Former Nigeria Leader Shonekan Was a Peacemaker, Buhari Says, Directs Flag Be Flown at Half Mast

Former Head of Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan, has died. Shonekan died on Tuesday in Lagos of natural causes, his family said. He was aged 85 years.

A statement by the family, signed by one of his children, Adeboye Shonekan, said, “To the glory of the Almighty, the Shonekan family announces the passing of our patriarch, loving husband to Margaret, dutiful father to us all and former Head of State, Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan, GCFR, CBE, the Baba Sale of Egbaland.

“He passed this morning of natural causes at the age of 85. The family will release further details in due course.”

President Muhammadu Buhari said he received the news of Shonekan’s passing with sadness. In a release by his media adviser, Femi Adesina, on behalf of the federal government, Buhari extended deepest condolences to Shonekan’s wife, Margaret, loved ones, as well as the government and people of Ogun State.

The president paid tribute to Shonekan, saying though an internationally respected statesman, with courageous wisdom, he left his flourishing business to become the Head of Government at a delicate time, when the country needed someone of his calm mien and pedigree to save the ship of state from sinking.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said Shonekan was a unifying force that helped to bind the country together at a time of great uncertainty.

Former military president Ibrahim Babangida, who had appointed Shonekan head of the interim government, extolled his sterling qualities, saying they qualified him for the tough job.

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, and All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were also among prominent Nigerians who paid tribute to the departed leader.

Buhari said Shonekan demonstrated to all that his love for country and commitment to its development, peace, and unity transcended the trappings of office and the transient nature of political power.

“Buhari believed that Nigeria owes a great debt to Chief Shonekan, the peacemaker, who even at the twilight of his life time never stopped believing and working for a prosperous and democratic country,” the statement said.

The president prayed that the memory of the departed would remain a blessing to Nigeria even as he finds perfect peace with the Almighty God.

Buhari Directs National Flag to Fly Half-Mast for Shonekan

The president directed that the national flag should be flown at half mast from January 12 to 14 as a mark of respect for the former Head of State. Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, announced the directive in a statement last night.

Obasanjo: He Was a Unifying Force for Nigeria

Obasanjo, yesterday, described Shonekan, as a unifying force for the nation.

Obasanjo, who was on an international assignment as the High Representative of the African Union for the Horn of Africa, said he received with great shock the news of the death of one of Africa’s illustrious sons. He declared that Shonekan’s contribution to the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria could not be forgotten in a hurry.

Obasanjo sent a condolence letter to the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Margaret Shonekan, copy of which was made available to newsmen in Abeokuta by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi. In the letter, the former president said the late business mogul was “a role model and an epitome of the good in the nation’s business firmament of mixed blessings.

“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.”

On the political scene, Obasanjo noted that Shonekan, as head of the ING in 1993, which was short-lived for three months through the palace coup orchestrated by General Sani Abacha, “rendered outstanding service to our country, and we will never forget that.

“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 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.”

Jonathan, Atiku, Ayu Mourn, Pay Tributes

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, joined other Nigerians to mourn the passing of Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Jonathan, in a condolence message to his family and the government of Ogun State, described Shonekan as “an elder statesman, well-loved for his sincerity and sense of purpose.

“As a leader, Chief Shonekan was well-respected, because of the enormous goodwill he brought into governance. He was a compassionate and determined administrator, a peacemaker and bridge builder, who stepped in to lead the nation at a very difficult time in the history of its political evolution.

“Before he assumed office as the head of the Interim National Government in 1993, Chief Shonekan had become a boardroom guru, having established himself as a foremost industrialist and one of the leaders of the business world.

“He left enduring legacies, part of which was his considerable effort towards mainstreaming the private sector in the development drive of the nation, especially, with the institutionalisation of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), which he founded.”

Jonathan said Shonekan would be remembered for his great wisdom, peaceful disposition, the goodwill he extended to all, as well as his significant contributions to the growth of the economy of the nation.

Atiku said, in his own message, “It is with a sad heart that I received the news of the death of the former Head of State and Chairman of the defunct Interim National Government, Chief Earnest Shonekan.”

In the statement he personally signed, Atiku stated, “My grief is predicated, not just on the demise of the elder statesman, because he died at a prime age,” but on his exit at a time, when the country needed his skills and global connections find solution to its multifarious challenges.

The former vice president stated, “Either as a politician or a boardroom guru, Chief Shonekan possessed a unique set skill of bringing stability to a tumultuous situation. That obviously was the consideration that made him become Head of the Interim National Government following the crises that greeted the events after the June 12 presidential election.

“Although his reign as Head of State was interim, Chief Shonekan’s contribution to the peace and development of Nigeria in those days and latter years, remains enduring.

“My condolences go to his immediate family, the people and government of Ogun State and the entire nation for the loss of a man of industry and intellect, who lived a life of service to the country and humanity. It is my prayer that God Almighty receives his soul in a peaceful repose.”

Ayu, while condoling with the federal government, the government of Ogun State, and the family of the departed corporate giant, described Shonekan as “a detribalised Nigerian and elder statesman, who gave Nigeria his best.”

The PDP chairman also said of Shonekan, “His death is a sunset on an illustrious career that straddled both the corporate sector and the public service. We are consoled that he lived a fulfilled life, and that his legacy of public service will outlive him.”

Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan, James Emejo in Abuja, James Sowole in Abeokuta, Laleye Dipo in Minna, Fidelis David in Akure, and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

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