Unongo was a unifier, champion of regional harmony – Shettima
By TYAV SAM TYAV, Makurdi –
Vice president, Kashim Shettima has described late Wantategh Unongo as a unifier, a voice for the collective and champion of regional harmony.
Speaking during a valedictory session held at the Government House, Makurdi, on Tuesday, the Vice president informed that the late Unongo who was a father figure to generations of scholars, public servants, politicians and community leaders had strong interest in the unity of the region and the nation in general.
Shettima noted that Unongo as Chairman of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), succeeding the revered Alhaji Maitama Sule, shouldered the weight only a few could carry.
According to the Vice President the late former Minister of Steel Development in the second republic, remains a model of dignity, humility and purpose.
Pa Unongo, Shettima pointed out, demonstrated that leadership could transcend time that service to one’s people could endure even after retirement from the public stage.
Shettima noted that ‘Eighty-seven years were enough for this exceptional man to write a manual on managing excellence.”
He revealed that Uningo who started as a brilliant psychologist revolutionising academia in Nigeria, to his dedication to national service his life testifies to the heights that vision, discipline, and determination could achieve.
Speaking further, the Vice president insisted that Unongo was not just a scholar or a politician but was a statesman in the truest sense, adding that he was “a man who put the needs of his people and his nation above all else. As others aged into quiet retirement, Pa Unongo chose a more arduous path.”
Shettima emphasized that Unongo offered wisdom, tact and a vision of unity that transcended ethnic and religious divides, saying it was no small feat to speak for such a multifaceted region even as he did so with grace and integrity.
Unongo, Shettima continued, taught them the delicate art of managing diversity without being misunderstood, insisting that he was honest beyond measure, a quality attested to by the countless eulogies from former students, colleagues, and those privileged to call him a mentor.
He argued that the gathering at the valedictory session was not to mourn alone, but a celebration of a life well-lived, and legacy well-secured.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki. Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi were among dignitaries at the valedictory session.