Mohammed, the first son of former military head of state, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has rescued a chief cook, Ugbaha Mohammed Dogo, who served seven Nigerian leaders from the throes of poverty.
Dogo, 73, had served three civilian presidents and four military heads of states, beginning from the administration of the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
It was learnt that after serving Nigerian leaders as chief cook, Dogo was was forced to squat with a friend in an Abuja suburb after a house built for him by IBB’s Aide-de-camp (ADC), Nuhu Bamalli, was burnt down following an unrest in his community.
Thereafter, Dogo returned to Abuja without a place to lay his head. He was then accommodated by a-36-year-old Faith Okolo, who came to his rescue when everyone left him in the cold. Sources revealed that Dogo was squatting in a thatched room that Okolo provided for him at Gbagalape, a remote community in Nyanya, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
However, fate smiled on him and changed his story for good, when Mohammed Babangida, son of Gen Ibrahim Babangida, who is among the Nigerian leaders that Dogo served, learnt of his predicament. He was reported to have swung into action and sent one of his aides, Barrister Kamar Alimi, to the suburb to hand over some undisclosed amount of cash to the septuagenarian, so as to help cushion the trouble he was going through.
It was gathered that Mohammed Babangida empowered Dogo, financially, so as to enable him rent a suitable apartment and also set up a business for him.
“We’ve given him the money for accommodation and shop rents,” one of Mohammed Babangida’s aides, Alimi, said.
Alimi said when the news of Dogo’s predicament broke out late last year, Mohammed had called and instructed him to give him some money and to also find out about the old man’s immediate needs, which he did.
While confirming the receipt of the donation, Dogo thanked Mohammed Babangida for coming to his rescue and transforming his life. He pointed out that amongst all the Nigerian first families he served, it was only the Babangida family that responded to his plight.
“”I am very happy. I am very grateful to Mohammed Babangida because he has saved me from worrying about where to get the next meal,” Dogo said.
“I no longer think as I used to do before because of this donation.
Among the many people and prominent families we served in this country, only theBabangida family came to my rescue.
“My family and I are grateful to Mohammed Babangida. In fact; the donation is beyond the quotation I gave him,” Dogo added.
From his story, Dogo served the late Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, head of the Interim National Government (ING); the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He started life as a soldier during the Nigerian Civil War before he found himself working as a chief cook in the State House.