Ex-President Shehu Shagari dies at 93 – Laid to rest in Shagari village

Posted by admin Headlines, Presidency, Shehu Aliyu Shagari (1979-83) Saturday, December 29th, 2018

Shagari passed away at theNational Hospital Abuja on Friday. He was 93 years old.

The news was broken by the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, on his Twitter handle.

Shehu Usman Shagari was born in 1925 in Shagari village founded by his great-grandfather, Ahmadu Rufa’i, who was also the Village Head, and took the name Shagari as his family name. His father’s name was Aliyu and his mother’s name was Mariamu.

Shagari started his education in a Quranic school and then went to live with relatives at a nearby town, where, between 1931 and 1935, he attended Yabo Elementary School; and between 1936 and 1940, he went to Sokoto for middle school, and then from 1941-1944, he attended Kaduna College.

Between 1944 and 1952, Shagari attended the Teacher Training College, in Zaria, Kaduna State;and from 1953-1958, he worked as a visiting teacher at Sokoto Province.

He was also a member of the Federal Scholarship Board from 1954-1958.

According to the Wiki citation on him, the late ex-president entered politics in 1951 when he became the secretary of the Northern People’s Congress in Sokoto, Nigeria, a position he held until 1956.

General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was military Head of State had handed over to Shagari in 1979, and he was in office till 1983.

Before then, Shagari had served as a federal minister and federal commissioner between 1958 and 1975.

Shagari was made the Turaki of the Fula Sokoto Caliphate in 1962 by the Sultan of Sokoto, Siddiq Abubakar III.

He worked as a teacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1951 and, in 1954, he was elected to the federal House of Representatives representing Sokoto West.

In 1958, he was appointed as parliamentary secretary — a post he left in 1959 for Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. He later served as the Federal Minister for Commerce and Industries.

Between 1959 and 1960, Shagari was made the Federal Minister for Economic Development. Between 1960 and 1962, he was moved to the Pensions Ministry as the Federal Minister for Pensions.

From 1962-1965, he became the Federal Minister for Internal Affairs. And from 1965 up until the first military coup in January 1966, Shagari was the Federal Minister for Works.

In 1967, he was appointed the Secretary for Sokoto Province Education Development Fund. From 1968-1969, he served as Commissioner for Establishments.

After the civil war, from 1970-1971, he was appointed by then military head of state Gen. Yakubu Gowon as the federal Commissioner for Economic Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.

In 1978, he became a founding member of the National Peoples Party. In 1979, Shagari was chosen by the party as the presidential candidate for general election that year, which he won, becoming the president.

Shagari ran for a second four-year term in 1983 and won the general election. However, on 31 December 1983, he was overthrown by then Maj. -Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

He wasGrand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, GCFR.

Source: Punch Newspapers

Ex President Laid to Rest in Shagari Village

Adeniyi Olugbemi, Sokoto

The remains of former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who passed on Friday evening, have been laid to rest at his private residence in his hometown, Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto state.

He was interred at exactly 3.30pm after the funeral prayers led by Professor Shehu Galadanchi, former Vice-Chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.

Aged 93, former President Shagari, was flown to Abuja last Tuesday after his health deteriorated, but he eventually gave up the ghost on Friday.

His corpse arrived at the Sultan Abubakar airport, Sokoto, and was received by Governor Aminu Tambuwal, alongside members of the state executive council, on it onward journey to his final resting place in Shagari.

Among the dignitaries that attended the funeral prayers were Federal government delegation, led by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to Government of the Federation, and governors of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.

Others in attendance are former governor Attahiru Bafarawa, former Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, Waziri Sokoto, Professor Junaid Walk, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, former Minister, Mukhtar Shagari, and several others.

-Punchwp_posts