From John Adams, Minna
The ancient town of Gulu Vatsa in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday came alive as children, family members, friends, associates and community members of late General Mamman Jiya Vatsa converged to mark the 83rd birthday of the late general who was executed in an alleged coup in 1983.
It was an emotional moment as tears flow freely among community members as the children of the late former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led by his son, Mohammed Jiya Vatsa, returned to the community, 35 years after the execution of their father to mark his 83rd birthday with the donation of an ICT Hub and exercise books to Day Secondary School, Gulu.
The activities marking the occasion which kicked off on Friday with special prayers in Abuja and the recitation of some of his literary works by the Nigerian Writers Association, Abuja chapter, led by its Chairperson, Hajiya Halima Usman, climaxed with the commissioning of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub donated to the only secondary school in the community by the family of the late writer and a poet and named after him.
The late general Mamman Vatsa ICT hub is fully equipped with computers and solar power inverter for 24 hours power supply, and it is expected to broaden the students’ knowledge of ICT.
According to the family, the donation of the ICT hub is part of their contribution to the educational development of the community in other to keep the legacy and vision for the education of their father alive.
The commissioning of the ICT hub by the traditional ruler of Yaba in the FCT, the Etsu Yaba, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu Adela, assisted by the Emir of Wako, Alhaji Usman Abdulaziz Ibrahim, also witness the distribution of over 2,000 exercise books to the Students of the Day Secondary School.
The spokesperson for the late Vatsa family and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in the state, Jonathan Jiya Vatsa said their late father and brother who was executed in the alleged coup of 1983 would have turned 83 on Friday, December 3rd, if he was alive, adding that the family decided to use the accession to keep his dreams and legacy alive.
According to the Chieftain of the ruling, All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state “the late General Vatsa so much believed in education when he was alive. He was responsible for the payment of WAEC fees for all sons and daughters of this community until his death.
“So the only way we can remember him is to keep his educational legacy and vision alive, and that is why we decided to provide the ICT hub to enhance the educational development of the children of this community.”
He however used the occasion to President Mohammadu Buhari to grant the late General Vatsa a state pardon to enable the family to do more things in his honour, pointing out that “as things are now, there the limit we can go”.
The Chairman of the occasion and former Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Isah Yahaya Vatsa, in his remarks, said the homecoming of late General Vatsa children to identify with the community goes to show that the vision of the late General Vatsa is still being kept alive.
He pointed out that the donation of the ICT hub will no doubt connect the Students and the entire community to the world, adding that though the death of late Vatsa created a serious vacuum, the community is not completely missing him because the children have decided to keep his vision alive.
Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Gulu, the Etsu Gulu, Alhaji Mohammadu Ibrahim said his spirit has been rekindled seeing the late General Vatsa coming home to identify with the Gulu community which their father was so passionate about, stressing that “they have reduced the tears and pains of the community following the death of their father.
“The spirit of the entire community has been re-awaken, this goes to show that there is still hope for the community after the death of General Vatsa whom the entire community looked up to.
“Our consolation today is that the children have decided to keep their father’s legacy and vision for the education of the sons and daughters of the community alive. He was the light of the community but his was cut short.”