President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Major-General Ibrahim Bata Malgwi Haruna (rtd) on his 85th birthday.
The retired army general clocked 85 on July 24, 2025.
President Tinubu celebrated the retired general, fondly called IBM, on the special occasion and commended his service to the nation as a military officer and an elder statesman.
IBM Haruna retired from the military in 1977 and went into law practice.
Tinubu noted General Haruna’s role in establishing the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as Federal Commissioner of Information. During this time, he chaired Nigeria’s participation in the World Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos in 1977.
General Haruna served in various strategic positions in the Nigerian Army. He was Quartermaster General, Nigerian Army (1968); General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division, Onitsha (1968-1969); Principal Staff Officer (PSO), Supreme Headquarters, Dodan Barracks, Lagos (1969), and Quartermaster General, Nigerian Army Headquarters (AHQ) (1970).
The President also acknowledged General Haruna’s pivotal role as a military officer at epochal moments in Nigeria’s history, particularly his role in the reconciliation efforts after the civil war in 1970.
He also served as Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (1978 -1985), chairman of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru (1985-1992), member of the Constitutional Conference (1988–89), member of the Committee for the National Constitutional Conference Commission (1994), and advocate of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the Oputa Panel (2005).
Tinubu saluted the General’s courage and sustained advocacy for a united Nigeria and prayed that God Almighty will grant him good health and more years to serve the nation.
