Senate Thursday urged the federal government to immortalise late former president, Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari by naming after him a national monument.
The hallowed chamber also observed a minute silence in his honour and resolved to send a high powered delegation to condole with the deceased family as well as the people and government of Sokoto – his home state.
It would be recalled that Shagari died on Friday, December 28, 2018 at the National Hospital, Abuja after a brief illness.
These resolutions followed an adopted motion sponsored by senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Danbaba representing Sokoto south with eight other lawmakers as co-sponsors.
In his lead debate, Danbaba noted that Shagari was the first executive president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following his election to the office in 1979.
The lawmaker also captured his personal data in his presentation. He said the late president was born February 25, 1925 in Shagari town in the present Sokoto state, the seat of the Caliphate.
He continued to say that Shagari started his education in a Quaranic school at a very early age in shagari town. Attended Yabo elementary school from 1931-1935 , Sokoto middle school from 1936-1940, Barre’s College Zaria from 1940-191944; and Teacher Training College, Zaria from 1945-1952.
Shagari, it was learnt, began his public service career in 1953 as a science teacher at Sokoto Middle school which lasted till 1958. He was also a member of the Federal Scholarship Board from 1954-1958.
Also, he was a minister and served in the ministry of Economic Development from 1958-1960, the ministry of Internal Affairs from 1962-1965, ministry of Works from 1965 until the first military coup in January, 1966 among other numerous public positions he held and, served meritoriously.
Nevertheless, he was elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, and subsequently sworn-in on October 1, 1979.
But he was overthrown in a military coup on December 31, 1983, which, in effect, terminated the second republic democratic rule barely after four years.
Many lawmakers, however, alternately made their contributions and believed that Shagari had a distinguished unblemished public service record spanning over a period of 30 years; that he was forthright, detribalised, a nation builder and a statesman that contributed greatly to the growth and development of democracy in the country.
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