Shagari respected President’s office, always stepped out to smoke – Utomi

Prof. Pat Utomi has praised the leadership qualities of the late former President Shehu Shagari .

Utomi , who served in the Shagari administration , described the late president “ as a true nationalist . ”

The political economist, who spoke on Monday at the ‘ Never Again Conference’ to mark the 50 th anniversary of Nigeria’ s Civil War , said Shagari was highly disciplined .

He said, “ I somehow got lucky , a young fellow coming back from graduate school, thinking he could change the world and then I got identified by the Vice - President ( the late Alex Ekwueme) and one day he says to me , ‘ President Shagari , yesterday , approved for you to replace Prof Odenigwe ’ . I said , ‘what does that mean?’ And I ended up in government . From my office at Dodan Barracks . Most of us don ’t remember, but President Shagari was a chain smoker , but he never smoked in public and he respected the Office of the President so much that he never smoked inside that office.

“ To smoke, President Shagari would come out – to smoke. And I would come out ; and Aba Dabu and I would corner him and start chatting him up . And I saw a true nationalist in that man, that history and the newspapers probably will not capture enough .”

Also speaking at the event, which took place at the MUSON Centre, Onikan , Lagos , renowned musician , Onyeka Onwenu , lamented that 50 years after the civil war , the Igbo were still marginalised in the country .

Onwenu said , “ I have tried with the little talent that God has given me to use it for the betterment of my society and my country . But if I were a Yoruba or Hausa woman , I would probably have had more patronage , more help and more support than I have got by my self -help effort to raise this country up . But I’ m not asking anybody for anything.

“ I am angry at Nigeria; I am angry at this government which seems to be letting us down . I am angry at us as a people . I am angry at my people , Ndigbo , because if they have refused you , why are you refusing yourself ? Stop complaining and do it for yourself , we’ ve always been able to do that .”