PMB Mourns Hajia Fati Koko

President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned
and extolled the virtues of Hajiya Fati Koko,
popularly called Maitalla Tara, who has
passed away, aged 95.
It will be recalled that Hajiya Koko, had
waited nine hours in Kebbi early last year, to
donate the sum of N1 million (One million
Naira) to President Buhari as the then
presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
President Buhari in a statement by his
special adviser media, Femi Adesina
described her as “a woman with a good
heart, who stood by her convictions, and
gave sacrificially.”
Hajiya Koko had offered virtually her life’s
savings to candidate Buhari then, saying
she admired his honesty, discipline, and
stand for truth.
Receiving the news of her passage,
President Buhari commended Hajiya Koko’s
conviction and sacrificial giving, urging
Nigerians to learn vital lessons from her life.
“She gave practically all she had towards
our campaign. Though well advanced in age,
she still believed a new Nigeria was
possible, and followed her conviction with
action. What generosity of spirit and what
tenacious faith in her motherland. Nigerians,
old and young, have a lot to learn from her,”
the President said.
President Buhari condoled with the family
and relations of the departed, urging them to
take solace in the fact that their matriarch
lived to a ripe old age, “and she saw the
beginning of the change she had long
yearned for. The onus is now on all of us to
ensure that the change gets entrenched and
solidified for even generations yet unborn to
benefit from.”
The President also sympathized with the
governor and people of Kebbi State, whom
he said will all miss the sterling qualities of
Hajiya Koko, but added that the life of the
departed will serve as a standard to emulate
“in the service of God, humanity and
country.”
“May Allah grant her soul repose in Al-
jannah,” the President prayed.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier
narrated the party and the Presidency
catered for her while she was alive.
There were reports, especially on social
media, that APC had abandoned Mrs. Koko
after suffering mild paralysis shortly after
returning from Abuja where she attended
the inauguration of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Mrs. Koko made news when she donated all
her lifesavings totalling N1 million to the
campaign office of Mr. Buhari.
But in a statement issued in Lagos last year
by Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the wife of the
Kebbi State governor, Zainab Bagudu, a
medical doctor, had personally taken charge
of Mrs. Koko’s welfare.
Mr. Mohammed said all her medical bills
were paid by the state governor and his wife,
who ensured that her close associate and
friend, Zainab Koko, prepared and delivered
meals thrice daily to Mrs. Koko.