By Steve Ovirih
Former Speaker House of Representatives, two term Governor of Sokoto State and incumbent Senator, Sokoto South Senatorial District, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has described Ondo South Senator and Amb. Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR, as a shiny light of the 10th Senate, describing him as a very knowledgeable person with a lot of capacities and capabilities.
Tambuwal made this known in the course of an exclusive media chat with the Aseyori Media Team (AMT) at The National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
Tambuwal who spoke with the Media crew of Ibrahim immediately after the confirmation of his Ambassadorial nomination on the floor of The Red Chamber noted that his appointment as an Ambassador was not a mistake.
According to him, Appointing Ibrahim as an Ambassador by the President is not a mistake. As a Senator representing Ondo South, he has had very wonderful, excellent and impactful contribution in the Senate. He is one Senator who has enjoyed mutual relationship with his colleagues.
“The Executive arm wants to take him from us to go and function Abroad as an Ambassador but the truth is that he has been living it and I can tell you he is a Diplomat par excellence.
“When you look at his strength from being a Lawyer to having a foray into War Studies and from the arrays of institutions he has attended both in Nigeria and overseas, you cannot but conclude that Ibrahim is a scholarly personality who likes Studies and who is a seeker of knowledge. So, he is someone I believe will do a good job as a Nigerian Ambassador,” Tambuwal said.
The Sokoto South Senator said sending Ibrahim to the United Nations will be an excellent pick, adding that he has all it takes to be the eyes and the ears of Nigeria in the United Nations.
While assessing the personality of his Senator colleague, Tambuwal said Ibrahim is a philanthropist who is very humane, yet very humble and very stable about the issue of being patriotic and about the matter of loyalty.
“When you are going into a political warfare, and you have him by your side in the same boat, you can rest assured that you will sail together till the end of the journey and he will not betray the cause.
*So ,I can tell you confidently and for sure that he is a good man, very reliable, dependable and possesses charismatic leadership that is the hallmark of a good Ambassador.”
In his advice to the Senator turned Ambassador, Tambuwal however, charged Ibrahim to deploy all of his experience in dealing with people and institution for the benefit of Nigeria.
“Ibrahim understands issues of foreign Diplomacy quite well particularly as he has chaired the Inter parliamentary Committee of the Senate.
“Understandably, Nigeria is not having it rosy in the Diplomatic circle, so I believe that he will get experienced hands to be part of his Diplomatic team abroad; he should also consult widely with those who had been there before him, Diplomacy intellectuals like Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and the likes.” Tambuwal said.
Asked if the Senate will miss Ibrahim, Tambuwal paused a moment before his response and then concluded, “I can tell you for sure that Ibrahim is a shiny light of the 10th Senate and when a shiny light goes for an Ambassadorial calling, he will be surely missed.”