A presidential aspirant on the platform of a unified coalition in 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, on Tuesday visited former military President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna with former head of state admonishing him not to negotiate away the unity of the country no matter the difficulty confronting him, should he win the polls.
Speaking to newsmen after consulting with the former Military leader, Adebayo disclosed that Babangida told him to ensure that democracy gets better with every election.
According to him, part of the useful advice he from IBB on his ambition was to continue to look forward in whatever he does and not dwell in the past.
He said the former President advised him to use the lesson of the past to shape the future.
“He reminded me that I am going to be president of the future not the president of the past. The only time you look at the past is to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not repeat itself.
“He also told me and I also agreed with him. He reminded me that however talented, wise or blessed you maybe, you must make a mistake because you are human. That I should make sure that I minimize my mistakes, acknowledged them when I make them and Learn from them.
“That my contributions to democracy we are having now is to see that when we conduct our election it should be better than any one we have in the future so that our glory we not be in the past but our future.”
The aspirant who said he visited to consult with Babangida described him as a man who had played fatherly role in his life for many years.
“I also came to seek his supports, blessings and advice for my quest to be the president.
“He has served in that office for eight years. He laid many foundations. I live in Abuja that he created.
“The medicine that I take when I am ill is certified by NAFDAC that he created. Many things that we have in the country that he did well, are many of the things that we have now, for you to go to Lagos, we have the 3rd mainland bridge,” he said.
He also acknowledged the many challenges that he had, that he struggled with.
“The issue of democracy, getting people involved in decision making are what we are struggling with today. I thought I should come to him to hear from him. This is not the first I have to seek his advice.
“What he said to me have been very impactful. He reminded me that we should not negotiate the unity of this country despite any difficulty we face.
“He also advised me that if I must succeed as president of Nigeria I must practice a mini Nigeria every time even in my house. That even in your domestic, when someone looks around he must see a mini Nigeria setting there.
“Even in your thinking, when you are alone, you must think panoramically, not a sector of it. You must take advice from all parts of the country.
“He also reminded me the role of the diaspora that in his government he took Nigeria all over the world….
“He advised me that I should be prayerful and that Nigeria is a place you need to think ahead and you need to work very hard because Nigeria has many talented people and if you want to be number one you must go extra mile,” he said.
