‘The world will miss his exemplary leadership’ — Buhari mourns Pope Francis

Former president Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the death of Pope Francis, noting that the world would miss his exemplary leadership.

Pope Francis died on Monday morning at 88 after protracted illness that saw him in and out of hospitals a number of times.

Pope Francis had been battling bilateral pneumonia and has been in and out of hospital for sometimes until March 23 when he was discharged.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, he is the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic church.

In a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Buhari’s media aide, the former president said the late Pope served the poor and the weak and cared much about migrants and refugees.

“He was a Pope who strove to build a beneficial, complementary relationship between the followers of the world’s two greatest religions- Islam and Christianity,” the statement reads.

“Just hours before his demise, he made a call for an end to the war in Gazzah. I hope Israel and Hamas will head this call as a final respect to the Pope who had the distinction of bringing climate change to the Vatican and recognising the Palestinian State.

“The former president wished for a new leader who would build on the inspiring legacies of Pope Francis.”