Obasanjo, Abdulsalami, Ayu to attend launch of Sule Lamido’s memoir

Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa state, is set to launch an autobiography titled, ‘Being True To Myself’.

The unveiling will be held on May 13 at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, Mustapha Khabeeb, senator representing Jigawa south-west and chairman of the book launch committee, said the event will “unbundle actual political and other happenings in our great country from the tail end of the 2nd republic, the military intervention, untold transition arrangements, to the beginning of the 4th republic”.

He said the book is “replete with all the drama, suspense, intrigues, backstabbing, treacherous machinations which add up to or led to where we are as a nation today”.

The senator said the “long-awaited” autobiography, which will “make waves”, follows years of thoughtful introspection.

He said the account encapsulates the nation’s political, democratic, and governance trajectory, which gave birth to our current development and predicament.

“Sule Lamido’s autobiography, for which he gives the intriguing title Being True To Myself, takes the reader through a revealing story on the making of what he has become today — a versatile, au courant, urbane, cosmopolitan, knowledgeable, dynamic, highly principled and dedicated leader and public servant who has given his all towards the making of modern-day Nigeria,” the senator said.

“As an elder statesman now, Sule Lamido has done well to document this revealing and remarkable experience, which has taken him to the nooks and corners of our country and beyond.

“He revealed how this has enabled him to build an enormous clientele of friendship and association with people from all parts of the country and internationally. His calling initially in the private sector before joining the political fray revealed itself in his rich pattern of relationships.

“It is a beautiful account of our nation’s chequered journey from the 2nd republic to today. It promises to deliver a constellation of compelling insights and thought-provoking revelations into the inner workings of power and governance in Nigeria.

“It is a story of unflinching refusal to compromise the ideals and principles that have guided Lamido’s politics since the 2nd republic.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who penned the foreword to the book, will be the special guest of honour.

Abdussalami Abubakar, former head of state, will chair the occasion, while Iyorchia Ayu, former senate president, will review the book.

Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was Obasanjo’s minister of foreign affairs between 1999 and 2003.

Lamido served as governor from 2007 to 2015. He was a member of the house of representatives from 1979 to 1983.

Among those present at the briefing were Josephine Anenih, former women leader of the PDD; Aminu Taura, former secretary to the Jigawa state government; Musa Elayo, former minister of state for justice; and Ibrahim Kazaure, a former Nigerian ambassador to Saudi Arabia.