Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, has paid glowing tribute to the first civilian Governor of Plateau State, late Chief Solomon Daushep Lar, describing him as the springboard that shaped his life and political journey.
Governor Sule stated this while throwing his weight behind the establishment of the Solomon and Mary Lar Leadership Institute, a legacy project initiated to immortalize the ideals and values of the late elder statesman, popularly known as Baba Lar.
The Governor, who recounted his personal relationship with the Lar family, said the late political icon gave him opportunities and mentorship that laid the foundation for his success in both private and public life.
He noted that supporting the institute is not only a way of honouring Baba Lar’s immense contributions to Nigeria’s democracy and nation-building, but also a commitment to nurturing a new generation of principled, selfless and people-centred leaders in the mold of the late statesman.
According to the Governor, he was just coming out of secondary school as a young man in the old Plateau State when the Lar administration offered him a scholarship to study Petroleum Engineering in the United States of America.
That gesture, he said, laid the foundation for his successful career as an oil industry professional and ultimately his emergence as Governor of Nasarawa State, 40 years after Lar left office as Governor of Plateau State between October 1979 and December 1983.
“Today’s Nasarawa State was created out of the old Plateau State where Baba Solomon Lar was Governor. As Governor, we were told very affectionately about the footprints of Baba Lar that have endured even till this day, from human to physical development,” Congressman Daramola noted.
He described the visit as “a very emotional moment reflecting on how one man, though had passed on, his footprints about a life of impact came alive again.”
Governor Sule said he has never forgotten his benefactor, describing it as uncommon in today’s Nigeria.
The governor recalled that as Secretary of the association of Nigerian students of Northern extraction in the US, he nominated the late Mary Lar, wife of Solomon Lar, into the board of the association because of her sterling public service record.
According to the governor ,his administration has continued to walk the path laid by Baba Lar, completing some of the projects initiated by the Lar administration while also investing heavily in human capital and infrastructure transformation in Nasarawa State.
,Governor Sule pledged his full support for the Solomon and Mary Lar Leadership Institute, from its launch until it becomes a global institution.
He reaffirmed his belief in qualitative leadership, disclosing that Nasarawa State is establishing the first University of Leadership in Nigeria as part of efforts to nurture sustained good leadership for the nation.
“My life will continue to be of service and dedication to humanity, as long as I live, because I remember how I got my chance to get a good life,” the Governor said.
Earlier, Chairman of the CPC, Congressman Bimbo Daramola, thanked Governor Sule for his warm reception and described him as a living testimony to the impactful life of Baba Solomon Lar.