President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the death of the former United Nations, UN, Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Kofi Annan.
The 7th UN Secretary General died in a hospital in Bern, Switzerland in the early hours of Saturday.
Buhari’s condolence message was contained in a tweet on the Presidency’s official Twitter page.
”Buhari commiserated with the government and people of Ghana over the passing of former United Nations @UN Secretary General, @KofiAnnan, in the early hours of Saturday 18th August, 2018,” the tweet read.
The statement added that Buhari had called President Nana Akufo-Addo from London, informing him that all Nigerians and ECOWAS member countries share in the deep loss, considering the strategic influence of the former scribe in global affairs and his vision for the repositioning of the West Africa and Africa.
Similary, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, described the demise of Annan, as the end of a golden era in global politics and international relations.
He said that the late Annan was a quintessential African diplomat on the global plane and a citizen of the world, who deployed his vast capacities to tackle intractable global challenges ranging from hunger, conflict, epidemic and restoration of peace in war-torn countries.
He noted that many developing nations benefitted immensely from the humanitarian efforts of the late Annan during lifetime as he was able to raise the concerns and challenges confronting hitherto forgotten peoples and nations in the Assembly of world powers.
”Annan was a quintessential African Diplomat who bestrode the world stage with dignity, finesse, admirable restraint and wisdom. He was a diplomat’s diplomat. He dedicated his immense expertise, experience and energies to resolving some of the world’s most pressing problems and conflicts, including most recently, the Rohingya refugee crisis. He was a citizen of the world.
“Annan was an African avatar and God’s messenger of peace to the world. His demise is a huge loss to the international community and to humanity. Africa has indeed lost one of her best. He shall be sorely missed.”
