Buhari Mourns First CAN President, Hausa Actor

By Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said he was saddened by the death of the first President of the Christian Council of Nigeria (now Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)), Rev. Luther Dabirong Cishak. He was 88.

Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, described the late Cishak as a gentleman who was passionately devoted to the promotion of peaceful co-existence, tolerance, social harmony and mutual respect between Christians and Muslims in Plateau State and the country in general.

The statement said the president recalled that in a 2003 crisis that rocked the state, Cishak risked his own life in order to protect others from being killed by mobs, adding that “this kind of sacrifice for peace is an uncommon virtue that must be extolled by all patriotic Nigerians.”

It also said the president extended his condolences to both the family of the deceased and CAN over the death of “one of Nigeria’s finest and greatest religious leaders.”

The statement also said Buhari mourned the passage of a popular Hausa actor, Malam Kasimu Yaro, who died after a protracted illness.

It said the president described Kasimu Yaro as “one of the greatest, talented and most entertaining actors of our time.”

Buhari said the Nigerian film industry “would miss such a  popular film star and a household name whose impact would be felt for years to come.”

He condoled the family of Yaro and prayed to Allah to forgive his gentle soul.