Mrs Gladys Kanu, the widow of Adm Ndubuisi Kanu, has lauded President Bola Tinubu for the posthumous national honour conferred on the June 12 hero.

Tinubu, in his June 12 address to the National Assembly, conferred the posthumous award of Commander of the Order of the Niger on Kanu, whose legacies were described as inspirational on the nation’s democratic journey.

Born on November 3, 1943, at Ovim in Isikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, Kanu died on January 13, 2021, at 77 years.

Kanu was renowned for his chest alongside other chieftains of the National Democratic Coalition and allied human rights bodies and interest groups to fight for the revalidation of the June 12, 1993, election.

The election was declared as Nigeria’s freest and fairest, and won by the late Chief MKO Abiola.

In a statement she signed, Mrs Kanu praised the President for appreciating the sacrifices of her husband for the nation’s democracy.

She stated, “On behalf of myself, the only wife of Admiral Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu and the children, I wish to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for the conferment of national honours on my husband and father, Admiral Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu, during Your Excellency’s June 12, 2025 address to a joint session of the National Assembly.

“The honour is to appreciate his sacrifices for the country’s democracy. Admiral was a highly principled man; he continued with the struggle for 28 years from 1993 to 2021.”

She noted Kanu’s commitment to the June 12 struggle, pointing to several times he hosted NADECO meetings.

“On days of NADECO meetings in our house, he would call me during working hours to invite my best caterers for a sumptuous buffet for NADECO members in our home,” she added.

Kanu was a Nigerian naval officer, military governor, a businessman with an interest in the maritime industry, a pro-democracy activist, a humanist and a nationalist of note.

During the civil war, as a young officer, he fought on the Biafran side and later went back to join his former colleagues on the Nigerian side at the cessation of hostilities.

In July 1975, he was appointed a member of the Supreme Military Council under the late Murtala Mohammed regime. Later, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, as military President, appointed him first as military governor of Old Imo State and later for Lagos State.