Colin Powell: Laolu Akande Pays Tribute to Former US Secretary of State

• The first black US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, died at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications recently
• Powell is reputed for helping to shape American foreign policy while he was in charge of the country's foreign affairs
• He was the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush

FCT, Abuja - Laolu Akande, the spokesman of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has expressed sadness over the death of Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State.

Akande, a former US-based journalist, took to his Instagram page to pay homage to Powell who he has interactions with during his journalism days.

He wrote:

“Saddened yesterday afternoon at the news of the passing of Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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“When President George H. Bush named him chairman, he was the youngest ever to attain that height. And then President George W. Bush also later appointed him Secretary of State several years after his retirement.

“For a black journalist practising in the US then covering, on a stretch, the White House, State Department, and the United Nations, Colin Powell, then-Secretary of State was both a target for me for media chats/interviews and also an awesome inspiration.

“And he obliged me a few times starting in New York in February 2004, after himself and Kofi Annan addressed a UN Donors Conference on Liberia, and then later in Washington DC, where the photo above was taken at an award dinner in his honor in 2005.

“He was not just a profoundly great man, but most respectable man whose life and career remain an exemplar. He once said he wasn't an outstandingly brilliant student growing up, but yet went on to have an astonishingly stellar career in the military and public service.

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“He inspired and encouraged me so much, he certainly won't be forgotten. May his memory be blessed and may God give his family, friends and associates, the fortitude to bear this loss.”

How Colin Powell died from COVID-19 complications

Legit.ng had earlier reported that the Powell family announced the death of the former US official on Facebook.

Part of the statement read:

“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff passed away this morning due to complications from COVID-19.

“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American.”

Source: Legit.ng