Gowon noted that Yar’adua was a very honest man who was bold enough to admit that the process that brought him to power was faulty
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former Military Head of State and elder statesman, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has said Nigeria would have been a better country if late President Umaru Yar’adua did not die.
He made this known on Monday, while speaking at the first President Umaru Musa Yar’adua international leadership conference and awards organised by Global Initiative for Leadership Success in Abuja,
According to him, the late former president achieved significant milestones for Nigeria during his short stint in office.
He went on to say he was a very honest man who was bold enough to acknowledge that the process that brought him to power was faulty.
He also noted that Yar’adua granted amnesty to the Niger Delta militants as a way of restoring the economy of the country.
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Speaking at the event, Gowon said: “He was a decent man; a man with absolute integrity. He was an honest man. He did very well and he has to be remembered.
“He was so honest that he said the process that brought him to power was not right. And he set up a committee. But it was not followed by successive leaders.
“However, I believe that one day, we shall have a solution. He was honey and sincere in dealing with any problem, and he was incorruptible.
“You cannot blame him for corruption; he was clean. His various activities, including the amnesty programme that he brought to the Niger Delta ensured our economy was protected.”
Yar’adua after finishing his term as Kastina State governor, became the president in 2007, but died in 2010, due to ill-health.
