End of an Era as Shagari’s Last Wife Dies at 89

Nigeria on Monday bid farewell to a quiet matriarch of its political history, Hajiya Saratu Shagari, the last surviving wife of former President Shehu Shagari, who passed away at the age of 89. The family confirmed her death in a statement released in Sokoto. “She was an embodiment of grace, humility, and faith; a true mother who held our family together after Baba’s passing,” said her eldest son. Hajiya Saratu was among the four wives of Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s first executive president (1979–1983), whose civilian government was overthrown by a military coup led by then-Major General Muhammadu Buhari. For years after her husband’s death in 2018, Hajiya Saratu maintained a quiet life in Sokoto, occasionally receiving guests who came to pay homage to the memory of the late leader. Friends and relatives described her as “deeply spiritual and remarkably composed,” someone who “never sought attention but commanded respect.” Her burial, according to Islamic rites, is expected to take place in Shagari town, Sokoto State. The event will likely draw political and traditional leaders, many of whom see her passing as the final closing of the Shagari family chapter in Nigeria’s post-independence story. As one elderly family friend reflected, “With her death, an era of old-world courtesy and moral restraint seems to have gone with her.”

| 2025-11-11 08:27:05