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Former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, has said he is happy that Bola Tinubu is elected president in his lifetime.

In a statement issued by his media office, Babangida said Tinubu would usher in a new dawn for the country.

He said the president-elect has the qualities to take the country “to the next level.”

“It is a thing of joy that this is happening in my lifetime. I can confidently say that Tinubu is a good man for the job.

“I have no doubt that Tinubu would perform as the President of Nigeria. For some of us who have been there before, I know that there is still more work to be done and I believe that Tinubu has what it takes to take Nigeria to the next level.

“We have much potential as a nation. What we need is a good direction so that we can continue to be seen as the giant of Africa. Indeed our best is yet to come but we can get to where we ought to be with determination and commitment.

“This is a bright moment for Nigeria. We have to take our destiny into our hands and make things work for us as a nation. We cannot continue to do things the same way and I believe that God will make things work for this country again because a new dawn has come for Nigeria,” Babangida said.

More than 600 people are now being investigated in Turkey over buildings that collapsed in the deadly earthquake on 6 February, the government has said.

On Saturday, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 184 suspects – including construction contractors and property owners – had already been arrested.

For years, experts warned that endemic corruption and government policies meant many new buildings were unsafe.

The confirmed death toll in Turkey and Syria has now exceeded 50,000.

Mr Bozdag made the televised remarks from south-eastern Turkey, where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck and was followed by another powerful tremor just hours later.

His comments showed how the investigation had widened – two weeks ago, the authorities said that 113 arrest warrants had been issued.

Among those that have been arrested is a mayor of one of the towns close to where the tremors hit, Turkish media reported.

More than 160,000 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged in Turkey after the quakes, raising questions about whether the natural disaster’s impact was made worse by human failings.

Opposition parties and some construction experts accuse President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration of failing to enforce building regulations and trying to divert overall blame for the disaster.

They say that government policies have allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who avoided building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom, including in earthquake-prone regions.

Erdogan has admitted shortcomings but has appeared to blame fate for the scale of the disaster.

“Such things have always happened. It’s part of destiny’s plan,” he said during a recent visit to the region.

With elections on the horizon, Erdogan’s future is on the line after 20 years in power – and his pleas for national unity have gone unheeded.