Creating widgets containing links to pages

I've made an open-source blogging application and I need some help with it. The application supports not only posts, but pages too.

I also uploaded an instance of the application, with dummy content, on my server. Click on HERE to see it.

The concrete problem: in the footer of the site I display some pages (not posts). The way I display them is unsatisfactory for me, because it implicates hardcodeing:

   

Code:

<div class="col-sm-6 col-md-3">
      <h3>Legal</h3>
       <ul class="list-unstyled">
       <?php foreach ($pages as $page): ?>
        <li><a href="<?php echo base_url('pages/page/') . $page->id; ?>"><?php echo $page->title; ?></a></li>
       <?php endforeach; ?>
      </ul>
   </div>    

This allows me to display the pages in only one "box". Maybe I would find a solution that lacks... elegance (it would involve some if statements) to display two pages in each box. 

Perhaps widgets (like WordPress has) would be a good idea. Widgets in which I could drag-and-drop (links to) pages and other entities. I have not found any tutorials on making widgets in Codeigniter.

I don't now if CI has helpers or any other features to support widget creation. I am a beginner (intermediate at best) PHP developer so I don't know where to start creating this feature. Please help. Come with the best approaches.

If you download and setup HMVC by Wiredesignz

Modular Extensions - HMVC

He had a Widgets class to work with it.

Widget Code is here

You might be able to re-write the Widget library and make it a stand alone one.

UPDATE:

Here is another one I just found.

CodeIgniter Widget (View Partial) Sample

Here is a newer one for CodeIgniter 3x.

CodeIgniter Widget

What did you Try? What did you Get? What did you Expect?

Joined CodeIgniter Community 2009.  ( Skype: insitfx )