Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured of full participation in all the funeral programmes of the former Military Governor of the State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd).
Sanwo-Olu said the state has set up a four-man committee headed by Information and Strategy Commissioner Gbenga Omotoso, to work with the bereaved family and other stakeholders to give Kanu a befitting burial.
Ndubuisi Kanu, an elder statesman and leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) died on Wednesday at 77.
Speaking during a condolence visit to the family of Kanu family on Victoria Island, Governor Sanwo-Olu who was accompanied by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and other top government officials, described the late elder statesman as a detribalised Nigerian.
He said: “He (Ndubusi Kanu) was a man that I personally had come to respect. He was a man that had supported our government from day one.
“He was a man that I personally respect, not because he is no more with us but he had been to my office on two occasions and had attended all of our events as a pillar of support.
“He was completely detribalised. He was a builder and a brother from across the Niger. He was a true Nigerian that we all need to celebrate.
“So, that is why we are here humbly for and on behalf of the government and people of Lagos State to reassure you that the State is solidly beside you in this time of grief.
“We and other stakeholders are right beside you because he was not just a man for one part, he was a national figure.
“We will work with other stakeholders to ensure that we immortalise and we give him a befitting passage of exit out of this world.”
Delivering the Lagos State Government condolence message to the deceased family, Dr. Hamzat hailed Kanu’s contribution to the State and Nigeria, noting that the former Military Governor was irreplaceable.
He said: “Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu was one of those that laid the pillar of what we benefit today as the military governor in 1976. And most importantly, his contribution to what we are now benefitting in the country, which is democracy; because if people like him were in short supply, this country will not be like this.
“People like him, even though they are not many, stood firm. They went through all sorts of terrible things but they were good men.
“So for us in Lagos, we celebrate his life because we know that only God will live forever and that, we as human beings will come and exit the world at some point. But what is important is, what do you do with your life? I think we can say it boldly that our father lived a good life.”
Speaking on behalf of the deceased family, the widow of the late elder statesman, Mrs. Gladys Ndubuisi Kanu, appreciated the Lagos State Government for offering to finance the burial of his husband.
She praised the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for bringing a new face to governance in Lagos State.
The Nation
