President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dispatched a five-person delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, the revered American civil rights leader, activist, and former presidential candidate. Jackson passed away at the age of 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago.
Leading the delegation is Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He is joined by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; the Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and the Senior Special Assistant, Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye. The delegation’s primary mission is to deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.
In an earlier tribute, President Tinubu honored Reverend Jackson, describing him as “a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.” He further stated, “He was a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa. He played a leading role in the campaign for the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders. He won critical support for sanctions against the then apartheid government.”
The burial program for the civil rights icon commenced on February 26 with a lying-in-state at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago. Services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C., including a lying-in-state at the South Carolina Statehouse, were scheduled from March 1-5. A “People’s Celebration” is slated for March 6 at House of Hope in Chicago, followed by a private homegoing service on March 7 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
