By Laraba MUREY
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has joined other well-meaning Nigerians with felicitate with an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, as he turns describing his new age as rare and majestic
In a congratulatory message on the auspicious event, Adebayo said: “Your life has become so deeply interwoven with the political journey of Nigeria that celebrating you is, in truth, celebrating the nation itself.
“Your 100 years summon not just admiration but reverence, for your presence in our national life reminds us of the long road we have travelled, the storms we have weathered, and the promises we must still labour to fulfill.
“Today is not merely a birthday; it is a national moment of reflection. It is the commemoration of a lifetime that stretches across a century of our collective hopes, struggles, triumphs, disappointments and renewed aspirations.
“It is the celebration of a man whose personal story is etched so deeply into the conscience of Nigeria that to speak of you is, in many ways, to speak of Nigeria’s own soul.
“Whenever I reflect on your life, I am struck by the truth that Nigeria has produced many public figures, but very few have endured with the consistency, clarity, courage and moral steadiness that define your towering legacy.”
He further stated that, ‘You were a young man who believed that freedom, justice and dignity must become the inheritance of all Nigerians, not privileges for the few. From your early activism in Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) under the luminous guidance of Mallam Aminu Kano to your pivotal roles in shaping the First and Second Republics, the conviction that Nigeria must work for all her people has guided your entire life. That conviction has remained unsullied, unbent and unbroken.
“Whenever I listen to you or read your reflections on governance and nationhood, I am reminded of the rare blessing Allah has bestowed upon you; the blessing of a mind that refuses to age. At 100, your intellect retains the sharpness of a scholar, the discipline of a statesman and the moral clarity of a patriot who has never, for one day, retired from the obligation of thinking about Nigeria’s progress,” Adebayo stated.
He said every nation needs its moral anchors, noting that Yakasai represents one for Nigeria. He described the elder statesman as a living archive, a grand repository of wisdom shaped not by speculation but by lived experience, frontline service, courage in the face of repression and sacrifices made for the greater good.”
He described him as a man whose courage deserves its own chapter in Nigeria’s book of heroes, stressing, “You are not the kind of elder statesman who retreats into the comfort of age to offer safe or vague commentary. You speak truth even when truth is costly. You defend unity even when unity is under assault. You insist on justice even when justice is unfashionable. And for these convictions, you endured arrests, detentions and public criticisms; yet you remained unbroken. Your steadfastness is a rebuke to cynicism and a beacon to a generation that must rediscover its moral compass.”
He prayed God to bless him with peace, joy and fulfillment, adding that longevity is a gift but purposeful longevity is a miracle.
