President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were among leaders that on Friday mourned the death of former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan.
Senator Al-Hassan, fondly called ‘Mama Taraba,’ who represented Taraba North in the 7th Senate, died yesterday in a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, aged 61.
Buhari described her death as a national loss. According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President was deeply saddened by the death of the woman activist, who was popularly called ‘Mama Taraba’.
The Nigerian Mission in Cairo, Egypt, announced the passing of the former minister and Senator.
Reacting to the development, Buhari said “the demise of the notable politician, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, has left many saddened.
“Both in office and out of office, her concern for the education of the girl child, especially those of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, who were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists, shone through.
“Her death is a huge loss not only to the female gender activist community, but to the country as a whole. Our condolences to her family, friends, National Assembly and government and people of Taraba State”, he said.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday also expressed shock over the death of the former minister.
Atiku said Alhassan would be sorely missed by Nigerians. In a tweet, Atiku wrote: “I am grieved by the death of former Minister of Women Affairs, Sen. Aisha Alhassan. I asked about her condition this afternoon after I called her number without a response! Inna lillahi wainna Ilaihi Rajiun!
“May Allah forgive her sins and grant her Aljannah Fiddausi in this holy month. Ameen.
“Mama Taraba, as she was popularly known, was an accomplished civil servant, astute politician and patriot. She was compassionate, loyal and deeply committed to a better Nigeria.
“She will be sorely missed. I really have lost a sister and a loyalist.”
In his reaction, Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, said her death has robbed Taraba State and Nigeria of the benefits of her wealth of experience in politics.
The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, said he received with deep shock news of the death of Alhassan, a former senator.
Ishaku described the deceased as a woman of great courage, adding that her death to him is a personal loss.
He said he and the late Sen. Alhassan had enjoyed a robust political relationship and had kept in touch even while both of them contested for the governorship of Taraba State from different political platforms in 2015 and 2019.