President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the iconic anti-apartheid activist, Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, who died on Saturday.
The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, also commiserated with the President of South Africa, the Tutu family, especially his spouse, Mrs Leah Tutu, and the whole of the country over the passage of the global hero.
President Buhari believes the contributions of the late Archbishop Tutu’s to humanity, recorded through his voice, writings and activities would resonate over generations.
“On behalf of government and people of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari condoles with President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africans and the global Christian body, particularly Anglican Communion, over passing of Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, 90, on Sunday, December 26, 2021.
“President Buhari believes the death of the iconic teacher, human rights activist, leader of thought, scholar and philanthropist further creates a void in a world in dire need of wisdom, integrity, courage and sound reasoning, which were qualities that the Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 1984 typified and exemplified in words and actions.
Also, former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has recalled the role played by late Desmond Tutu in getting the country’s debt cancelled, declaring that his death was a personal loss to him.
Obasanjo in a condolence letter to the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday, stated that “Over the years, Reverend Tutu had shown focused, credible, bold, sensitive and purposeful leadership not just to members of the Anglican Church but to all Christians.”
On the country’s debt cancellation role, Obasanjo said that he acknowledged late Tutu’s “uncommon solidarity and the deep passion with which he had argued Nigeria’s case for full debt cancellation by the contents of his letter to Mr. Gordon Brown, the then United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, during my administration as the President of Nigeria.
“This heroic advocacy effort of his with respect to Nigeria’s indebtedness to the Paris Club on behalf of Nigeria was very much in his character”, he said.
Meanwhile, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has mourned the death of the South Africa’s Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, describing him in a tweet via his Twitter handle as: “Calm, yet courageous, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a faith-based leader who always spoke the truth to power. In his homeland, South Africa, he stood at the forefront of the liberation struggle. Across the continent and the world, he lent his voice to human rights issues — helping to make the world a better place.
“Today, as we join our South African brothers and sisters to mourn Archbishop Tutu’s passing, we also join them and millions across the globe to celebrate the positive impact that he made on our world. We will all miss him.” Saraki Tweeted.