To Prince Muhammed Abubakar Audu, Hon James Abiodun Faleke, entire members of the Audu Faleke Political Family and distinguished ladies and gentlemen from Kogi State. It is a singular honor to be with you all today, to celebrate a life like no other. To the people of Kogi State, people of every tribe and walk of life. I thank you all for sharing Prince Abubakar Audu with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and your hope found expression in his life. And your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.
It is hard to eulogize any man to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person, their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul. How much to do so for a giant of history, who moved a state toward justice and in the process moved millions around the state.
He gave potent voice to the claims of the oppressed and the moral necessity of tribal justice. He endured a brutal imprisonment in the time Alhaji Ibrahim Idris. He held this state together when it threatened to break apart. And like Kogi’s Founding Fathers, he erected a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations and a commitment to democracy.
Given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, the adoration that he so rightly earned, it’s tempting I think to remember Abubakar Audu as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affair of lesser men. But Abubakar Audu himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, Abubakar Audu insisted on sharing with us his doubts and his fears; his miscalculations along with his victories. “I am not a saint, ” he said, “unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection, because he could be so full of good humour, despite the heavy burdens he carried that we loved him so. He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood, a son and a husband, a father and a friend. And that’s why we learned so much from him, and that’s why we can learn from him still. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his people place in history through struggle and shrewdness, and persistence and faith. He tells us what is possible not just in the pages of history books but in your own lives as well.
For the people of Kogi State, for those he inspired around the globe, Abubakar Audu’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate a heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or circumstances in Kogi State, we must ask: How well have I applied his lessons in my own life? It’s a question I ask myself, as a man and as an upcoming politician.
We will never see the likes of Abubakar Audu again. But let me say to the young people of Kogi State. You, too, can make his life’s work your own.
What a magnificent soul it was. We will miss him deeply. May God bless the memory of Abubakar Audu. May Almighty Allah bless the people of Kogi State and heal our hearts.
– Hon. Alfa Tijani
