Buhari Eulogises Dogara, Says He is Link Between Executive and Legislature

Over N300m realised from book launch as Dangote tops with N100m
James Emejo in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday described the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as a man with an impeccable character and contributor to national stability.
He praised the speaker for being a major backbone for the cohesive relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government in recent times.

Speaking at the birthday reception for the Speaker who clocked 50 yesterday, the president, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said he had found Dogara to be a true patriot and consummate legislative leader, particularly at a period when he was searching for people who are reliable.

The birthday reception, which had eminent personalities and dignitaries in attendance also coincided with the launch of a book titled: ‘A Reed Made Flint’, which is a biography of Dogara at 50, authored by Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Mr. Dele Momodu, and reviewed by former presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who chaired the ceremony, also said he had found Dogara to be a hard-working gentleman who has proved to be reliable within the last two years.
He said a time when reliability appeared to be a scarce commodity in politics, the Speaker had showed he’s not only reliable but also a bridge builder.

He further commended him for making a huge impact in people during his first 50 years.
The reception brought to a conclusion, a week-long events staged in honour of the speaker- including a charity football match involving the prominent figures in both politics and business circles- with intention to raise funds for the less privilege and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-east which had been ravaged by insurgency and poverty.

Dogara, however, insisted that all proceeds from the novelty football encounter and the book launch would be committed to IDPs and the less privilege.
Earlier in the day, he led friends and members of the National Assembly to both the Abuja Children Home and Treasure Orphanage, in Karo, Abuja where he spent some time with the orphans and made material donations to the homes.

Altogether, 19 orphanages were visited, with some House members donating on his behalf in other centers.
Nevertheless, the reception was graced by dignitaries from all walks of life, including the family of President Buhari, representative of business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, former Speakers of the House, Dimeji Bankole and Mrs. Patricia Etteh; former first lady, Mrs. Maryam Abacha; Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State; chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Minister of Information and Communication, Lai Mohammed among other prominent Nigerians.
However, Dogara said the birthday celebration was to help him review how much he had invested in “what God has given me.”

He said while every other prior achievements doesn’t really matter to him, “What matters to me is the future.”
He recounted that his becoming a Speaker resulted from a national consensus, which turned a reality against all odds- an incident which bolstered his confidence and believe in the potential of the country.

He noted that the major challenge of the country and the African continent in general remained lack of credible leadership which the country had suffered from for sometime.
Dogara, among other things, said investment in education and leadership training was the way forward if things must be made right.

He said while every kobo will be set aside for IDPs and the less privilege, the funds will never be mismanaged.
He added that leaders must address the root causes of violence including ignorance, poverty, lack of opportunities, stressing “that’s why we must invest in education.”
Addressing journalists earlier shortly after making donations to the orphanages, the Speaker stressed the need to give back to the society.

He said: “We need to be empowering others not ourselves at this age. All proceeds will be devoted to charity.
“We’ve been able to raise quite a lot and I promise that every dime we’ve raised in the course of this event, including the event we are holding today will be sown back to cater for the less privilege in the society.”
He said:”I call on other Nigerians too and spirited individuals to always extend the hand of support to the less privilege and if we do that, we’ll have a better society.

“For me really, it’s not as special as I thought, all these while, I was determined I was not going to celebrate any birthday- that I’m not going to mark my birthday until I’m 50.
“So, it’s very special to me and what I’m taking stock of is how I’ve invested these 50 years that God has given to me.

“It’s not the position that I am; a lot of people say, oh, because you are Speaker, they call you the number four person in Nigeria, you’ve achieved a lot.
“But to me, that’s not achievement- measuring my life by the impact those 50 years have brought to bear on the lives of others and I have seen it myself; so many people have told me how I’ve been able to impact their lives these few years.

“So, it’s a special moment for me as I mark 50; my next journey in life is to be able to assess where I’ve not done very well so that I can strengthen those areas and to strengthen my resolve to better serve humanity.

On what he thinks Nigeria would be in the next 50 years, he said, “For me, Nigeria is a great country and it could be greater and that’s if all of us do our work.
“The problem we have now is that virtually everyone look up to government; where you have a democracy where people refer to government too much, there’ll be no progress; rather, it should be government expecting things from citizens.

“Every Nigerian must go to work; and if Nigerians go to work, if we do the right things, in the next 50 years, this nation will be a pool of prosperity for all the citizens of this nation; everything we run abroad for, we will have them in this country.
“All that it’ll take is the collective efforts of every Nigerian not just people in government.”
Meanwhile, Dangote had launched 100 copies of the book with the sum of N100 million while Saraki didn’t make his donation public.

The Bauchi State Government launched the publication with N10 million; the committee of past speakers, N5 million; Edo State government, N10 million; and businessman,Emeka Offor, N20 million.
Also, Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila announced all the remaining 359 House members will get a copy of the book for 50,000 each (N17,950,000).
The National Working Committee (NWC) of APC donated N1 million for copies as well as the Northeast caucus of APC which gave N500,000.

Also, all 109 senators purchased copies of the publication at N60,000 each (N6,540,000).
Also, Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal announced a N30 million donation for Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States while the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru N5 million.
Amosun also announced a N10 million offer for copies of the speaker’s biography.
Among other donors, the PDP Caucus in Senate also got copies of the book for N1 million.