PRESIDENT BUHARI PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE, LEGACY OF CHIEF SHONEKAN
President Muhammadu Buhari has received with profound sadness the news of the death of a great statesman and former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.
On behalf of the Federal Government, the President extends deepest condolences to Chief Shonekan’s wife, Margaret, loved ones, as well as the government and people of Ogun State.
As an internationally-respected statesman, President Buhari affirms that, with courageous wisdom, Chief Shonekan left his flourishing business career 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.
The President notes that Chief Shonekan demonstrated to all that the love for country and commitment to her development, peace and unity transcend the trappings of office and the transient nature of political power.
President Buhari believes 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 President prays that the memory of the departed Head of Government will remain a blessing to Nigeria even as he finds perfect peace with Almighty God.
BABANGIDA REACTS TO CHIEF ERNEST SHONEKAN’S DEATH
A former Military president, General Ibrahim Babangida has reacted to the passing of Nigeria’s Interim National President, Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Shonekan died on Tuesday, January 11, at age 85.
Reacting to his passing, Babangida in a statement described Shonekan’s death as a “personal loss.”
“I hadn’t the faintest idea that Chief Ernest Shonekan would depart this sinful world too soon, even at 85. He was a man, a leader and an uncommon patriot who had a presence of mind and whose understanding of Nigeria was profound and remarkable. It is indeed a personal loss to me.
“Chief Ernest Shonekan was one of our cerebral minds during our time in government. He was the architect of our principle of the free-market economy which helped to open up the system for robust participation by the private sector. The liberalisation of the economy, the investment and boost in the agricultural sector and the budget management approach were part of his brainchild.
“I recollect very vividly how he used to give us tutorials on budget, planning and management of national resources, each time he was invited to our session. At each budget year, Chief Shonekan would be invited to critique our budget proposals and give us further input to enrich the final budget. He was a man of ideas and ideals. He was prudent and preached so much about fiscal discipline.
“It was therefore timely for us to appoint him as head of the Interim Government to help stabilize the polity at a most trying period of our country’s political evolution. He was a calm personality whose managerial skills were foretold in the way and manner he managed a lot of blue-chip companies.
GOODLUCK JONATHAN MOURNS SHONEKAN
Former President Dr, Goodluck Jonathan has expressed sadness over the news of the passing on of former head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan who died Tuesday at the age of 85.
In a condolence message to his family and the Government of Ogun State, Dr Jonathan described him as “an elder statesman, well-loved for his sincerity and sense of purpose.”
The former President further said: “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.
He will 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.”
SHONEKAN’S REIGN WAS INTERIM, BUT HIS CONTRIBUTIONS ENDURING.
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 Ernest Shonekan.
My grief is not predicated not just on the demise of the elder statesman, because he died at a prime age.
However, his exit at a time when the country would need his skills and global connections in finding solutions to many of our intractable challenges is quite saddening.
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, remain 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.
In both his public and private capacities, our 9th Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan, played a remarkable role in the development of Nigeria. Through his actions, he always demonstrated a strong commitment to the unity, peace, and prosperity of our great country.
Today, as we join his family, well-wishers, and all Nigerians to mourn the passing of this great statesman, it is my prayer that Almighty God gives the entire nation and his loved ones the courage, strength, and fortitude to bear this monumental loss.
MIMIKO MOURNS SHONEKAN
Saddened to hear of the death of Chief Ernest Shonekan, one of Nigeria’s leaders.
@kemimimiko and I condole with his wife, the grand old Lady Margaret, children and the entire Shonekan family of Abeokuta. He will be greatly missed.
MURRAY-BRUCE MOURNS SHONEKAN
Ernest Shonekan is very special to my family. In 1964 he was the lawyer at UAC that gave my father Domino Stores. As chairman of UAC, I would visit him, and he would tell me the challenges he faced that made him decide to close Kingsway stores. Great man. We will miss him dearly.
Gov. Abiodun mourns Chief Ernest Shonekan, says death, a colossal loss
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, has mourned the death of an elder statesman and the former head of the defunct Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Shonekan, who headed the ING of between August 26 and November 17 1993, breathed his last in Lagos, early Tuesday at the age of 85.
Prince Abiodun, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, described the death of the Egba born British-trained lawyer, industrialist and traditional chief, as a colossal loss to Nigeria in general and Ogun State in particular.
He expressed grief that Chief Shonekan, former chairman chairman of the UAC Nigeria Plc., passed on at a period Nigeria needed his experience most as a technocrat.
“Chief Shonekan was a first- class administrator, boardroom guru and astute leader whose imprint in the business and political firmaments can not be erased. His commitment to peaceful resolution and patriotic fervour will live after him.
Chief Shonekan, an Egba traditional chief (Babasale of Egbaland), was a true Nigerian who spent most of his life for the betterment of the country”, the statement said.
While noting that his death has created a huge vacuum in Nigeria, and Egbaland, Gov. Abiodun prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul and that God will comfort his immediate family and the Egba Traditional Council.
He will be sorely missed, the statement concluded.
