Admiral Kanu’s Death: Nigerian hospital deceived us on his recovery – Wife

…I don’t know how to live without him

The wife of late former Lagos State military administrator, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Mrs Gladys Kanu, Thursday, accused the hospital where her husband died of deceit.

She explained that the hospital said he was responding well and suddenly, he passed on.

Fielding questions from newsmen in her Lagos residence, Mrs Kanu said: “My husband is one in a billion. He was highly principled, very honest and always out to help people. Since I met him, he was never been sick – that was the first time.

“Within 11 days, I took him to three different hospitals. I was about to fly him abroad for treatment but the hospital where he was receiving treatment deceived us, saying he was recovering.

“We were going to use air-ambulance to fly him out. His death came as a shock. It has not dawned on me yet that he has passed on.

“My husband was very close to the current and past governors of Lagos State. He contributed to state matters — from the days of Bola Tinubu to this current administration. He was a very intelligent man. I don’t know how I am going to live without him.”

Also speaking, Rear Admiral Godwin Kanu’s daughter, Samantha Kanu, described her father as “… humble, principled, kind wonderful and a beautiful soul.

She said: “He is a lover of nature, sensitive, but firm when needed. A leader, builder of cities, philosopher, joker, comforter, a fighter and a believer in a united Nigeria.

“My father was beautiful inside and out. A few months ago, he sent a message about a tree in our Lagos compound. Someone had asked why he had not cut it down; it was dead, leafless.

“My father disagreed, saying ‘No, it is preparing to bloom! Bloom to the glory of our awesome God.’ A few weeks later, it did.

“Right now, I take comfort in the fact that my father is blooming with our God, resting in perfect peace.”

Opadokun mourns

In the same vein, a chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, Ayo Opadokun, described Admiral Kanu’s death as extremely painful and unexpected, saying he was consistently nationalistic, energetic, courageous, and genuinely patriotic.

According to Pa Opadokun: “In his 78 years sojourn on this terrestrial divide, Admiral Kanu has been Military Governor of Lagos State and the old Imo State. He was once a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) apart from his holding several command postings in the Nigerian Navy.

“Admiral Kanu was a distinguished leader of the Council for Unity and Understanding (CUU) which was the most formidable platform created by the credible leaders of the entire former Eastern, Western, and Middle Belt Zones.

“The CUU was the main pillar which supplied the largest credible core of officers at the formation of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO in 1994.

“Admiral Kanu, as NADECO’s founding Chairman of the All General Purposes Committee, worked assiduously, sacrificed his mental, material resources, and applied his wide national connections for the establishment of a formidable, resilient, productive apolitical platform with proven positive results.

“This eventually forced the Nigeria Army strongmen and their surrogates to return to the barracks with the death of the most violent Nigeria military despot, General Sani Abacha.

“Admiral Kanu became the Chairman of NADECO at the demise of Senator Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanya. Admiral Kanu’s contributions towards building a country that will be governed by policy thrusts centred on justice, equity, fairness, respect for as well as defence and protection of the rule of law will remain imperishable in the annals of our country’s history.

“Admiral Kanu, in spite of his towering figure in the military and political offices, endured with equanimity the orchestrated humiliation and total disrespect for his person because he was a NADECO Chieftain. For example, Abacha security operatives violated Admiral Kanu’s privacy in several respects.

“The security apparatus conducted an oppressive search in Kanu’s Lagos home and he was escorted to Ovim, his hometown like a felon for another cocktail of depressive search, just in order to implicate him and rope him into another fathom coup plot.

“Admiral Kanu remained unbowed in spite of the crude manner that he was hounded, so much that while others of his pedigree surrendered, joined in an unholy alliance with the military despot and distanced themselves from NADECO, Kanu was steadfast in speaking truth to power until his sudden transformation to immortality.

“Admiral Kanu would ever remain a public officer with human conscience, who did his possible best to ensure that the Nigerian State changes course in order for us to build a just, equitable, politically stable and prosperous nation.

“But the power brokers remain resistant to the most compelling and necessary change i.e. restoring Nigeria to Federal Constitution to save Nigeria. Rather, they always imagine and compose conspiracy theories around any criticism of their misrule, as designed to remove them from office.

“NADECO is proud to state without any reservation that Admiral Kanu’s career in the military was not exploited as most others do to satisfy their personal aggrandizement, crude accumulation of stolen public fund. Let it be known that Admiral Kanu as a former Governor of Lagos State, owned just one building till his death.

“We commiserate with her Excellency, Mrs Gladys Kanu, his wife, his children, the Lagos and Imo governments and with the entire membership of NADECO for the loss of a very difficult-to-replace National Chairman, who has left his positive footsteps on the footprints of time.”

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