Former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday mourned Chief Hannah Idowu
\nDideolu\u00a0 (HID) Awolowo, who passed on on Saturday at the age of 99 years,
\njust two months away from her 100 birthday.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said the present and future generations of Nigerian women and
\nyouths would miss Mrs.\u00a0 Awolowo, who reportedly died in the company of
\nher children after fervently praying for them and singing praises to God.<\/p>\n
In a statement he signed, the former president expressed dismay at the
\nnews of the demise of Hannah, noting that she would eternally be
\nremembered as the pillar and backbone of the late sage, Chief Obafemi
\nAwolowo, foremost nationalist and former Premier of the Western Region.<\/p>\n
Jonathan urged all Nigerian women to emulate the virtues of Mrs. Awolowo,
\nciting how she stood by her husband during his active days in politics;
\nat the time of adversity and even after he passed away about 30 years.<\/p>\n
He therefore said HID Awolowo was a true warrior who stood solidly behind
\nher husband during the epic struggle for self-rule, through the crusade
\nfor the enthronement of good governance in the First Republic, the fight
\nagainst jackboot military dictatorship\u00a0 to\u00a0 the campaign for a united,
\nprosperous Nigeria before, during and post-civil war years.<\/p>\n
He stated that as the matron of the family, she held the forth while her
\nhusband was in prison, noting that she provided the necessary support
\nwhich ensured that her husband made a success of his time as the deputy
\nhead of the Federal Executive Council and finance minister during the
\ncivil war years.<\/p>\n
The former president said: \u201cIt was this strong support that guaranteed
\nher a place in Awolowo’s autobiography, ‘My Adventures in Power’ where
\nshe was appropriately identified as the \u2018jewel of inestimable value.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe matriarch of Awolowo family remained, till her death, the political
\nconscience of the nation, sustaining the fight for equity,
\negalitarianism, representative democracy and good governance which
\nremained the hallmark of her late husband’s political legacies.
\n\u201cThrough her hard work and political sagacity, she turned Ikenne her
\nhomestead in Ogun state a political Mecca of sorts where every political
\noffice holder or those seeking leadership positions came to her for
\nendorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that HID Awolowo would be remembered for the way she protected
\nthe Awolowo estate like a good shepherd, uniting the family and
\nmaintaining his legacies, especially the Tribune newspapers which endured
\nas the oldest surviving newspaper in Nigeria, through her visionary
\nleadership and direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday mourned Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu\u00a0 (HID) Awolowo, who passed on on Saturday at the age of 99 years, just two months away from her 100…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n