Posted by By Geoffrey Ekenna, Sunday Aborisade and Olalekan Adetayo on
President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday joined other prominent Nigerians in commiserating with the family of late Chief Funsho Williams.....
President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday joined other prominent Nigerians in commiserating with the family of late Chief Funsho Williams.
Obasanjo paid a visit to the home of the mother of the late politician, Ibidun, in Onike area of Yaba, Lagos.
Obasanjo told Williams‘s family and those who came to sympathise with them, "We came here with a heavy heart. What we asked for and prayed for was for him to remain with us.
"We appeal to those who mourn not to mourn like those who do not know God or do not believe in God.
"God knows what happened. We should pray that God should not suffer us even if the act was done to suffer us.
"What we know as human beings is that we can only see Funsho in our dreams. But what he did will continue to expand.
"We invited experts because we don‘t want this one to pass. If we allow this one to pass, others will follow.
"We don‘t know where it came from. If we need to pray, we will pray, if we need to work, we will work for God to show us the killers.
'Funsho played politics without bitterness. God will not spare the lives of those who committed the act, those who killed Funsho.
'Sorrow will not depart the house of those who killed Funsho. He was a man we had hopes in."
Those who accompanied Obasanjo on the visit included the Deputy National Chairman, South, of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George; the Lagos State Chairman of the party, Chief Rasheed Alaba-Williams; Chief John Abebe; and the governors of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun States.
Obasanjo and his team were received by the deceased‘s elder brother, Brigadier General Femi Williams; and his son, Babatunde.
Earlier on Sunday, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari, promised that the Federal Government would do all within its powers to unravel Williams‘s killers.
Masari, who spoke in Lagos at the residence of Williams, said unraveling the masterminds of the act would encourage qualified people to come into politics and also give Nigerians confidence in the government.
The speaker, who was one of the numerous dignitaries that visited the Williams‘s, said that the way the Chairman of the board of the National Maritime Authority was murdered was capable of scaring quality people away from politics.
Other prominent Nigerians who visited the Williams‘s residence were Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; the Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili; his Bauchi State counterpart, Alhaji Ahmed Muazu; PDP‘s Deputy National Chairman, South, Chief Olabode George; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Austin Opara; and Minister of Transport, Dr. Abiye Sekibo.
Others included former Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan; the former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd); former Executive Director, National Human Rights Commission, Alhaji Bukhari Bello; and the Chairman, Daar Communications Limited, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Masari said, "We know that we believe in God and we know that when our time is up, we will go.
"But the way and manner it happened is of great concern to us in Nigeria.
"We have to be more patient and tolerant.
"We need good men in politics.
"All necessary actions will be taken to ensure that those who did this are brought to book so that it gives hope to those who are interested in public life to come out."
He had while signing the condolence register, prayed God to grant Williams eternal rest.
George and Odili called for patience and calm, insisting that the killing of Williams will not go the way other high profile cases of murder in the country had gone.
But Soyinka, who once referred to the PDP as a nest of killers, refrained from commenting on the killing of the aspirant.
He only wrote in the register, "We‘ll stand together on this."
Speaking with journalists, George called on Nigerians to be patient over the investigation of the murder, arguing that now was not the time to go into the argument of past unresolved murders.
George said, "The Government has issued a statement and the police have issued a statement on how prepared they are to solve this.
"All we can do now is to allow the police to do its work.
"They have brought in experts from abroad.
"The only thing we can do for the memory of this gentleman is to act on that which he lived - peace."
Odili said, "It is a dastardly act by evil men; men who neither know nor fear God.
"We pray that the Almighty God will use this as a turning point in this country.
"Our party is in pain, our leaders are in pain. Let us remain calm and be patient. God is the consoler of all of us."
While Shonekan said it was a murder too many.
Muazu expressed concern over the inability of the police to unravel past murders.