From: Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has revealed how late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua inspired him with his extraordinary courage and organisational and mobilisation skills.
The Waziri Adamawa made the revelation, on Friday, in a tribute marking the 20th memorial anniversary of the soldier, politician and democracy martyr.
In a statement, in Abuja, on Friday, Atiku said he was inspired by the courage of conviction of the late Katsina General.
Atiku described Shehu Yar’Adua as a fearless politician who was not ready to compromise his principles at the expense of the cause he was fighting.
The Waziri Adamawa noted that, although Yar’Adua was a military man, his passion for democracy was amazing and his courage extraordinary.
Atiku also explained that Yar’dua’s patriotism and commitment to Nigeria’s unity and peaceful coexistence was one of the remarkable virtues that attracted him to the Katsina General.
According to Atiku, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua was not a timid democrat who abandoned his beliefs because of fear or opportunistic reasons for political survival.
Atiku explained that, during the 1994/95 National Constitutional Conference, General Yar’Adua was among the few voices that had told General Sani Abacha not to stay longer than one year in office and prepare a transition programme within the shortest time frame.
He said Yar’dua’s position turned out to be inconsistent with General Abacha’s hidden agenda, that from that moment, Yar’adua’s became a marked man.
Former Vice President Abubakar said the mentorship of Yar’Adua is enduring to his political life especially as it relates to the unity of Nigeria and the promotion and defence of its.
Describing Yar’Adua as a man of excellence, the Waziri Adamawa said that the former Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters deserved a unique place in the pantheon of Nigeria’s democratic heroes.