I first met President Shagari some time towards the end of 1981. His Eminence, Cardinal Ekandem had led a delegation from the Catholic Bishops Conference to pay a courtesy call to the President. I had the singular honour and privilege of being part of that august delegation. I was not even a staff of the Catholic Secretariat then and I never in my wildest of dreams imagined that I would be further honoured by being beckoned to serve that honoured body as Secretary General of its administrative organ in the future. Rather, His Eminence had taken me along to the audience because he had just appointed me his personal representative and delegate to the newly created Catholic Ecclesiastical Territory of Abuia. Since he was still the Bishop of Ikot Ekpene, he had requested my bishop, His Grace Archbishop Peter Jatau to release me to assist in getting the Catholic Church off the ground in the Federal Capital Territory and thus lay the groundwork for what would finally become the Archdiocese of Abuja. Also on the delegation were the President of the then Bishops Conference, Archbishop Anthony Olubunmi Okogie and Bishop Christopher Abba. It was my first time of stepping on the corridors of power on the famous Ribadu Road.

When we were ushered into his presence, the President received us all very warmly. The Cardinal went on to introduce all of us on the delegation. At the mention of my name, the President's face lit up and he said as he shook my hand: "Fr Kukah? so you are the one who has been writing these articles in the New Nigerian? I have enjoyed reading all of them and I am indeed very delighted to meet you today". The President went on to make a comment to Cardinal Ekandem which I can not now put in print! After listening to us, he told me that I must endeavour to see him in Abuja.

Two months or so later, when he visited Abuja, the Cardinal and I went to the airport to join hundreds of others to welcome him. At the foot of the aircraft, Alhaji Shagari broke protocol, came over to us, shook the Cardinal warmly and gave me a warm and big hug. He asked if I wanted to go with him to the VIP lounge, but I told him I was not a member of his Party and would rather go back with His Eminence since we only came to welcome him. He asked me to come and see him in what is now Akinola Aguda House. I remember saying: "What should I say at the gate? Should I just say I am here to see the President"? Is there no junior person I can speak to before seeing you? He turned to me with his very broad smile and said: "Just tell them that I said you should see me. They will let you in".

I had occasions to meet Alhaji Shagari and each time, it was a memorable meeting. I never had the chance to see him after his fall from power. I had been away from 1986-90 for my studies in England. On my return, I visited Sokoto and decided to use the chance to visit Alhaji Shagari whose children I learnt had been killed in a tragic car accident. I also believed it was a good opportunity to see the great man about whom nothing had been heard since his overthrow. I was told to check in his house in Sokoto. No one I asked could tell me the Street or even the number. I was shocked because I would have expected that the ex-President would be living on a sprawling villa either Shagari Way or Shagari Estate. It was clear that there was neither a Shagari Estate nor Shagari Way as I had expected. I was told however to: "just de go straight till you see where some Igbo boys de sell plenty things".

When I found the place "wey Igbo boys de sell plenty things", I asked and of course, they pointed to a modest structure down the road from their line of shops.

First of all, when I saw the house, I could not believe that this could be the house of the former President of the most powerful black nation in Africa, one who had presided over what was alleged to be the most corrupt civilian government. The location of the house itself raised many questions in my mind. Not to talk of the ordinariness of the structure. The street leading to the place wey Igbo boys de sell plenty things was decrepit. If I remember, the house was a one or two storey building which at the time of construction could not have cost more than two million naira to put up. But when I asked in disbelief if this was Alhaji Shagari's house, I was told yes it was. I was told however that he had gone to Shagari village. Sensing that this may just be one modest place to meet the holloi polloi, I asked if the ex President did not have another house in Sokoto. Well, the gentleman said to the best of his knowledge, unless the house was built that morning, he did not know of any other house belonging to the ex-President in Sokoto. If I wanted to see Alhaji Shagari, he said, I had to go to Shagari village. I took off and headed for Shagari village.

I arrived the village and had no problems finding the house. I was a bit worried because it was already nearly 3.00pm and I imagined the ex-President may be having a rest. I introduced myself to a young man I saw around the building and told him I wanted to see Alhaji Shagari. I said if Alhaji was resting, I would rather wait or go back to Sokoto, but the young man said to me: "Since you have come from a far place, Alhaji will not be happy if we tell him that we turned you back". He led me into the sitting room. Again, the modesty of the house was a great shock to me. The sitting room was even more so. So many questions went round in my head: Where was all the NPN money? Could Alhaji Dikko not have used some of his famous billions to give this building a face lift? Was there no one among the NPN stalwarts to build a more modern habitat for the ex-President? The bottle of Fanta I had been served tasted as if it had just woken from a slumber courtesy of NEPA.

I was turning these questions in my mind when Alhaji Shagari walked in and gave me his characteristic warm reception. We had a chat that spanned about one hour. He told me the story of his times in detention. As he told his story, I could see a man who was now seemingly at peace with himself. But looking at him, I had a feeling that there were a few things that this great man was still bottling up. I did not say it to him, but I had a feeling that some how, the former President had to find a chance to tell his story as a way of exorcising some lingering demons and unanswered questions. He spoke about his spiritual experiences arising from the many spiritual books he had read during the long period of his detention. He said at a point when he plunged into reading some Quranic commentaries, he prayed that his tormentors would not release him or else he would not have the chance again to drink of the deep spiritual wealth from where he was now drinking. But he spoke like a man who had triumphed over the limitations set by jealousy, prejudice, hatred, cant, and self-pity. I wanted to ask the ex-President if he was thinking of putting his thoughts down, but I decided not to. Thank God, I have not had to wait too long.

I am definitely one of the millions of Nigerians who rejoice today with the ex-President for putting his thoughts into writing. I have no doubt in my mind that among other things, this work will give the ex-President a feeling of therapeutic satisfaction. Whatever controversy it generates, Nigeria will be the better for it. However, I wish to end these comments by venturing into a few other areas of general interests arising from what I have read in terms of comments and reactions both about the book and the man himself.

The first thing that should occupy the minds of many Nigerians about the personality of the ex-President is why it has taken him so long to put his thoughts down. Secondly, given what the man went through, there are many who would ask, why has the man not been bitter with those who overthrew his government? Given the reactions of many victims of human rights violations in the last few years, one would be right to ask, why did the ex President not consider coming forward to tell his story of gross human rights violations? These questions are neither here nor there, but it would be safe to say that for a person like Alhaji Shagari, all these would already have been left in the hands of God Almighty. He would naturally consider these as part of the sacrifices for the fatherland.

Alhaji Shagari has been vilified for having run a corrupt, inept and incompetent government. He was said to have been a weakling, that he tried to please too many people and ended up pleasing no one, that he was not in control of the excesses of many of his ministers, that he was all sinews and no back bone, that he reneged on his promises of a single term and ended up greedily rigging himself into power. Finally, we are being told that indeed the Presidency was stolen from the rightful winner and given to him on a platter of gold. His critics say that he read no books and indeed, never wanted to rise beyond the position of a Senator. They also say that the man was a reluctant President and so on.

First of all, looking back at the ravages of military rule, the gargantuan rise in corruption and so on, are we right to say that the nation is better off now because the NPN led government was overthrown? With our experiences today, would a civilian with no military background and experience of an Obasanjo have been able to slow down the rampaging onslaught of the cow boys who have now emerged? It is easy for us to accuse Alhaji Shagari of not being firm and being a weak President. Perhaps those who say so are right. But what yardstick are we using to gauge the weakness and strength of our leaders? If Alhaji Shagari was weak, how come the same critics did not succumb to the disciplinary rod of the duo of Buhari and Idiagbon as they rode rough shod over us to instil discipline? If Nigerians hated corruption so much, how come they did not come out to confront those who overthrew their beloved Buhari and Idiagbon, who were seemingly poised to confront corruption? Conversely, how come we now have to set up a Commission on human rights violations to address the excesses of our so called strong leaders? Could any leader have ever been stronger or firmer than Abacha? The same critics of Shagari's government and its corruption have turned around to say that it was General Babangida that deepened the cleavages of corruption in Nigeria. So, what exactly do Nigerians want? Why have they remained so inconsistent?

Those who say that the NPN elections were rigged have since not offered us a rig free elections since then. They may be right and it may even be the case that the elections were rigged, but why has the nation not overcome election rigging? When President Shagari set up his Ethical Revolution Committee, he was pooh-poohed by those who thought they knew better, yet no one has offered us any superior strategy for confronting the ogre of the rut that has over taken our land. He was bold and courageous enough to invite the Pope to visit Nigeria. The visit was so successful that his political opponents(led by his arch enemy, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi) openly derided him for fraternising with the head of the Christians. Some how these sentiments would later sow the seeds for deep intolerance against Christians in October 1982 when Christian churches were burnt in Kano.

It was said that by 1983, the Presidency was actually stolen by the NPN because the massive rigging of the elections laid the grounds for the military to intervene. I am sure that the reasons for the military intervention are more complicated than the reasons given. But Nigerians are not known for thoroughness in analysing their predicament. They dismiss their problems by resorting to abuse and mono-causality. Well, since no one ever loses an election in Nigeria, it will be interesting to know that neither the famed June 12 elections nor the last elections were free of corruption and rigging. And it will be so for a long time to come. Perhaps it would have been possible to find another reason to fault Shagari's Presidency. We have been led to believe that Alhaji Shagari did not deserve to win the 1983 elections again and that they should have been won by Chief Awolowo. Perhaps the critics are right, but the fact still remains that the man was sworn in as President. I do not believe that there is anything wrong with those who feel this way.

Losers always find reasons for their losses. After all, if some people had their ways, it is Chinua Achebe not Wole Soyinka that would have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. But if it pleased God to give the lofty Prize to Professor Soyinka rather than Achebe, why do we question the same God who gave the Presidency to Shagari and not Chief Awolowo? In conclusion, I am aware that there are many who will take issues with me and they are more than welcome.

I believe that Alhaji Shagari came and did his best. It may not have been good enough, but in a country in which no one or institution ever perform according to half installed capacity, except the crooks, the environment would never have allowed Alhaji Shagari or any one to rise beyond its limitations. The fact that nearly 20 years later, the problems for which the man was accused have grown even more worrisome means that we must look elsewhere for scape goats. And in any case, now that Alhaji Shagari, the weak President has bowed out of politics, perhaps the real heroes of democracy can step forward and take us to El Dorado.

Let those strong men who believe that they can run a rig free election step forward. Let those strong men who believe they can control the actions of their men and women step forward and take us forward. Let those who blame President Shagari for not having lofy ambitions step forward and claim the prize without paying their dues.

For now, Mr President, I congratulate you for this wonderful day in the sun. May your remaining years be peaceful and may God give you the wisdom to offer this nation which you and the rest of us love so much your wisdom. We are all beckoned to serve in various ways and we shall all be beckoned to give an account one day. I believe that history will be kinder to you than Nigerians have ever been. But then, do not be surprised, we are a nation that rejoices over the death and misfortunes of our leaders. Pray God to make us really deeply and truly human. That will be the basis for a just, true and fair society. Please accept my congratulations today and always.

Fr. Mathew Hassan Kukah wrote this in honour of Alhaji Shehu Shagari whose autobiography, Beckoned to Serve was being launched in Abuja.