• As he pays condolence visit to former leader’s family
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, on Monday, was on a condolence visit to the Lagos residence of late Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, describing him as a man with wisdom, good background in the corporate world, as well in economic issues, who the country would have benefitted immensely from if he had stayed longer in government.
Shonekan, who ruled the country as an interim Head of State for three months, died last Tuesday, aged 85.
Jonathan said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after paying a condolence visit to the family of the deceased head of state, recalling that he was privileged to work closely with the late Shonekan, and learned “so much from him when I was in office” being one of the members of the Council of States.
According to the former president, the late Shonekan was a man of great vision for Nigeria, recalling further that he was the brain behind the Vision 2010 and the NSG, as well as some other investments and programmes of the Federal Government where he participated insignificantly.
“Ernest Shonekan is somebody that at least I worked with closely as one of the members of Council of States. I learnt so much from him when I was in the office. When I was president, I was presiding over the Council of States meetings. So when I left office, I was a member of the Council of States. And listening to him, I learnt a lot because he was a man with wisdom, a man with good background in the corporate world, a good background in economic issues.
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“And as a private man, he found the Nigerian Economic Summit Group that is still there today. For such a person who had that kind of vision for this country, he was the brain behind Vision 2010, the NSG, investments and programmes of the Federal Government that he participated in significantly,” he said.
Jonathan, while further acknowledging the qualities in Shonekan, describing him as a thorough minded person, noted that his regret was that the former head of state left government too shortly, expressing the belief that if he had stayed much longer, he would probably have midwife the political process, and the country would have been saved of the controversies currently trailing the 1999 Constitution, and Nigeria would have been seen “moving a different direction today.”
“My regret is that he left government too shortly, and I believed that if he had stayed as head of interim government for about two, three years, and probably midwife the political process, even the controversies we are having with the 1999 Constitution today, we wouldn’t have had it.
“He left too early because of the military intervention, and the rest, of course, you know, I don’t want to say much about it. And so the government was hurriedly given to civilians and today we are still discussing our constitution.
“He is a thorough minded person, he would have made sure that all i’s were properly dotted and the t’s were properly crossed. And probably, we would have been moving in a different direction today,” the former president said.
“So we thank God for him, he lived a worthy life, he lived up to the age which the Bible called three scores plus 10years, 70years. We are lucky that he has at least attained that age before leaving us.
“He has contributed to the development of this country as a private man and he lived a few months, that was in government. Because when he took office as Head of Interim Government, the first thing he did was to release political prisoners. That now opened up a space for Nigerians to begin to participate in economic and social activities.
‘So he had a vision, but we lost him too early in the government and of course, we have lost him finally,” he added.
Speaking further, former President Jonathan said the Federal Government would do everything due to the former head of state to immortalise the late Shonekan, adding that governments Ogun and Lagos would also do what was appropriate to honour the late elder statesman.
“Well, he was head of state, whatever they give to other heads of state, he would surely get it.
“The Federal Government and even his own state government, and the government of Lagos State where he lived, I believe in one way or the other would do something to immortalise him,” he said.
He, therefore, prayed to God to give the late Shonekan family the fortitude to bear the loss.
“We pray that God should give the family the fortitude to bear the loss,” Jonathan said.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune