Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon has said Nigeria would have been a better country if only the late Yar’adua had completed his tenure as President.
Speaking on Monday during a first President Umaru Musa Yar’adua international leadership conference and awards organised by Global Initiative for Leadership Success in Abuja, He said the late former president restored the economy of Nigeria by granting amnesty to the Niger Delta militants.
According to him, Yar’adua accomplished a remarkable feat during his short stay in office.
“He was a decent man; a man with absolute integrity. He was an honest man. He did very well and he has to be remembered.
“He was so honest that he said the process that brought him to power was not right. And he set up a committee. But it was not followed by successive leaders.
“However, I believe that one day, we shall have a solution. He was honey and sincere in dealing with any problem, and he was incorruptible.
“You cannot blame him for corruption; he was clean. His various activities, including the amnesty programme that he brought to the Niger Delta ensured our economy was protected.” Gowon said.
Yar’adua was Nigeria’s president in 2007, but died in 2010 due to ill-health.