President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the passage of a renowned professor of economics and elder statesman, Herbert Onitiri, describing it as “a national loss.”
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President offered condolences to Prof. Onitiri’s family and the academia on the passing of the former executive Director of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan.
As a consummate and erudite scholar, the President said the deceased would be remembered not only for his dedicated services to his nation, but also to regional and international organisations including ECOWAS, the Commonwealth and the United Nations.
He said with his seminal research works and contributions to global discourse on strategies for equitable trade and economic relations among developed and developing countries, Prof. Onitiri has left a worthy and commendable legacy for the academia, development experts, civil societies and governments to build upon.
The President said the prolific academic, renowned for preparing the economic blueprint for the transition of Zimbabwe from an Apartheid regime to an independent black nation, would also be honoured for his life-long efforts to advance Nigeria’s economic growth through his timely, patriotic works and counsel to past governments.
He prayed that God Almighty would grant Prof. Onitiri eternal rest and comfort the deceased’s family, friends and admirers.
