Former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, has described President Bola Tinubu as a mentor and father figure while making a veiled remark on overcoming bullying in a birthday tribute to his former boss on Saturday.
Recall that Ngelale, on September 7, 2024, embarked on an indefinite leave of absence from his role in the presidency and never returned to the position.
He appeared to reference his challenges in the presidency in the birthday tribute to Tinubu.
According to Ngelale, President Tinubu taught him “that consistent persuasion born out of sincere conviction will break the coercive grip of those who beguile and bully others into submission.”
His mention of bullies and coercion may not be unconnected with the alleged tensions within the presidential media team when he served as the president’s official spokesman.
In May, Ngelale and Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, clashed over an “unauthorised” press statement issued by Onanuga regarding the president’s first-anniversary engagements.
Ngelale’s indefinite leave, which was granted by President Tinubu, was interpreted as a permanent departure.
The presidency, in its statement on his leave, acknowledged his contributions and wished him well in his “future endeavors,” a phrase often used in political circles to signal an exit.
On Saturday, Ngelale appreciated Tinubu’s influence on his career. Below is his birthday tribute to the president:
My Father, My President, Happy Birthday.
On my first day serving in the present government, I only knew H.E. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as my President. My Boss. The leader of our great nation, Nigeria.
I had not had the privilege of being around him, except on two brief occasions before that day, despite a very active campaign effort on his behalf.
I could not have known then that I would find in him my most profound mentor and nothing less than a father in the truest sense of the word.
The President has been nicknamed the Last Man Standing.
The last man standing does not merely describe a man who heroically campaigned across all nooks of our federation against institutional forces who conspired to deny our population its currency and fuel.
The last man standing does not also merely describe Daddy as the perpetual winner, triumphant over perpetual candidates, who has won every election he has ever participated in dating back to his school days.
For those who have the rare privilege of knowing him, he is the last man standing in your corner when all odds are stacked against you; rooting you on and guiding you to success.
Daddy taught me that the cost and value of rigorous mentorship is the price of a glorious future and that it is only paid back once it is paid forward to the next generation.
Daddy taught me that appropriate patience and strategic restraint will defeat hard power.
Daddy taught me that consistent persuasion born out of sincere conviction will break the coercive grip of those who beguile and bully others into submission.
There are too many invaluable morsels of wisdom and expertise gleaned in the presence of my father to share in this short recognition, but I am and will always be honoured to be associated with our nation’s greatest reformer.
On this special day, I turn to my Father:
Daddy, I thank you for making the selfless and deliberate choice to use your life’s candlelight to kindle the candle flames of those who will illuminate this dark world for generations to come.
May God Almighty strengthen you with divine wisdom, peace, health, and all that is required of you to deliver the country of our dreams.
Happy Birthday.
Ajuri
