January 11, (THEWILL) – Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday described the three months period of late Chief Ernest Shonekan, as the former Head of the Interim National Government (ING) an outstanding service to the nation.
He equally called the former Nigeria leader, who succeeded the junta of General Ibrahim Babangida, a unifying force that contributed to the growth and development of Nigeria’s democracy.
Obasanjo disclosed this in a condolence letter to his wife, Mrs Margaret Shonekan which was contained in a press release by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He said that Shonekan’s interim government in 1993, though short-lived by the coup of General Sani Abacha, performed outstanding service to the people of the country.
The ex-president, who said he received the news of Shonekan’s death with ‘a great shock’ while on an international assignment as the High Representative of the African Union for the Horn of Africa, stated that the illustrious son of Africa was dedicated in his duties under his administration and that of late president Umaru Musa Yar’adua
He said that the business mogul would be remembered as a man of sustained strong will to succeed due to his humble background whose life was well spent and death was a great loss to Nigerians
Obasanjo said “on the political scene, Chief Shonekan, as the Interim National Government in Nigeria in1993, though short-lived for the period of three months through the palace coup orchestrated by General Sani Abacha, rendered outstanding service to our country, and we will never forget that.”
“He was a unifying force for the nation and his contribution to the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria cannot be forgotten in a hurry. In all situations, he lived nobly and he died in nobility. He was an achiever. Indeed, Chief Shonekan died at a time the country is in dire need of his leadership, wealth of experience and wisdom to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing the nation,”
“He would be remembered as a man of sustained strong will to succeed. Coming from humble background, rising, stepping and peaking at the topmost plum in corporate management, and the very top of the giant United Africa Company (UAC) ladder, attest to his sagacity, tenacity and steadfastness. He founded, in 1994, the Economic Summit Group, an advocacy group and think tank for private sector-led development of the Nigerian economy, and it remains, till today, sustaining the legacy of helping to support stakeholders in the execution of policies, programmes and strategies in response to any emerging trends in national and global economies.”
“It is also worthy of note that as Special Envoy on the Implementation of the Abuja Agreement on Zimbabwe in 2001 under my administration as the President of Nigeria; and Chairman, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) under Yar’Adua’s administration in 2008, he was forthright, dedicated and showed great patriotism in the discharge of his duties.” he added.
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