REMARKS BY DR. ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, CON, ON THE OCCASION OF THELAUNCH _OF ONE STEP AHEAD: LIFE AS A SPY, DETECTIVE AND ANTI-GRAFT CZARAUTHORED_ BY DR. (MRS) FARIDA WAZIRI ON FEBRUARY 11, 2020 AT THE LADIKWALI HALL, SHERATON HOTELS, ABUJA.
PROTOCOL _
* Each time we gather to launch a book of this nature, a biography or
autobiography, I am always happy because I know it is an effort that
will enrich our national history and document the facts of a period in
the life of our country.
* This book launch, like the contents of the book which I have been
privileged to peep into, provides an inspiration and encouragement for
many others who have played key roles in our nation to tell their story
and let all of us have a better understanding of what happened, when,
why and who did or did not do what.
* In another perspective, Dr. (Mrs.) Waziri’s story is an
inspiration to our youths, particularly the girl child in our country.
It is a story of a young lady who was recruited into the police at the
age of 18, perhaps at a lower rank and worked hard to climb the ladder
and become an Assistant Inspector of General (AIG) of Police.
* This woman-author we gather here to celebrate is a glass ceiling
breaker, a pioneer, a role model, a hard worker, an ambitious person, a
determined soul, disciplined professional and a natural leader.
* A professional like Mrs. Waziri should be celebrated and treated
like an icon that we resort to in period of daring challenges as we have
today in Nigeria. As a police woman who started his career in the crime
detection unit and spent 35 solid years of her life growing from a
spinster, to become a wife, mother and grandmother and a lawyer, all of
these as a police woman, and ended up being the head of an anti-graft
agency, she should be somebody we consult and seek advice from on how to
tackle financial fraud, prevent certain forms of crime and tame our
general security challenges.
* The decision to document her story in this book, which represents
her third literary work, should encourage the rest of us who have a
story to tell that we should stop procrastinating and get down to
working on it. I know that it takes some discipline to do this, but I am
sure that a lot of us will emulate you, Madam.
* Let me use this opportunity to commend the author and celebrant, Dr.
Mrs. Farida Waziri, “the Lady at Milverton Road”, for serving our
nation at critical periods. A woman who was there when the investigation
into the murder of a sitting head of state was being conducted, who was
in the Special Branch before it became DSS, who was pioneer head of the
Special Fraud Unit and may be one of the first ten women to get to the
enviable rank of AIG in the history of the Police.
* Congratulations, Madam. More grease to your elbow and we wish to
read more books from your desk. You can see that with this dignified
crowd, Nigeria appreciates you. At least, it is not every time that all
these distinguished men and women gather to celebrate a person.
* Thank you, all. May Almighty Allah bless our country.
Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
Former President of the Senate and
Wazirin Ilorin
