The former Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Monday said he received with much sadness the news of the passage of the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
Aregbesola said that he however accepted the news of Shagari’s exit with total submission to the will of Allah, describing it as an irreparable loss to the country.
In a press statement by his Spokesman, Mr. Sola Fasure, the former governor described the former President Shagari as a complete gentleman and a devout Muslim through his life.
He said the deceased could hardly hurt a fly but found himself among political hawks during his tenure as president.
He noted that late Shagari was a compassionate person, a patriot, believer in project Nigeria and its unity, which was evident in the slogan of his party – One Nation, One Destiny, One Country.
Aregbesola noted that the demise of President Shagari closed the chapter of the vibrant and colourful presidential gladiators of the Second Republic democratic experience in the country.
The statement read inter alia: “Shagari was a complete gentleman and a devout Muslim. He couldn’t hurt a fly. He was however a dove in the midst of hawks, who hijacked his government and unleashed a regime of unmitigated misgovernance on the nation. This derailed the administration and provided the pretext for military intervention.
“He was a good man, incapable of malice towards anyone. He was and remained all through a patriot, rising above the partisan fray since his ouster from government. His interventions on national affairs were measured, sparse and altruistic.
“The demise of Alhaji Shagari is the end of an era, bringing a close to the colourful and eventful lives of the presidential gladiators of the Second Republic, coming after Dr Tunji Braithwaite, who passed on in March 2016. The others were Mallam Aminu Kano (April 1983), Chief Obafemi Awolowo (May 1987), Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim (1992) and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (May 1996).
“The death of Alhaji Shagari is an irreparable loss to the nation. My condolences to his family, the government and good people of Sokoto State. May God grant him comfort in the next estate and his family the fortitude to bear the huge loss.”
