The atmosphere was sombre. The expansive council chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja was in pin drop silence before President Goodluck Jonathan called the Special Federal Executive Council session to order.
Absent was the usual pre-meeting banter. Memos were also suspended. Some ministers wept.
Dr. Jonathan announced the cancellation of the meeting and the shift of FEC to January 9. He also announced that he will lead the government delegation to today’s burial of former Governor Patrick Yakowa.
The ceremony was the special FEC in honour of the late Yakowa and ex-National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen. Owoye Azazi who died with four others in Saturday’s Bayelsa helicopter crash.
The chopper was on its way from Bayelsa to Port Harcourt when it crashed in Tombi in Nembe Local Government.
The President, who led tributes to the dead spoke of his pain on learning of the death of the governor and the Army General. He described the day as “a black Saturday” and “a sad day in the history of Nigeria”.
Vice President Namadi Sambo and ministers also took turns to eulogise the late Yakowa and the late Gen. Azazi.
The President told the meeting, which kicked off at 10:15am with a minute silence for the dead: “The victims are Nigerians that have served this country. For Governor Yakowa, I first knew him when he became the deputy governor of Kaduna State. I had some interactions with him and since then I got to know him more when the then governor of Kaduna State was moved to Abuja to assist me and Yakowa became the governor of the state.
“He was a different class of politician. Most of us who are politicians exploit religious sentiments to divide Nigerians for our selfish gains. We exploit the north-south divide to divide Nigerians for our selfish gains. But Yakowa was very different. He was a gentleman who believed in the unity of this country.”
“For General Azazi, though we are both from Bayelsa State and of Ijaw ethnic nationality, I never met him until 2004 when then Brigadier Azazi was made the Director of Military Intelligence (DMI). I was then the deputy governor of Bayelsa and somebody told me that one of our own had been made the DMI director and that it was a prestigious posting in the Army. And I said I was going to receive him and have a little party for him. We hosted one in Abuja.
“From that time, we started interacting, then he was promoted to Major General and made GOC One Division in Kaduna and then he was also made the Chief of Army Staff. That was another level of our interaction in 2006. Then, I was the governor of Bayelsa State.
“I also hosted him as chief of army staff alongside the current Minister of Petroleum resources, first female executive director of Shell.
“He was made Chief of Defence Staff in 2007 when I was vice president to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. I also made him the National Security Adviser when I became the President.
“I saw in him an associate, somebody who meant well for this country. The gentlemen have worked very well for this country. Even those who make negative comments about politicians; you hardly can hear any negative comment about these men.
“Sometimes people wonder why good people die; it is quite touching. Both of them touched our lives; they worked for this country. We pay condolences to the families, their aides, the pilot, co-pilot.”
The late Gen. Azazi left behind a 90-year-old mother, Minister of Niger Delta Godsday Orubebe said at the session.
Orubebe, an Ijaw like the late Gen. Azazi, said: “Azazi was a brother and a friend. It was a sad evening (when he died). For two nights, I could not organise myself.
“He was a friend to all but a decisive officer on issues. He will be remembered for the role he played in persuading the former militants to work with government.
Vice President Namadi Sambo described the death of Yakowa who he said he knew and interacted with for over 25 years, as a bridge builder whose landmark achievements will remain ever green in the minds of the people of Kaduna State. He also noted that the late governor was a peaceful and selfless gentleman.
Sambo recollected that their paths crossed when he was made a Commissioner for Agriculture in Kaduna State in 1986 and he (Yakowa) was appointed Permanent Secretary. Sambo said he personally requested for Yakowa to be posted to his ministry because of his thoroughness in doing his work.
He also recalled how he picked him as his running mate, despite having contested the PDP gubernatorial primary against him.
Sambo also described the late Gen. Azazi as a fine gentleman.
“He is a bridge builder and I can say he had successfully built that bridge because today all citizens of Kaduna are mourning him. His footprint can never be forgotten in Kaduna. He is a great man; he is a great loss, not only to Kaduna but Nigeria.
“We will never forget him.”
He also noted that the late Gen. Azazi was a fine gentleman whom he knew when he was the general commander commanding one Division in Kaduna.
He added: “It is a journey that we must all take and pray for eternal rest for them.”
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