Babangida shattered by Onabule's death on eve of his 81st birthday

By Aminu Garko/Minna

Former Military President Ibrahim Babangida on Wednesday expressed sadness over the death of Chief Chief Duro Onabule.

Onabule died Tuesday night in Lagos, on the eve of Babangida’s 81st birthday.

“I received with profound sorrow news of the death of my dear friend, adviser and elder brother, Chief Duro Onabule who passed away yesterday at the age of 83”, Babangida said in a condolence message signed by him.

“It is a sad irony that Chief Onabule, who was usually amongst the first to celebrate my birthday, died on the eve of my anniversary, and his passing will no doubt cast a long shadow over the festivities.

“For eight years, this highly accomplished journalist and man of letters, stood by me as we tried to reengineer this country, and his intelligence, patriotism and absolute fidelity to the unity of this nation shone through, becoming a big part of the successes we managed to achieve at the time”,he said.

“He was a man with a great sense of history and understood what needed to be done to properly situate our governance efforts, especially in the light of the peculiar circumstances we found ourselves, employing his formidable journalistic skills to get the buy- in of fellow Nigerians.

“Chief Onabule was a man of excellent comportment and I began to call him ‘double chief’ when his people of Ijebu Ode deservedly made him a high chief and he brought his usual dignity to bear on the position, as he had done in every job that ever came his way.

“I will always remember his loyalty and support even long after we left office, and was happy to see that after over 50 years of journalism practice he continued to sparkle as a public analyst, columnist, and chairman of the board of directors of National Television Authority.

“Chief Onabule was a man who understood that nations must adapt in order to grow and every sacrifice made in the interest of one’s country is worth it.

” May Almighty God receive his soul with mercy and give his family and friends the courage to bear this irreparable loss”,he said.