President Muhammadu Buhari and former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, have extended the sympathy of the Nigerian government to the United States President Joe Biden, and the people of America over the demise of a former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
They expressed their feelings over Powell’s death in separate statements on Monday.
Powell, a US Secretary of State under the administration of President George W. Bush (Jnr) died on Monday due to COVID-19 complications.
Buhari in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said he said as the first African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the US Department of Defense as well as the first African-American Secretary of State, Powell was a great statesman and a global icon in every sense of it.
He said as US Secretary of State, Powell played a very important role in advancing his country’s foreign policy and national defence interests as well as being a great advocate of the eradication of Polio and addressing the deadly spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Obasanjo, in his message, described the death of Powell as a loss not only to the America, but to the entire world, adding that the late Powell was a trusted colleague and Comrade-in-arm, whose closeness as an African-American with the mother Africa assisted in the growth of the continent.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said, “General Powell’s tenure in office marked a significant departure from the traditional relations between Africa and the United States.
“He was not just an African-American, he was an African-American, who understood Africa,” the statement said.
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan in a tribute personally signed, described late Powell as a renowned United States public servant and great leader, who left solid and indelible footprints in the sands of time.
He said Powell’s stellar military career paved the way for other African Americans to reach for the top, because he articulated a new paradigm for engaging in military action.
“Colin Powel was the highest ranking African-American to have served in the public sector of the United States. In that capacity, he served as a beacon of hope and was a pride of the Black Race,” he said.
