
” The dislike was heightened by his regime’s draconian decrees (especially Decree 4 of 1984) that resulted in the jailing of journalists.
“But by divine favour, GMB got transformed into a statesman of immense national value.
“He became a national icon for his spartan lifestyle and a folk hero,” he said.
Adedoyin, a fellow of Nigerian Guild of Editors, recalled that the late president had on two occasions congratulated him.
“I hold as a trophy President Buhari’s congratulatory message to me on the two occasions that mattered to me in 2021.
” The first, my 60th birthday in July and the second, my election in Vienna, Austria, in September into the executive board of the International Press Institute representing Nigeria and Africa.
“My election was witnessed by a Federal Government representative sent specifically for that purpose from Nigeria,” he said.
He prayed God to grant the former president Aljanah Firdaus.
