ALL Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday eulogised the virtues of the late former Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki.
In a statement by his Media Office, the former Lagos State governor described the death of Dasuki as “discomforting”.
“With his demise, the nation has lost a national icon, highly-referred royal father and religious leader. Sultan Dasuki was a friend of the late Islamic scholar Abubakar Gumi and he contributed a lot to the birth of Islamic movement, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNL),” the APC stalwart said.
The statement added: “Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto, was a seasoned technocrat, administrator, diplomat and business titan. Alhaji Dasuki joined the northern regional civil service in 1953, heeding the call of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, for northerners to join the service. He was to serve Ahmadu Bello a year later as private secretary, during which time he understudied the late sage. He was a close associate of the late Sardauna of Sokoto and imbibed his ideals.

“In business, the late sultan recorded many milestones and served as a beacon for many latter-day businessmen in the country, particularly in the North. From around 1965 until he was crowned sultan, he left the civil service and concentrated fully on business. He was chairman of Northern Nigeria Produce Marketing Board, an organisation involved with marketing the export of groundnut and distribution of seeds and chemicals.
He was director and later chairman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).
“He was installed Sultan of Sokoto after the death of Abubakar Siddique, the 17th Sultan of Sokoto, on November 1, 1988. As sultan, he was a champion of the downtrodden, the talakawas. When in 1996 he was deposed by the late General Sani Abacha military junta, he took his deposition with philosophical calmness and went on to live for another 20 years after, passing on at the age of 93.
“I commiserate with his family, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultanate Council, the Islamic Ummah and the people of Sokoto State.
“May Almighty Allah grant him Alijanna Fridaus (Amin).”