Former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, while mourning the passing of Ernest Shonekan, aexplained why he appointed him head of the interim national government, when he stepped aside.
IBB, as Babangida is called, said Shonekan was a man of ideas and ideals, who was prudent and preached a lot about fiscal discipline. “It was, therefore, timely for us to appoint him as Head of the Interim Government to help stabilise the polity at a most trying period of our country’s political evolution.,” Babangida stated
In a condolence message, Babangida expressed shock over the news of Shonekan’s death and described him as one of Nigeria’s finest brains and patriots.
Babangida said, in a statement, “I hadn’t the faintest idea that Chief Ernest Shonekan would depart this sinful world too soon, even at 85. He was a man, a leader and an uncommon patriot, who had a presence of mind and whose understanding of Nigeria was profound and remarkable. It is, indeed, a personal loss to me.
“Chief Ernest Shonekan was one of our cerebral minds during our time in government. He was the architect of our principle of free market economy, which helped to open up the system for a robust participation by the private sector. The liberalisation of the economy, the investment and boost in the agricultural sector and budget management approach were part of his brainchild.
“I recollect very vividly how he used to give us tutorials on budget, planning and management of national resources, each time he was invited to our session. At each budget year, Chief Shonekan would be invited to critique our budget proposals, and gave us further input to enrich the final budget. He was a man of ideas and ideals. He was prudent and preached so much about fiscal discipline.
“It was, therefore, timely for us to appoint him as Head of the Interim Government to help stabilise the polity at a most trying period of our country’s political evolution. He was a calm personality, whose managerial skills were foretold in the way and manner he managed a lot of blue chip companies.
“As Head of the Interim Government, he was able to consult with a broad spectrum of the Nigerian populace in charting a roadmap out of the political impasse at that time. His brilliance and meticulous interrogation of situations helped in large measure to forge ahead during the period.
“I owe a personal gratitude to him throughout his sojourn on earth as we maintained very robust mutual relationship after his exit from the corridors of power.”
The former military president added regarding Shonekan, “Given the achievements we recorded during our time in government in the area of infrastructure, economy and social rebirth, I owe a word of gratitude to him for his experienced intervention in helping to dissect our policy frameworks each time we called upon him to do so.
“He was an engaging personality, whose sense of patriotism was total. He was friendly and sociable. He understood economy and made so many projections that helped us to bail the country out of economic conundrum. We benefited from his immense knowledge, experience and brilliance.”
