Dr Junaid Mohammed, a lawmaker from the second republic, has dubbed President Muhammadu Buhari’s tribute to former President, Shehu Shagari as ‘Insincere’
According to the Punch who interviewed Junaid, the lawmaker said that Buhari’s tribute couldn’t be sincere as he had played his part in bringing down the government of the the first Executive President of Nigeria.
“Quite a number of the people who would claim to be his friends were actually his enemies and they contributed tremendously to bringing down that government and in making it impossible for us to have a meaningful democratic dispensation years after his departure from office.” Junaid said.
Speaking on Buhari’s tribute itself, he said: “It’s not sincere. If you’ve contributed so much in bringing down a government and bringing down a man who had nothing to gain, even though he had poor eyesight and was in poor health – he was in his late 60s then – you cannot say, from 1984 till now, you got along well. How did you get along well?
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“No matter what you say about the Shagari administration, he knew how to retire from public service quietly, with a tremendous amount of nobility and self-respect. You have to give him that.
“In terms of retirement and living a quiet life and garnering more respect, Shagari is certainly one of Nigeria’s most outstanding leaders and I certainly believe the nation will continue to mourn him appropriately.”
On his own part, Junaid said he was pained at the demise of the former President, hailing him as someone who was optimistic, positive and reserved.
“The first Shagari administration of 1979 wasn’t particularly spectacular. There are quite a number of people there who really disappointed us, both National Party of Nigeria and Shagari, the president. He endured a lot but he didn’t want to rock the boat, so he waited until after the election in 1983 when some the characters were simply asked to leave or reappointed.
“But even then there were others who were reappointed and I have a feeling that was because of pressure from within the party by some people who were seen to be above the law. Some of us would have been happy to see many of those who did not serve the country well outright sacked even before the end of the four-year term.
“Shagari had a very modest lifestyle. If you got to know him personally, he was very cool and had a tremendous sense of humour. He got on very well with quite a number of people. He was a very wonderful man. I really enjoyed discussing with him even though we had our political differences.”
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