Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima was in Kano yesterday where he joined other dignitaries to receive the body of late elder statesman, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, the Danmasanin Kano, who died in Egypt on Monday. Th e governor, who spoke some journalists In Kano, described Maitama Sule’s demise “as one of the biggest losses Nigeria has suff ered this year. “Inna lillahi wa Inna ilaihi Raajiun! Th is is the end of an era. Th e demise of our father, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule is one of the biggest losses Nigeria has suff ered in 2017. “He was useful to Nigeria from his younger days till he died. For nearly 50 years, he remained Nigeria’s number one orator. Nigeria had many speakers, but Danmasani stood out because he spoke with uncommon expression.
His words had incredible eff ect not just on human ears but on human souls. “He spoke with conscience, wisdom, insight and with spiritual intelligence. He retained such a status even at the age of nearly 90, when he died. He was a book of eternity and I will tell you, that weeks and months to come will prove the extent of this loss when his wisdom will become conspicuously absent. From the view the Northern Governors’ Forum, the demise of Danmasani is the loss of one of our silent yet very strong pillars. Th ere was never a time our forum sought meetings with our Northern elders that Danmasani failed to come. “Th ere was never a time at any event directly or indirectly connected to the development of Northern Nigeria that he wasn’t there.
Th e last event I was privileged to attend with him was a summit organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna about three months ago. Th at foundation is the creation of the Northern Governors’ Forum. He led the Northern Elders to Maiduguri about two months ago, all in eff ort to help in addressing the Boko Haram crisis and mitigate the pains of the northeast. “For me, I regarded him as a book of eternal value. Governors of the 19 Northern States condole with Nigerians in general and in particular, with our elders, sons and daughters of Northern Nigeria as well as government and the good people of Kano state. May Allah in His infi nite Mercy admit him into Aljanna Firdaus. Shettima was with Governors Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto, Abubakar Mohammed of Bauchi and Badaru of Jigawa states, were all at the Malam Aminu International Airport to receive his remains. Th e Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari was also at the airport and so were other dignitaries and hundreds of sympathisers.