John Alechenu, Abuja

Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai, (Retd), has described fairness, equity and inclusiveness as the necessary ingredients required for peace to reign in any society. 

General Agwai said this while giving a goodwill message at the 10th Memorial Lecture of The Sir, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa Foundation, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

Yakowa, who was then a serving Governor of Kaduna State, died in a tragic air mishap along with the former National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Andrew  Azazi, in Okoroba, in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on December 15, 2012.

Agwai noted that the late Governor of Kaduna State, Sir. Patrick Yakowa, who was his friend from childhood, espoused the virtues of true leadership and practiced what he preached in the area of peace and consensus building.

Agwai said, “He was someone who believed that if you want security, you must have fairness, equity and inclusiveness that is what he tried to do all his life.

“Let us all know that if we want security, we must have equity, fairness and inclusiveness.”

While shedding additional light on the close relationship he and the late Yakowa enjoyed, the former Army Chief said, “We were born the same year, we got married the same day, our friends were divided on who will attend Ibrahim’s wedding and who will attend that of Martin.

“We both prayed that our first children be girls, we both had daughters as our first children.

“I never believed in my life that Patrick will join politics I’m so glad he did because that is why we are gathered here today.”

Earlier, in a paper titled: “The Prerogative of choice: Its challenges and implications for National Unity,” a former Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Amb. Bulus Lolo, who described Yakowa’s life as worthy of emulation, enjoined Nigerians to note that the choices we make especially in the choice of leaders have consequences.

He noted that it would be impossible for us to expect a different result for as long as we continue to allow the lethal mix of ethnicity, religion and political bias influence our choice of those we elect as leaders.

Lolo who also remembered Yakowa as a humble man, said, “He wore his humility as a garment of Honour, he never bore a grudge against anyone.

“At times, he would go out and do certain things and I would tease him by saying this is beneath you, he would only laugh and say ‘that is your business.’

“Our choices have consequences. Barrack Obama was not rich, he was the son of an inconsequential Kenyan in America but he became President because the US values diversity.

“We must build a nation that values diversity and competence. When will a minority Christian from Northern Nigeria be president of Nigeria after Yakubu Gowon?

“When will a minority Muslim from South South or South East Nigeria become President of Nigeria?

“In the eyes of foreigners, Nigeria is a puzzle. In this country, we have three things: Ethnicity, Religion, politics a lethal combination of these three has never led to progress in a diverse nation such as ours.

Lolo then went on to ask, “In 2023, will we go and do the same thing and expect the same results? never.”

In his goodwill message at the event , former Bayelsa State Governor, Sen. Seriake Dickson, who played host to the late Yakowa at an event shortly before the tragic incident, described his late colleague as a gentleman who valued friendships.

He said, “There are people who pass in just 2 years you can’t find this Calibre of people attending a Memoral event but the case of Yakowa is different that ten years after he is being remembered this way.

“We thank all those who played a role in his life by bringing to the limelight to showcase what stiff he was made of.

“He was not a man of many words but each time he had to make a contribution at our Governors Forum, he spoke with wisdom, he had a quiet and gentle mien, he spoke from the point of experience.

“I flew the same in the same aircraft earlier on my way to Port Harcourt. I was in PH when I received a security call about the tragedy.

“At this time when our nation is more divided than ever it is a time we need to take lessons from the political school of ‘Yakowaism ‘ which preaches tolerance.

“As a people, we may not agree on everything but let our disagreement be in the interest of our nation.”

Also speaking at the event, the minister of Women Affairs, Paullen Tallen, said the late statesman will be remembered for his selflessness and love for humanity irrespective of ethnicity, political  or religious inclination.

She said, “He left a legacy of good leadership, truthfulness and hard work. Yakowa’s life should be a lesson to all of us. He was a teacher, humble and gentle.

“We were both Deputy Governors at about the same time, each time I had an official function in Kaduna, I always stopped over at his house and he always urges me to thank his boss (Ahmed Makarfi) for being more than a boss to him.

“We must not allow his legacy to die. May we also live a simple life that when we are no more we will be remembered for good”.