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Former Nigerian Finance Minister and the Sardaunan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, has died after a prolonged illness.
Alhaji died on Thursday at Alliance Hospital in Abuja, where he had been receiving treatment for several weeks after being transferred from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto.
His relative, the Dikkon Sokoto, Alhaji Ya’u Dogon Daji, confirmed the news of his death to Daily Trust.
According to Daji, the deceased was 94 at the time of his death.
Alhaji had a remarkable public service career that spanned more than three decades in Nigeria’s civil service and government.
While in service, he held several strategic positions, including Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Budget and Planning, Permanent Secretary and Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
The deceased was born into the family of Muhammed Sani, popularly known as Alhaji Alhaji, Abubakar Alhaji began his education in Kano before transferring to Government College, Katsina.
He later attended Bournemouth College of Commerce and the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in Political Economy.
He joined the Nigerian Civil Service in 1964 as an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and steadily rose through the ranks.
Following his ministerial service, he was appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he represented the country’s diplomatic interests in the mid-1990s.
Abubakar Alhaji was turbaned as Sardaunan Sokoto in 1990, becoming the successor to the late Ahmadu Bello, whose assassination in 1966 had left the revered traditional title vacant for more than two decades.
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, mourned his death on Thursday.
In a statement signed by the Director-General, Media and Publicity of the Kano State Government House, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Yusuf described the late Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji as an accomplished public servant, seasoned economist, distinguished diplomat, and patriotic Nigerian.
“The Governor noted that the deceased devoted his life to the service of Nigeria and the development of Sokoto State, earning widespread respect through his integrity, wisdom, and untiring commitment to national progress,” the statement read in part.
“He said the death of the former minister and diplomat is a monumental loss not only to Sokoto State but also to Nigeria, considering his immense contributions to public service, economic development, diplomacy, and nation-building over several decades.”
Yusuf prayed to God to forgive the shortcomings of the late Sardaunan Sokoto, admit him into Aljannatul Firdaus, and grant his family, the government and people of Sokoto State, and the entire nation the strength and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
