By Joseph Jibueze
A leader of the Bakassi people, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has extolled the virtues of the late media icon, Alhaji Ismaila Funtua, who died on Monday.
She said Nigeria lost a strong voice for unity, a true nationalist and a bridge-builder who supported the Southsouth in the advocacy for resource control.
Ita-Giwa recalled her encounter with him during the 1994 Constitutional Conference.
She said: “It was taken for granted that people like Alhaji Isa Funtua would be leading a vociferous opposition to our insistence on resource control and the principle of derivation.
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“To my consternation and those of my colleagues, Alhaji Isa Funtua served as a bridge-builder between us and his northern compatriots on the issue instead.
“I recall that on a number of occasions he sought me out to have private discussions on the way forward.
“He was, in the deepest sense of the word, a Nigerian patriot. Many people who did not know him as well as I did may not have been conversant with his patriotic fervour.
“The fact is that Nigeria has lost a strong voice for unity with the passing of this illustrious citizen.”
“I commiserate with his family and indeed the good people of Katsina State on the passing of this iconic Nigerian, Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua.”
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