How Shehu Musa Yar’Adua inspired me, Atiku reveals

FORMER Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has revealed how late General, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua inspired him with his extraordinary courage, organisational and mobilisation skills.

Atiku made the revelation on Friday in a tribute marking the 20th memorial anniversary of the soldier, politician and democracy martyr.

Contained in a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Friday and made available to Mega Icon Magazine, the presidential aspirant said he was inspired by the courage of conviction of the late Katsina General.

He described Shehu Yar’Adua as a fearless politician who was not ready to compromise his principles at the expense of the cause he was fighting.

Explaining that Yar’dua’s patriotism and commitment to Nigeria’s unity and peaceful coexistence was one of the remarkable virtues that attracted him to the Katsina General, Atiku, also noted that, although Yar’Adua was a military man, but his passion for democracy was amazing and his courage extraordinary.

According to him, Yar’Adua was not a timid democrat who abandoned his beliefs because of fear or opportunistic reasons for political survival.

Atiku further recalled that, during the 1994/95 National Constitutional Conference, General Yar’Adua was among the few voices that had told General Sani Abacha not to stay longer than one year in office and prepare a transition programme within the shortest time frame.

He said Yar’dua’s position turned out to be inconsistent with General Abacha’s hidden agenda, that from that moment, Yar’adua’s became a marked man.

Former Vice President Atiku stressed that the mentorship of Yar’Adua is enduring to his political life  especially as it relates to the unity of Nigeria, the promotion and defence of its.

Describing Yar’Adua as a man of excellence, the Waziri Adamawa emphasized that the former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters deserved a unique place in the pantheon of Nigeria’s democratic heroes.