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The remains of Chief Ernest Shonekan, former head, Interim National Government (ING), a peacemaker, bridge builder, elder statesman and business mogul will be committed to Mother Earth Friday, February 4th in Ikoyi, Lagos where he lived and made positive impacts for decades but his many legacies of service to humanity and father land remain indelible.
Unforgettable because we believe that his profound contribution as a unifying force who, despite all odds and grave threat to personal and family safety, brought stability in the polity at a time of serious political turmoil and the ship of State nearly wrecked in 1993.
Consequently, he stands out as one of Nigeria’s foremost fearless patriot and nationalist in the annals of her political history. The demise of the boardroom guru and stabilizer also, is not only a colossal loss to his home state Ogun, but has created a huge vacuum in the entire country that will be difficult to fill for a long time due largely to the good works he has left behind.
A peep into his amazing profile reveals a man of extraordinary courage, integrity and hard work who in 1964, was employed by the United Africa Company of Nigeria, (UACN) at the time a subsidiary of the gigantic United Africa Company, (UAC) which blossomed during the British colonial era, had an unblemished career, rising through the ranks and meritoriously earning a place on the board of directors at the youthful age of 40.
Certainly, Shonekan’s strive for excellence and commitment to achieving the company’s corporate objectives were spotted by his employer who in 1980 elevated him to the position of chairman and managing director of the thriving multi-billion Naira company where he rendered selfless services and made a difference.
We totally agree with the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who in a tribute to the deceased described him as a ‘technocrat and boardroom guru who performed excellently as chairman of United African Company of Nigeria (UACN), even as he insisted that ‘he would have led Nigeria with the same vision and skill with which he guided company. He had the character, competence, capability and the technical background to undertake the job’.
And outside the boardroom, it is on record that Shonekan’s patriotism and absolute faith in the peace and unity of the country might have prompted his brave involvement in seeking lasting solution to the June 12 1993 political crisis that engulfed the country when the sitting military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida annulled the results of the presidential election in which the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola was coasting home to victory.
In our view therefore, it could only had taken a courageous man with steely conviction and bravery like Shonekan to have accepted to head the controversial ING at the time when majority of his kinsmen in the entire South West geo-political zone had resolved that only the re-validation of the mandate freely given by millions of Nigerian voters to Abiola was non-negotiable.
Though appointed on January 2, 1993, by Babangida as head of the transitional council established to be the first stage of the military regime’s eventual handover to a civilian government that should have emerged from the presidential election later that year, in the Third Republic, that dream was shattered with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 poll.
The results of the historic election had seen Abiola taking unassailable lead over his opponent, Bashir Tofa (now of blessed memories) of the National Republican Convention (NRC) not only in his native Kano state but nationwide before the unexpected happened which triggered a major crisis with Abiola and his supporters insisting on a declaration of victory.
Rather than bow to public opinion, Babangida opted to ‘step aside’ on August 27, 1993, but not before he signed the vexatious decree establishing the ING, which paved the way for Shonekan to emerge as the interim head of state and made history as the country’s leader with the shortest term in office for 83 days at the time he was ousted by Gen. Sani Abacha, his defence minister, on November 17, 1993 in a coup
Expectedly, we note that his interim government was, however, largely unpopular with Nigerians especially the Yoruba even after naming Abiola as his vice-president denouncing it, followed by massive protests in the South West zone against the ING.
But as head of state, he was able to consult widely with a broad spectrum of the Nigerian people in charting a way forward out of the political impasse at the time while his brilliance and meticulous interrogation of situations greatly helped to forge avert breakdown of law and order.
It should further be noted that upon leaving office in 1993, and perhaps determined to promote strong partnership between the organized private sector and government to boost employment based on his vast experience at UAC for several decades, he founded the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), a private sector driven think-tank still in existence today.
Described as a frontline nationalist, the late business icon, who believed that youths were the greatest assets to transform Nigeria socially, economically and technologically was very passionate about his belief in the nation’s potential for greatness which he argued could be achieved by promoting peace and supporting the youth population.
According to him, “I believe that the future will be bright if there is peace. Without peace, there can’t be any progress in the country. So, we need to have peace in the country. And if we have to have peace, each of us must contribute our quota towards it.
“So, I appeal to everybody that they should sheathe their swords and let’s concentrate on growing the economy further and create jobs for the teeming population. I’m glad that we’re thinking in terms of the youths because the youths constitute about 50 percent of the total population at the moment — that’s a lot”, he enthused.
We believe that the former head of state might have drawn inspiration from the wise counsel of the longest serving First Lady of the United States of America, the late Eleanor Roosevelt who once declared that, “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it” which also perhaps informed his decision to be part of the solution to the June 12th political crisis in which many lives were lost.
Born in Lagos on 9 May 1936, the son of an Abeokuta-born civil servant, he was one of six children born into the family; educated at CMS Grammar School and Igbobi College both in Lagos, Shonekan bagged a law degree from the University of London in the United Kingdom and was called to the bar. He later attended Harvard Business School in the US and was married to Margaret.
Honest, intelligent and deeply in touch with his roots, the late head of state in recognition of outstanding contributions to his community and home state was conferred with a chieftaincy title of Abese of Egbaland in 1981 (in addition to several other chieftaincy titles) and never linked with any corruption case during his career in both private and public sectors and above all a philanthropist.
Besides, he was one time Chairman, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration in 2008 and also holds the highest national honour in the country- the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR.
Above all, it is evident by all parameters that the deceased lived not only a fulfilled life but rendered tireless unblemished service to the people and father land and therefore, we challenge the nation’s leaders at all levels to emulate his virtues. Adieu Ernest Shonekan.
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