PHOTO: The Author
By Pero M. K. Kerkula
On Saturday, June 13, 2026, Nigeria honoured former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, GCFR, with “The Legacy of a Statesman @84” at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The event marked his 84th birthday and featured the unveiling of three books chronicling his service to democracy and peace.
Reports from the tribute show that Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio attended as Guest of Honour, while former South African President Thabo Mbeki delivered the keynote address. Nigerian leaders present included President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima; former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; and other dignitaries.
Liberia was acknowledged, but no official Liberian delegation was named in media coverage. This is striking because General Abubakar’s fingerprints are all over Liberia’s path to peace. As ECOWAS Mediator in 2003, he facilitated the Akosombo-Accra talks that produced the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on August 18, 2003.
At a time when Liberia’s civil war had displaced millions, General Abubakar brought regional legitimacy, moral authority, and patience to negotiations among Charles Taylor’s government, LURD, MODEL, civil society, and women’s groups.
He insisted on inclusivity, set firm deadlines, and used ECOWAS sanctions alongside UN and U.S. pressure to keep parties at the table. The result: 14 years of war ended, UNMIL was deployed, and the 2005 elections produced Africa’s first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
General Abubakar is widely regarded as the architect of Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999. Yet his quiet diplomacy in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Côte d’Ivoire has saved just as many lives. President Tinubu rightly noted that the new Abdulsalami Abubakar Africa Resource Centre reflects those same values for Nigeria, Liberia, ECOWAS, and Africa.
If Liberia was represented at the Abuja tribute but went unnamed, we still recognize the statesmanship we witnessed as delegates in Akosombo and Accra. If not, Liberia must take a leading role in future high-level events celebrating him. Our debt is too great for silence.
African-led mediation works when it combines credibility, patience, and firm deadlines. General Abdulsalami Abubakar proved it in Liberia. As he turns 84, Liberia should honour him not just with words, but with presence.
■ The writer was a delegate to the Akosombo-Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) talks and represented the Labour Party of Liberia (LPL).