Tomorrow will be exactly two decades since the nation lost one of her foremost heroic figures, Major-General AbdulBaki Babatunde Idiagbon, at the age of 56.
General Tunde Idiagbon, as he was simply known, was a celebrated soldier, an accomplished statesman and a remarkable “political figure” who served as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (de facto vice-president) of Nigeria between December 31, 1983, and August 27, 1985, during which he was an effective second-in-command to his alter-ego, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari CFR, GCFR.
Idiagbon, who was of Fulani ancestry, was born in Ilorin, Kwara state, on September 14, 1943. His father was the late Alhaji Hassan Dogo who died in 1978. Before returning home after retirement, Dogo was a cattle merchant based in the Oro-Ago axis of the present day Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state. His mother was the late Alhaja Aishat Dogo from the Bolanta area of Ilorin.
Just like most of his predecessors and contemporaries in Ilorin and the rest of Northern Nigeria, the late no-nonsense military tactician adopted the name of his ancestral family compound as his official surname, which he bore with total respect and pride throughout his eventful sojourn on earth. That singular act of name bearing not only explained his respect and affinity for his roots, but also won for his illustrious forebears and their descendants, veneration of imaginable magnitude, till date.
General Idiagbon did not just embrace stardom or got connected to immortality, he worked for the two by struggling to be educated, building a worthy personality and believing so much in dignity of labour.
Whenever he was on holiday in Ilorin, Idiagbon hawked water across the city before graduating to become a newspaper vendor under the then doyen of journalism in Ilorin, who later served as the national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chief Micheal Bolorunduro Asaju, of blessed memory.
The late General attended the Ilorin United School, an institution founded by the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union, for his primary education between 1950 and 1952.In 1953, General Idiagbon proceeded to the Okesuna Senior Primary School, Ilorin, from where he finished his primary education in 1957. Among his mates were Alhaji Yinusa, a one-time commissioner for agriculture in Kwara state and erstwhile national president of the IEDPU as well as his younger sister, Hajiya Maimunat Oniyangi, wife of Dr. A. S. Oniyangi, former secretary to the military government of Kwara state and erstwhile national commissioner of INEC.
This man of illustrious personality was probably among the first set of indigenes of Ilorin Emirate who enrolled into the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, which he attended between 1958 and 1962. He was enlisted as an officer into the Nigerian Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1965 after successfully completing training at the Pakistani Military Academy, Kakul, from where he also bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He was, by that, one of the first officers who obtained a university degree.
General Idiagbon’s direct political appointment began in August1978 when he was made the military administrator of the old Borno state. He was at the same time the commander, 33 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri as well as a member of the National Council of States till October 1, 1979, when he handed-over the administration of the then Borno state, which included the present day Yobe state to Alhaji Mohammad Goni. Alhaji Goni had been elected on the platform of the Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP) which ruled the state till 1983.
While Idiagbon was, no doubt, the engine-room, the brain-box and the star boy of the military regime headed by General Muhammadu Buhari, the story of how he emerged as the deputy head of that corrective government needed to be shared for us to have an insight into that unique “leadership partnership” he built with his lanky boss and friend.
It was, indeed, very clear that neither Buhari nor Idiagbon was the initiator of the coup that toppled Shagari. They were, however, the greatest beneficiaries of the plot courtesy of their integrity and decency. Buhari was said to have been invited to head the government as a way of adding the much-needed legitimacy to the desire of the military adventurists in power who initiated and executed the coup.
General Buhari’s invitation was premised on his profound administrative experiences and infectious integrity, which characterised his career as the military governor of the present day North-eastern geopolitical zone as well as being minister of petroleum and chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
General Buhari was said to have accepted to lead the government only on the condition that he would be given the absolute liberty to select his deputy. Because Buhari was so needed, he was allowed to make his choice and the lot fell on Idiagbon because of their apparent compatibility in the realm of background, career, integrity, personality and political philosophy.
It was, therefore, not surprising that the duo not only worked seamlessly throughout, but the latter was given free hand to operate. That alluring working relationship saw him dominating the government so well that for the first and only time in the political history of Nigeria, the names of the head and the deputy were used to “nomenclate” the administration as the Buhari/Idiagbon regime.
I, therefore, suggest that for Idiagbon’s heroic labour not to be in vain, the present and future crop of the nation’s leadership should endeavour to emulate his discipline, patriotism, seriousness, loyalty and civility. The present government should also go a step further by renaming national monuments after him.
While I urge the Kwara state government to rename the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, after him, I think it will also be appropriate to ask the federal government, led by his unassuming principal, friend, soulmate and comrade-in-arm, President Muhammadu Buhari, to confer an appropriate post-humous national honours award on him as he did to late Chief MKO Abiola and Chief Gani Fawehinmi last year. That will go a long way in appreciating his services and stimulating the interest of the present and future generations in patriotism and national development.
Imam is Deputy Editor of Unilorin Bulletin and the National Publicity Secretary, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU).
