By Baron Ike
Retired military leaders came out in their numbers on Tuesday, July 4 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja to honour one of their own, General Zacharia Mai Malari who was assassinated during the January 15, 1966 coup.
It was an occasion for the launch of Mai Malari’s biography tagged:The First Regular Conbatant: General Zacharia Mai Malari.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo lauded the contributions of Mai Malari and urged his colleagues to emulate his good attributes that everyone has testified about.
Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, former miliary adminidtrator and senator Ike Nwachukwu, all took their turns to say kind words about the deceased soldier.
Gowon and Nwachukwu called for Mai Malari to be immortalised while Obasanjo urged the Nigerian soldiers to take a queue from the deceased and shun acts that divide rather than unite the country.
All the speakers recalled how peaceful, kind, hardworking, loving etc Mai Malari was and wished he was not killed in his prime when he still had much to offer to the country.
Buratai noted that the army of today still benefits from the trust fund which Mai Malari attracted when he was on militar training across the world.
Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai
The book launch attracted personalities from the military, political and business world just as several millions of naira was raised from the chief presenters and other invited guests.