The first Executive President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, died last Friday. His death was announced via a tweet by his grandson on the same day. The former president died at the age of 93.
His grandson, Bello Shagari, tweeted a message saying Shagari had died at the National Hospital in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, after a brief illness. Shagari won the 1979 presidential elections under the umbrella of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Winning this elections made him the sixth Nigerian President at the time.
The incumbent Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, led the coup that ousted Shagari from office in 1983. That coup led to the end of the Second Republic meaning Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari was the first and only president of that era. Condolences have poured in from all over the world as many have praised Shagari as a selfless leader to gave himself to see Nigeria become a great nation.
Shehu Shagari has since been buried according to Islamic rites. May his soul rest in peace.
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