Nigeria to Honor Jesse Jackson: Tinubu Dispatches SGF Akume and High-Level Team to Chicago

President Bola Tinubu has appointed a five-member delegation to represent Nigeria at the final burial rites of renowned American civil rights icon, Jesse Jackson, who passed away on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84.

In a statement issued Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President announced that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, will head the delegation.

Other members include Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.

According to the statement, the delegation will formally convey President Tinubu’s condolences and solidarity to the Jackson family on behalf of the Nigerian government and people.

Earlier, Tinubu had paid tribute to Jackson, describing him as “a great friend of Nigeria and Africa” and praising his moral leadership in the global struggle for justice. The President highlighted Jackson’s vocal opposition to apartheid in South Africa and his advocacy for the release of Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the African National Congress. He also credited Jackson with mobilising international support for sanctions against the apartheid regime.

A series of memorial events have been held in the United States in honour of the late activist, including services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. Jackson lay in state at the South Carolina Statehouse from March 1 to 5, allowing the public to pay their respects.

A “People’s Celebration” is scheduled for March 6 at the House of Hope in Chicago, followed by a private homegoing service on March 7 at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organisation he founded.

Born in the segregated American South, Jackson rose to national prominence as a close ally of Martin Luther King Jr. and later mounted two bids for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. A longtime Chicago resident, he publicly disclosed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.