President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of Justice Mamman Nasir, as not only “a loss to the judiciary, but also the country at large, because of his remarkable commitment to public service’’.
On April 1, Mr Buhari had received Board of Trustees and Advisory Council of Gidauniyar Jihar Katsina led by the late Justice Mamman Nasir on a congratulatory visit on his re-election at the State House.
The president made his feelings known when he reacted to the death of the former President of the Court of Appeal and Galadiman Katsina in a statement by his spokesman Garba Shehu in Abuja on Saturday.
Mr Buhari believed that the late Mr Nasir belonged to a generation of judges and justices who perceived public office as an opportunity to offer selfless service to the country and its people.
He said: “Nasir and Judges of their golden age were more interested in leaving untainted record of integrity than accumulation of wealth overnight.
“When you look at Nasir’s modest lifestyle and his incredibly humble possessions, you would be disarmed at once by his honesty and patriotism.
“While some Nigerians perceive public office as an opportunity to line their pockets, men of Nasir’s character put a higher premium on honest labour than on greedy accumulation of questionable wealth overnight.’’
Mr Buhari explained that “gentlemen like Mamman Nasir succeeded in protecting their reputation because greed was far removed from their minds”, and that “contentment is the secret to a happy life of service to the people.”
According to the President, lack of contentment is the devil behind greedy accumulation of wealth at the expense of others, but “selfless public servants like Nasir were never motivated by the desire to live above their means.”
Mr Buhari said Mr Nasir’s family should be proud of their father because he built “a solid and impeccable record of integrity, which is the greatest asset any individual should leave behind.”
The statement said Mr Buhari would send a presidential delegation to condole with the family, the government and people of Katsina State for the loss of this illustrious member of the Katsina Emirate Council.
The remains of the late Galadiman Kastina, who died in the afternoon at the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, after a protracted illness, had been laid to rest according to Islamic rites in Malumfashi, his hometown, at about 6:25pm.
