Senator Solomon Akku Ewuga: One Year After, A Legacy That Still Guides Nasarawa State

MATTHEW KUJU & ERIC KUJU

A year ago, precisely on Tuesday 23rd September 2025, the drums fell silent in Alushi, Nassarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

On that day, Nasarawa State lost a political colossus, Nigeria lost a patriot, and the Eggon Nation lost its most illustrious son. At age 70, Senator Solomon Sunday Akku Ewuga boarded his final flight, after a prolonged illness, leaving behind a vacuum that is still deeply felt.
Today, as we mark one year of his passing, we do not mourn as those without hope. We celebrate a life that was fully lived, a journey that was well-travelled, and a legacy that will endure for generations.

Indeed, one year has passed since Senator Solomon Akku Ewuga departed this world, yet his presence remains remarkably alive in the memories of those whose lives he touched and in the political history of Nasarawa State which he helped shape.

Although time has a way of softening grief, it also sharpens perspective. With the passing of months, as the void created by his demise became even more obvious, we had to move beyond those beautiful titles the distinguished statesman held or the elections he contested. It is the enduring impact of a life devoted to people, public service and the pursuit of a better society that has become more prominent.
Across Nasarawa State, the Middle Belt and beyond, Senator Ewuga’s name continues to evoke conversations about leadership, sacrifice, courage, accessibility and service. For some, he was a politician. For others, he was a lawyer, journalist, public administrator, mentor, benefactor and friend. To countless ordinary citizens, he was simply a man who answered his phone, listened to their concerns and tried, in whatever way he could, to help.

Born in 1955 in Nassarawa Eggon, Ewuga was a bridge-builder long before he ever entered politics.
He did not just collect titles; he built a tapestry of expertise.

He was Programme Officer, Head of Current Affairs, Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (later, Plateau Broadcasting Corporation, Jos, 1978-82; and General Manager, Plateau Publishing Company Limited, Jos, 1988;

He founded one of Northern Nigeria’s pioneering indigenous advertising agencies, Adpure Nigeria Limited, and later, as a barrister, stood as a pillar for justice.

This rich, diverse foundation shaped the statesman he would become.

When he finally stepped into the political arena, he was no empty suit; he was a man who understood the power of words, the mechanics of business, the rule of law, and the heartbeat of the grassroots.

His political journey was a masterclass in nation-building.

His public life spanned decades and several chapters of Nigeria’s democratic journey. He belonged to a generation of leaders who entered politics not merely as a means of personal advancement but as an extension of their commitment to public service. From his early involvement in national politics to his role in the constitutional processes that preceded the creation of Nasarawa State, Senator Ewuga became part of the story of a people searching for representation, inclusion and progress.

His political journey was marked by both triumphs and disappointments. He served as Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory and Senator of the Federal Republic. Yet perhaps the most defining aspect of his career was not the offices he occupied but the persistence with which he pursued his convictions. He remained active in public affairs for decades, refusing to retreat from the arena even when circumstances were unfavourable. Whether one agreed with his political choices or not, few questioned his courage, resilience and unshakeable belief in the causes he championed.

One year after his passing, many still remember his extraordinary ability to connect with people. He possessed a rare gift for building relationships across political, ethnic and religious divides. Friends and associates often recalled that his concern for people extended far beyond political calculations. He maintained friendships that survived disagreements, nurtured relationships that transcended party lines and offered assistance without always expecting recognition.

Perhaps no testimony captures his character better than the recurring observation made by many who knew him: he spent much of his time seeking opportunities for others rather than for himself. In his remarks at Senator Ewuga’s funeral on the 1st of November 2025, Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule perhaps put it best when he observed that Senator Ewuga often came to him to seek opportunities for other people and rarely for himself. Throughout his life, he appeared to derive more satisfaction from opening doors for others than from seeking favours for his own benefit.

His generosity was not always visible in public records, but its evidence remains scattered across the lives of individuals he helped. Former students who received educational support, young politicians who found mentorship under him, professionals who benefited from his encouragement and ordinary citizens whose burdens he helped to lighten continue to bear witness to that legacy.

Beyond politics, Senator Ewuga represented a style of leadership that is becoming increasingly rare. He remained accessible. In an era when public office often creates distance between leaders and citizens, he maintained a reputation for openness. Many people have testified that no matter how ordinary they were, Senator Ewuga would pick their calls, return missed calls and respond to messages. That simple habit earned him a place in the hearts of many.

His influence also extended to the development of future leaders. Across generations, many prominent figures in Nasarawa State politics acknowledge the role he played in shaping their political journeys. Some received direct mentorship. Others learned from observing his methods, his communication skills and his ability to mobilise people around ideas and causes. As National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda described him, he was a father, mentor and moral compass to many people across the country.

SEN EWUGA: FRIENDS ACROSS THE NATION

Senator Solomon Ewuga did not have friends — he had a federation of friendships.

His address book was Nigeria itself. There was hardly a State in this vast contraption called Nigeria where Solomon Ewuga did not have a brother, a sister, a friend, a confidant, a political son, a former classmate, a fellow comrade who would open his door for him at midnight without asking why he came.

From the mangroves of Bayelsa to the dunes of Borno, from the red soils of Enugu to the savannahs of Sokoto — he had planted friendships like trees, and those trees grew. He was not a man who made friends because he needed something. He made friends because he was something. He was naturally, effortlessly, human. He could speak Hausa with the Hausa, and Eggon with the Eggon. He could laugh with the Igbos over business, and reason with the Yorubas over politics. He could sit with a General and discuss strategy, and sit with a corporal and discuss life. That was his gift — he had no tribe when it came to friendship. His tribe was called humanity.

That is why his death was not just an Eggon loss. It was not just a Nasarawa loss. It was a Nigerian loss. When the news of his death broke in Cairo, phones rang in Lagos. They rang in Kaduna. They rang in Port Harcourt. They rang in Maiduguri. They rang in Sokoto and in Asaba. Old friends wept in old cities, remembering a man who once ate in their houses, who once slept on their couches when he had no hotel, who once gave them his last kobo when he himself had little. How many men can boast of that? How many men can live 70 years and have footprints of friendship in all 36 States as Ewuga did? He did not just live in Nigeria. Nigeria lived in him. And today, if you go to any State in this Federation and mention his name — Solomon Ewuga — someone will say: “Ah! Ewuga? He was my friend. He was my brother.” That is not just popularity. That is immortality.

Perhaps nowhere is Senator Ewuga’s absence felt more keenly today than in the unfolding political season ahead of the 2027 elections.
Senator Solomon Ewuga was a towering political colossus who bestrode the landscape of Nasarawa State like a giant. He was not just a participant in the political evolution of the State; he was one of its chief architects — charting paths, breaking grounds, and setting milestones that still define Nasarawa’s political identity today. His influence transcended the State, earning him national reverence as a statesman of uncommon wisdom and courage.

Like the baobab tree that provides shade for many, his political canopy covered the young State from its formative years. He was not a bystander in the birth of Nasarawa State — he was a frontline soldier in the trenches of the struggle that gave birth to it. He did not just watch the agitation for Nasarawa State; he carried it on his shoulders. He was there at its birth, helped lay its foundations, and at every critical turn in its journey, his voice counted and his footprints remained. A political pathfinder and a national figure, his name is written in gold in the story of Nasarawa State and Nigeria.

For decades, politicians across party lines looked up to him for guidance and strategy. He served as mediator when matters became too confrontational. He was a rallying point. And he did this beyond the boundaries of political party, religious or ethnic affiliations. Many aspiring leaders sought his counsel before making major political decisions, while others depended on his endorsement, knowing the weight his words carried among the electorate.

Those who knew the dynamics of Nasarawa State politics understood what it meant when Senator Ewuga publicly identified with a candidate. During his funeral, a renowned grassroot politician, Hon. Mary Enwongulu, captured a sentiment widely shared among many when she remarked that anybody whose hand Senator Ewuga raised was almost certain to win election in Nasarawa State. She recalled that wherever Senator Ewuga went, the political tide often shifted. Former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, similarly described him as a political hurricane and tornado whose influence was impossible to ignore. The political activities that culminated in the 2011 general elections perfectly capture his influence when he almost single-handedly shifted the tides in favour of the then newly formed Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and away from the ruling PDP.

Today, that familiar figure is no longer there.

Many politicians who, under normal circumstances, would have travelled to Alushi or Abuja seeking his guidance, support or strategic advice, no longer have that option. There is no longer that towering political mentor whose blessing could reassure a nervous candidate, whose intervention could reconcile rival camps, or whose political instincts could help chart a path through uncertain terrain.
His absence has created a vacuum that is difficult to ignore. For many, it feels as though every politician in Nasarawa State must now find his or her own path without the possibility of Senator Ewuga’s unique touch, influence and ability to rally support. There is no one to raise hands the way he did. No one to clear political pathways in quite the same manner. His presence is sorely missed.

Yet there is another side to that reality. Throughout his long political career, there were also those who blamed their setbacks and disappointments on Senator Ewuga’s influence. For years, he served both as an inspiration to admirers and as an explanation for critics. Today, even that excuse has disappeared. Those who once attributed their political misfortunes to him can no longer do so. His absence has left everyone to test their popularity, capacity and ideas directly before the electorate.

As campaigns gradually gather momentum across the State, one question naturally lingers in many minds: What role would Senator Solomon Ewuga have played in the politics of 2027 if he were still alive?

Would he have emerged once again as a bridge-builder among competing interests? Would he have thrown his weight behind particular candidates? Would he have used his influence to unite old allies and rivals? Those questions will remain unanswered. They belong now to the realm of history’s unanswered possibilities.

HIS ENDURING LEGACIES

If we were to etch Senator Ewuga’s legacies on marble, they would be these:

A. The Legacy of the Bridge-Builder: In a state as diverse as Nasarawa, Ewuga was a unifier. Eggon by birth, he was Nasarawa by heart. He related freely across religious and ethnic lines. As Governor Abdullahi Sule said at his funeral in Alushi, “He was a global citizen who related with everyone freely.” He never played tribal politics.

B. The Legacy of Mentorship: Governor Sule captured it best: “Whenever Ewuga visited me, it was to ask for one thing or the other for others or a community and not for himself.” He raised an army of young politicians, journalists and administrators, many of whom are leaders today. He believed in nurturing the next generation.

C. The Legacy of Resilience in the Face of Tragedy: Senator Ewuga knew pain. Several times, the ballot spoke loudly for Solomon Ewuga – but the system refused to listen. Several times, he won in the hearts of the people, won at the polling units, won in the open glare of the day – yet was robbed in the dark corridors of power. His electoral victories were not just contested; they were deliberately, cruelly, and unjustly denied him. He lost his beloved daughter, Adzuayi, a pilot, in a tragic plane crash in Cameroon in 2022. He survived a brutal kidnapping that left him physically challenged for years in September 2021. Yet, he never became bitter. He remained humane, generous, and committed to God and humanity – a true reflection of his faith.

D. The Legacy of Political Adaptability with Principle: In December 2023, after decades in PDP, he joined the APC – not out of desperation, but out of a desire to remain relevant and contribute to nation-building at the centre. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his condolence message delivered by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume – his classmate at St. Louis College, Jos and University of Ibadan – described him as a “committed patriot and prominent stalwart of the APC.”

There is yet another reason why the memory of Senator Ewuga feels especially significant at this moment.

On October 1, 2026, Nasarawa State will celebrate thirty years since its creation. As citizens commemorate three decades of the State’s existence, it is only fitting to remember the men and women whose efforts helped make that historic achievement possible. Among them was Solomon Akku Ewuga.

Long before he became Deputy Governor, Minister, Senator and elder statesman, he was among the young leaders who participated in the processes and engagements that contributed to the creation of Nasarawa State. Thirty years later, the State stands as an irrefutable statement to the sacrifices, vision and determination of that generation.

As Nasarawa celebrates its 30th anniversary, remembering Senator Ewuga goes beyond the usual formalities of honouring the dead. We now have an opportunity to reconnect with the ideals of service, sacrifice and community-building that helped shape the State from its earliest days.

His life offers an important lesson for the youth. Today’s young people often encounter stories of Senator Ewuga as an accomplished politician and elder statesman. What is sometimes forgotten is that before he became any of those things, he was once a young man with ideas, convictions and a willingness to participate in public affairs. He did not wait until old age to contribute to society. He invested himself in causes larger than himself and accepted the responsibilities that came with citizenship.

Young people can learn from his commitment to education, public engagement, perseverance and service. They can learn that leadership begins long before one occupies public office. They can learn that meaningful contributions to society are not reserved for a privileged few but are open to every citizen willing to commit time, energy and talent to the common good.

Politicians too can learn from his life. They can learn from his accessibility. Despite the offices he occupied and the stature he attained, he remained approachable. They can learn from his communication skills. Few politicians of his generation connected with ordinary people as naturally as he did.

Most importantly, they can learn from his commitment to investing in others. Long after political victories are forgotten and electoral contests fade into memory, it is the people a leader raises, mentors and empowers that become his most enduring legacy.

ONE YEAR AFTER, WHAT REMAINS?

If the measure of a man’s life were to be taken from the multitude that mourned him – from the sheer, uncountable ocean of sympathisers who abandoned distance, status, tribe and creed to converge on the sleepy hills of Alushi for his funeral and burial Saturday, November 1, 2025 – then indeed, the death of Senator Solomon Sunday Akku Ewuga, was not just a death.

It was groundbreaking. It was earth-shaking.

For on that day, Alushi was no longer a town. Alushi became a map of Nigeria.

They came. They came from Lafia and from Abuja, from Jos where he once edited headlines, and from Lagos where he once debated the future. They came from the creeks of the Niger Delta and the savannahs of the far North.

The poor farmer came in his worn-out sandals, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the billionaire industrialist in agbada.
He was a man who knew no strata. He blended. He belonged.

To Solomon Ewuga, there were no high tables and low tables – there was only one table, and that table was humanity.
The millionaire in agbada and the okada rider in dust-covered jeans both found a friend in him. The Professor in the university and the illiterate farmer in Alushi who could not spell his own name both found a listener in him. The First Class Chief and the village youth leader both found a confidant in him.

He spoke the language of the palace and the language of the market. He laughed with equal sincerity in the boardroom and at the village square. He could sit on a golden chair in Abuja today, and tomorrow sit comfortably on a wooden bench in Alushi, eating roasted yam with his kinsmen – and feel no difference.

That was his magic. He did not climb down to people. He lived among them.

And so, when death came, the mourners could not be stratified. Because his life was never stratified.

That is why when you looked into the crowd that came to bury him at Alushi, you saw the sociology of Nigeria in one place.
You saw the rich who came in Land Cruisers.

You saw the poor who trekked kilometres to get there.

You saw the powerful who came with sirens and security.

You saw the powerless who came with nothing but tears.

You saw Christians, Muslims, traditionalists — all weeping for the same man.

He related to all, and so all came for him.

He was a bridge across social divides in life; even in death, he became the bridge that brought all divides together under one roof, to mourn one man.

That is the true definition of a leader.

Following his passing, the Senate observed a minute silence in his honour. The Federal Government sent a delegation to his family. But his real monument is not in Abuja. His real monument is in the peace that still holds in Nasarawa State. In the young Eggon youth who dares to dream because Ewuga showed it is possible. In the history of Nasarawa State, which cannot be written without a full chapter on Solomon Ewuga.

As we remember him today, we pray for his gentle soul. We stand with his wife, Josephine, daughter, Akayi, the Eggon Traditional Council, and the entire people of Nasarawa North Senatorial District. Senator Solomon Ewuga has not died. He has only transited. For as former President Olusegun Obasanjo said: “His legacies speak volumes of the indelible mark he left on the sands of time.”

Today, as family members, friends, political associates and admirers mark the first anniversary of his passing, the occasion presents an opportunity for reflection. It invites us to look beyond partisan differences and political contests and to focus on the values that defined his life: service, generosity, courage, loyalty, accessibility and commitment to community.

History will continue to debate his political battles, analyse his strategic decisions and assess his place in the evolution of Nasarawa State politics. But beyond those debates stands a more enduring reality. Senator Solomon Akku Ewuga lived a life that touched countless others. His influence did not end with his passing because it survives in the people he helped, the leaders he mentored and the communities he served.

As Nasarawa State celebrates thirty years of existence and reflects on the journey that brought it this far, the memory of Senator Solomon Akku Ewuga stands as an indicator that while we cannot overemphasize the importance of strong institutions in the building of lasting legacies, we must also never forget the contributions by individuals whose lives inspire others to serve.

May his memory remain a blessing, and may his example continue to inspire generations yet to come. As we remember him today, we pray for his gentle soul.

•Matthew Kuju & Eric Kuju
Eggonnews Communications, Lafia, Nasarawa State