Pretoria – President Cyril Ramaphosa has, on behalf of the government and people of South Africa, offered his deep condolences to Nigeria, following the passing of former Head of State Muhammadu Buhari.
The former Nigerian president reportedly died of leukaemia.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday evening announced that Buhari died at about 4:30 p.m. in London, United Kingdom, following a prolonged illness.
Expressing condolences on his passing, the SA Presidency said: “President Ramaphosa’s thoughts are primarily with the family of Former President Buhari who has passed away at the age of 82.
“President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the family, friends, former colleagues and associates of the late President Buhari, who led the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 2015 to 2018.”
President Ramaphosa said: “As South Africa, we stand with the nation of Nigeria in your mourning.
“President Buhari led Nigeria as a patriot and a champion not only of the best attributes of his nation during his leadership, but of the future that awaited his great country.
“I had the privilege of working closely with President Buhari on building relations between our country and sharing numerous reciprocal visits – including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These engagements were dedicated to intensifying cooperation in areas such as arts and culture, education, agriculture, trade and investment, mining, defence, immigration and science and technology.
“President Buhari’s leadership brought our two nations closer together and as we did so, this partnership contributed to Africa’s collective growth and development.
“This is a legacy on which we will continue to build.”
Buhari’s path to leadership began in earnest when he joined the Nigerian Army in 1961.
Decades later, Buhari led a coup against President Shehu Shagari and assumed the role of Head of State from January 1984 to August 1985.
He returned to power in a democratic capacity after winning the presidential elections in 2015 and securing re-election in 2019.
