Sadly death has claimed the lives of one of our political stars.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru died in the early hours of yesterday in a South African hospital after a long battle with illness.
Despite the family’s heartfelt efforts to save him from the jaws of death, 66 year old Gbenga eventually caved in, thus thrusting his wife into a tragic funk of sort. Gbenga would be remembered for his infectious warmth, kindness and towering humanity, which made him the darling of many. He was a good man without pretence; mature and with a fine sense of factor. Yet death claimed him, leaving in his wake a cacophony of heartfelt tears and misery.
It is barely a year that President Goodluck Jonathan sacked the Minister of Foreign Affairs alongside eight others in a cabinet reshuffle that shocked the nation. At the time of his sack, he was regarded as one of the best performing Ministers in the Jonathan administration. In fact, after his sack, Ashiru boasted that he had succeeded in getting 22 Nigerians into international positions barely two years into his appointment and that had he spent more time, he would have got two more.
This was among other achievements, which the President also acknowledged.