President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday mourned the death of Hajiya Fati Koko, popularly called Maitalla Tara, who died at age 95.
Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, said in a statement that Buhari mourned Koko, who had waited nine hours in Kebbi early last year to donate the sum of N1 million to him as the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adesina quoted President Buhari as describing her as “a woman with a good heart, who stood by her convictions, and gave sacrificially.”
He said Hajiya Koko offered virtually her life’s savings to Buhari then, saying the deceased admired the president’s honesty, discipline and stand for truth.
The presidential aide said while receiving the news of her passage, Buhari commended Koko’s conviction and sacrificial giving, urging Nigerians to learn vital lessons from her life.
“She gave practically all she had towards our campaign. Though well advanced in age, she still believed a new Nigeria was possible, and followed her conviction with action. What generosity of spirit and what tenacious faith in her mother land. Nigerians, old and young, have a lot to learn from her,” Buhari said.
The president condoled with the family and relations of the departed and urged them to take solace in the fact that their matriarch lived to a ripe old age, “and she saw the beginning of the change she had long yearned for. The onus is now on all of us to ensure that the change gets entrenched and solidified for even generations yet unborn to benefit from.”
