Death is inevitable and is a debt everyone owes.
But there is no doubt that the outgoing year, 2023, has proved to be a lethal year as it has claimed the lives of many Nigerians, both rich and poor.
We saw the death of many influential and top politicians during the Covid era; however, since the end of Covid some affluent, wealthy and prominent politicians have also lost their lives recently in circumstances that are unexpected and shocking.
The news of the demise of Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu some days ago has evoked the memory of governors who died as incumbents in Nigeria.
This piece takes a quick glance into the lives of these historic leaders who died while in office as civilian governors in Nigeria.
Oluwarotimi Akeredolu
Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and ex-Attorney General of Ondo State, was a second-term governor before his death.
He died last Wednesday morning after a protracted illness.
It was gathered that he was managed by State House doctors up to his death because they could not fly him abroad. Akeredolu died in Lagos.
He was 67 years old.
The ailing governor returned to Nigeria in September following a three-month medical leave in Germany and only recently proceeded on another one after he was directed by President Bola Tinubu to hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Aketi, as he was fondly called by friends and admirers, wore many hats and was acknowledged by many of his contemporaries as a dogged leader with unbending personal convictions.
Until his death, he was the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, a body with governors of the 17 states in Southern Nigeria as members.
Patrick Yakowa
Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa served as governor of Kaduna State from 2010 to 2012 when he died in a helicopter crash.
He was killed alongside five others in the crash in Ogbia Creek, Bayelsa state in 2012.
He was appointed deputy governor in July 2005 and returned as Kaduna’s number two citizen in the April 2007 election.
He was sworn in as governor on 20 May 2010, succeeding former Governor Namadi Sambo who had been sworn in as vice president the day before.
Yakowa successfully ran for election as Kaduna Governor in the 26 April 2011 polls.
Yakowa was born on 1 December 1948 in Fadan Kagoma, Jema’a, then Northern region.
He attended St. Mary’s Secondary School, Fadan Kaje and St. John College, Kaduna, and then was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He graduated with a B. Sc (Social Sciences) in June 1972.
Mamman Bello Ali
Mamman Bello Ali represented Yobe South Senatorial District between 1999 and 2007 and was the chairman senate committee on public account.
He contested and won the governorship election in Yobe in 2007 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was in office until he died in 2009.
He died of leukaemia while receiving treatment at a hospital in Florida, United States.
He was the Governor of Yobe State from 2007 until his death in 2009. He was a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party. (ANPP) He was born in 1958, in Adamawa State.
Shehu Kangiwa
Shehu Kangiwa died in office in a polo accident in January 1982. Kangiwa was the governor of Sokoto State at the time of his death.
Kamgiwa’s deputy, Garba Nadama, was sworn in as the Sokoto governor until November 1983 when Muhammadu Buhari took over power through a military coup.
Kangiwa was fondly called the ‘Smiling governor’. He was elected governor of Sokoto under the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) but his administration was short-lived.
He died In November 1981, falling from a horse while playing polo in the 1981 edition of the Georgian League in Kaduna. He left behind nine children at the time.
