The President of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari Sunday, condoled with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, and South Africans on the demise of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
A statement by the Minister in the Presidency of South Africa, Mondli Gungubele, said the South African anti-apartheid icon died on Sunday at the age of 90.
Buhari, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, described him as a global citizen and renowned world leader.
He noted that the historic role Tutu played in the fight against apartheid, enduring physical assaults, jail terms, and prolonged exile took him beyond the pulpit to global, political relevance.
A former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, described the death of the human rights crusader as a personal loss to him. In a condolence letter to Ramaphosa, he recalled the role played by Tutu in getting Nigeria’s debt canceled.
Ramaphosa, in the statement announcing Tutu’s death, described his passing as “another chapter of bereavement in the nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans.
