The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, on Saturday paid a condolence visit to the family of late former President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State.
Recall that Buhari died in London on July 13 after an undisclosed illness and was laid to rest on July 15 in his home in Daura.
The first lady was accompanied by several high-profile women, including the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima; wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Abbas; wife of the Deputy Senate President, Hajiya Laila Barau; wives of various state governors, ministers, service chiefs, and other prominent women.
Paying tribute to the late President, Sen. Tinubu described Buhari as “not only a statesman but a symbol of integrity, discipline, and devotion to Nigeria”.
She said: “his life was marked by unwavering commitment to nation-building, public service, and the welfare of the common man.”
NAN reports that the visit, included prayers for the peaceful repose of the former President’s soul.
In another development, the first lady alongside the state governor Dr Dikko Radda, also led the delegation on a condolence visit to the Palace of the Emir, to commensurate with Alhaji Umar Farouk and the Daura Emirate in Council.
“I am here today, together with Hajiya Shettima and a lot of us to pay condolences to you all.
“I also want to acknowledge the queen of Daura Kingdom, we are here just to commensurate and to pay our condolences to your royal highness for your loss.
“At the same time, you had a very dignified and proud son that you are supposed to be proud of, the deputy governor and all the sons of Daura that are supposed to emulate his virtue.
“I believe that all your citizens here must have been from very good stocks, in spite that it is a painful loss for us, it is also a thing of pride to have had such a worthy son from this land who has not only done Daura proud, also the entire nation and the world at large both as a military man and as a civilian leader.
“We all miss him, both him and my family shared a deep relationship so, we didn’t come here as a duty of office but I came because my husband has lost an ally, a friend of many years in spite of the fact that he was our leader.
“We came to offer our condolences to you, all of us women that are here today and to pray that God will console and comfort you and that God will also forgive him of all his short comings, grant him eternal rest.”
Also speaking, Radda appreciated President Bola Tinubu and the first lady for their unweaving support for Buhari while he was alive and after.
He said late Buhari was indeed a great father whose death was a great loss to the entire people of Katstina and to the entire nation.
“We don’t have enough words to thank Mr President for what he has done to the people of Katstina state, he sent a powerful delegation to London to accompany the corpse of our late president.
“President Tinubu declared a public holiday on Tuesday July 15th for the burial of our father.
“President Tinubu along the first lady and other important dignitaries of this country came to the Amadu Musa Yar’Dua Airport to receive the corpse of our late father and he accompanied the corpse by road to Daura and he was there until when he was laid to rest.
“He left behind the Vice President, Kashim Shettima alongside 25 cabinet Ministers in Daura for three days until they observed the last burial prayer right for the late president Buhari.”
Diko further described Tinubu as a patriotic leader, a reliable person, a genuine friend and a pillar of support.
“Mr President has shown leadership, patriotism, he has paid off for friendship, he has supported our late brother when he was alive and supported us even after his death.
“Her excellency we convey our sincere gratitude to the people of Katstina, the emirate of Daura in particular to Mr President for what he has done for us.
The Emir, Alhaji Farouk in his response, thanked the first lady and her team for showing up at the time of their heaviness of hearts.
He further appreciated President Tinubu for his relentless love support to the late president and the Daura Emirate in Council and for showing an example of good leadership standards.
He said that president Tinubu’s continuous support and the visit by the first lady underscores a national unity and respect for a patriotic leader.
He said the support from president Tinubu and his cabinet members and family goes beyond being a political leader but further symbolizes a togetherness in times of grief.
The Emir said that the people of Daura will never forget Tinubu’s good deeds and promised that they would also reciprocate his kindness.
