Opinion

Late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari And The Federal Government Of Nigeria (FGN): What Matters Most

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"k9yCbKVU" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Attahiru Ahmad Sifawa<&sol;p><div class&equals;"tv7L00T7" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Two days ago&comma; there was widespread outcry on the social media over the unfortunate disconnection of the house of former President Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari GCFR&comma; from the National Grid by the Electricity Distribution Company&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Many people lamented the insensitivity of the Company as well as the seeming neglect of the onetime number one family by the concerned authorities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is a well-known fact that Federal Government of Nigeria is responsible for the basic needs of past Presidents&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"RmpTkzA6" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Whether that also extends beyond their lifetime&comma; by which authority and for how long&quest; That is not sufficiently clear to the lamenting citizens&comma; as the concerned authorities keep mute in providing the necessary information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>It is probable that these questions may likely fall within some of the gaps as regards legal provisions on the welfare of Nigeria’s past Presidents after their death&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In any case&comma; the unfortunate incident may likely trigger thought and likely policy provisions to prevent future occurrence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The timely intervention by the Presidency over the matter is however commendable&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Important as the incidence and its aftermath&comma; as they may be&comma; there is quite more important matter which supposed to engage the attention of the citizens as regards to either conscious or unconscious neglect&comma; the person of late Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari&comma; GCFR&comma; &lpar;Turakin Sokoto&rpar;&comma; the first Executive President of Nigeria suffers from the Federal Government of Nigeria&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;nigeriantracker&period;com&sol;2021&sol;01&sol;21&sol;kaduna-electricity-disconnects-late-president-shagaris-house-over-debt&sol;">Kaduna Electricity Disconnects Late President Shagari’s House Over Debt<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;It has been the usual practice by the Federal Government&comma; like elsewhere around the world&comma; that whenever a senior citizen&comma; like a former President dies&comma; steps are usually taken to immortalize him&period; It is usually a mark of honour and appreciation over his service to the nation and humanity&period; The common and easiest practice has been to name certain public institutions&sol;places after him&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is unfortunate to note that more than two years after the death of Alhaji Shehu Shagari&comma; the Federal Government has not done anything to immortalize him despite the promise by President Muhammadu Buhari&period; I believe Mr President has likely forgotten&comma; but one must be puzzled by the insensitivity of the Ministry or Agency concerned&comma; thus leading to this expensive oversight&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>It was on record that after the death of late Chief Alex Ikwame&comma; Vice President of the late Shagari&comma; he was accorded state burial and immediately immortalized by naming a Federal University after him by the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari&period; Now more than two years after the death of his boss&comma; President Shehu Shagari&comma; the same administration has consciously or sub-consciously failed to take any step towards immortalizing him&period; If there is anything worth lamentation by the citizens it should be this unfortunate neglect not the regular payment of electricity bill for the house of the former President Shagari&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;On its part&comma; the Sokoto State Government under Rt&period; Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal&comma; CFR has started doing its part by upgrading the Prestigious Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto to a University&comma; retaining the name of late President Shagari &lpar;Shehu Shagari University of Education Sokoto&rpar;&period; It is never late than never&period; I will like to commend Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for taking such a step and enjoined the Federal Government to follow suit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But still&comma; I wish to suggest that the Sokoto State Government’s House be named after the late Shagari as &OpenCurlyQuote;Shehu Shagari House’&period; The Government should also facilitate the taking over of the Shehu Shagari World Institute for Leadership and Good Governance by the Sokoto State University&comma; Sokoto in addition to instituting&sol; endowing a Professorial Chair of Political Science in the same University&comma; in his name&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is noteworthy to mention that late Shehu Shagari as much symbolized astute public servant and educationist as he symbolized Democracy in Nigeria&period; He was a legendary nationalist figure and a Political Schema&period; As far back as the 1940s&comma; in his twentieth&comma; Shahu Shagari co-founded Youth Social Circle &lpar;YSC&rpar;&comma; a nationalist organization in Sokoto Province&comma; Northern Nigeria&period; An active member of the defunct Northern People’s Congress &lpar;NPC&rpar;&comma; a member of the National Assembly &lpar;Federal House of Representatives&rpar; as well as a Federal Minister during the First Republic&comma; before crowning it all as the First Executive President of Nigeria during the Second Republic&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In the Public service&comma; particularly education which throughout his life remained his primary area of interest&comma; Shehu Shagari was a Teacher at the Sokoto Middle School and had the privilege of serving as a language Instructor to white British Colonial Officers during the Colonial period&period; He was the founding Head Master of Senior Primary School at Argungu in 1950 and was onetime Senior Visiting Teacher &lpar;equivalent of Chief Inspector of Education&rpar; in the whole of Sokoto Provice &lpar;the present day Sokoto&comma; Kebbi and Zamfara State&rpar; in the 1940s&period; In the Post-Independence period&comma; Shagari was a pillar in the efforts to integrate Islamic Education with western education which led to the establishment of Jama’atu Nasril Islam &lpar;JNI&rpar; Primary Schools in Sokoto Province&period; After the fall of the First Republic&comma; Shagari came down to serve as the Commissioner of Education in the defunct North-Western State &lpar;present day Sokoto&comma; Kebbi&comma; Zamfara and Niger States&rpar;&period; Untill his death&comma; he continued to serve as Chairman of the Sokoto Education Trust Fund&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I will like to humbly suggest to the Federal Government to consider naming the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies&comma; Kuru&comma; Jos and Kaduna Airport after the late President Shehu Shagari&comma; as&semi; &OpenCurlyQuote;Shehu Shagari National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies&comma; Kuru&comma; Jos’ and &OpenCurlyQuote;Shehu Shagari International Airport Kaduna’&comma; respectively&period; The Government can also look at other similar proposals in order to accord the late President the honour he deserves&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Despite whatever shortcomings that one may identify during his Presidency&comma; given the time and resources available&comma; it is not an exaggeration that the Administration of late Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari had arguably performed better that any of the successive administration that came after him in areas of patriotism&semi; national sprit&semi; selflessness and devotion to public service&semi; infrastructure development&semi; purposeful public policies&comma; and lots more&period; He was in many respect&comma; the nation’s last touch with its legendary nationalist figures and founding fathers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>May Allah forgive late President Shehu Shagari his mistakes&comma; continue to bless his family and grant him Jannatul firdaus&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Attahiru Ahmad Sifawa&comma; PhD&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Department of History&comma;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Sokoto State University&comma; Sokoto<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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