NUJ Sokoto State Council plans maiden Shehu Shagari Memorial Lecture, late Usman Faruk to receive posthumous award
By Ukashatu Ibrahim Wakili
In honor of the late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, GCFR, Turakin Sokoto’s legacy, the Nigerian Council of Journalists, Sokoto State Council, is organizing the maiden edition of the Shehu Shagari Memorial Lecture.
This came to the fore at an Extraordinary Congress of the Council held yesterday at the State Press Center. Speaking, the Chairman of the Union, Comrade Tsalhatu Abdullahi Safiyar Magori, of the NUJ, believed that this event would help preserve the legacy of the late President Shehu Shagari and inspire future generations to learn from his works.
“The Council already started making an effort to involve all relevant stakeholders, including the state government, the Sultanate Council, and some elders with proposals, which they hope will receive a positive response,” he said.
The event was proposed to be held on the 25th of February, which is the birth anniversary of the late Turakin Sokoto.
It will feature fundraising for the promotion of his legacies and ideals, such as education (especially sciences), historical literary works, and political documentation of his works.
Also, the NUJ Sokoto Council moved to confer a posthumous award on the late Usman Faruk, the first military governor of the then North-Western State, who donated his building to the council in 1992. The building is now being used as the NUJ’s state secretariat.
Similarly, various committees have been inaugurated at the congress to assist in achieving the collective goals. The committees include a steering committee, contact committee, finance committee, accommodations and reception committee, lecture committee, and speechwriting committee.
Additionally, the committees were given seven days to submit their reports.