Mrs. Mogaji, 96, died at
her residence in Ikeja at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
She was until her death the President General of Lagos State Market Women and Men Association.
Mogaji was the mother of former governor of Lagos State and National Leader, Action Congress of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu.
A statement issued said she would be buried on Sunday (today), at the Ikoyi Vaults and Gardens, Lagos.
Mogaji recently received an honorary Doctorate Degree from the Ahmadu Bello University during its 50th anniversary.
Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, described the death of the matriarch as a great loss to millions of people.
In a statement by the Director, Bureau
of Communications and Strategy, Osun State, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the
governor said Mogaji’s death would leave a big vacuum both in politics
and commercial sectors of not only Lagos State but Nigeria at large.
Aregbesola said Mogaji led a life of substance that is worthy of emulation.
He said, “Mama Abibatu Mogaji was a
mother in a million. We commiserate with her children, particularly
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for their great loss.
“We commiserate with the Oba of Lagos,
Rilwan Akiolu; the Mogaji family; the people of Lagos, particularly Femi
Okunnu; the party; the government of Lagos; and market men and women in
Nigeria and Lagos in particular.
“We pray that God gives them the fortitude to bear the loss and we pray God grants her Aljana Firdaus.”
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said the death was “a great national and personal loss.”
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Hakeem Bello, Fashola said she was a defender of people’s rights.
He said, “She was one of the pioneer
traders who ventured into the capital intensive and risky business of
importing consumer goods, thereby breaking the monopoly previously
enjoyed by foreign tradesmen. Her business acumen attracted the
attention of multi-national enterprises operating in Nigeria, then,
which had no option but to register her as a business partner and
distributor of their consumer goods in Nigeria.”
Also, the state Peoples Democratic
Party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Gani Taofik, described
the deceased as a dogged fighter for justice.
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