By Ankeli Emmanuel, Sokoto
A group in the Sokoto State, known as Sokoto Heritage Reloaded Initiative (SHRI) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fulfill the promise of immortalizing late President Shehu Shagari made by now late President Muhammadu Buhari when he came for condole the former President’s family and the state after the death of Shagari.
Addressing a press conference Saturday at the Sokoto State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the group’s spokesperson, Professor Uthman Abdulqadir said honouring Shagari would amount to respect for history and a deep sense of justice.
Prof Uthman, who acknowledged that the late President Shagari, while alive, was not just a leader but a symbol of humility, integrity and statesmanship whose vision for Nigeria’s education laid the foundation for distance and open learning, said that their appeal is on behalf of countless Nigerians and lovers of national history.
His signed statement titled, An Emotional Appeal To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” reads thus:
“Mr. President, history will always remember you as a man of loyalty and principle. A leader who stood shoulder to shoulder with his predecessor, former president Muhammadu Buhari, long before power was within reach.
“From the days of struggle for democracy to the merger that birthed a new political era in Nigeria, your commitment to Buhari and to national progress is well known and commendable.
“It is in this spirit of continuity, respect for history and your deep sense of justice that we appeal to you to fulfil a national promise made by the Buhari administration to name a national monument after the late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari GCFR, Nigeria’s first executive President.”
While pointing out that Shagari’s desire for a decentralized education was why he birthed the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Uthman appealed that, NOUN be renamed Shehu Shagari Open University of Nigeria (SSOUN) to serve as a tribute to his legacy and vision for an educated and enlightened Nigeria.
