President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the renaming of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, as Muhammadu Buhari University, in honour of the late former President who died on Sunday at the age of 82.
The announcement was made at the conclusion of a special Federal Executive Council (FEC) session held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, to pay tribute to Buhari’s life and legacy.
“May we now adopt the University of Maiduguri as the Muhammadu Buhari University,” President Tinubu declared, drawing applause from ministers and dignitaries present.
In his eulogy, Tinubu described Buhari as “a good man, a decent man, an honourable man,” noting that the former president’s lifelong service to Nigeria was marked by discipline, humility, and moral uprightness.
“President Buhari was not a perfect man, no leader is,” Tinubu said. “But he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man. His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten.”
Reflecting on Buhari’s years in military and civilian service, Tinubu said the late leader remained “ramrod straight” and never succumbed to the temptations of power.
“He stood, always, unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular,” he remarked. “His was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself. His patriotism was lived more in action than in words.”
Tinubu also revisited their political alliance that led to the 2015 general elections, which resulted in Nigeria’s first democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another.
“We stood together, he and I. Alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum, regions and tongues, we formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience its first true democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another,” the President recounted.
“When he was sworn in as our party’s first elected President, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burdens of leadership without complaint.”
Paying tribute to Buhari’s modesty after leaving office in 2023, Tinubu said the former leader chose a quiet life in Daura rather than wield influence from behind the scenes.
“When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura; not to command from the shadows or to hold court, but to live as he always had, never seeking to impose his will but content to let others carry the nation forward,” Tinubu said.
“Even in death, he maintained the serenity that defined him in life: not a sigh, not a groan, just a quiet submission to the will of God. Such was the man Nigeria has lost. Such was the man for whom our nation now mourns.”
President Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the Inter-Ministerial Committee and Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, for organising what he described as a befitting state funeral within 48 hours of Buhari’s passing.
He ended his tribute with a prayer:
“Mai Gaskiya, the People’s General, the Farmer President, your duty is done. May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. May his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness. President Buhari, thank you. Nigeria will remember you.”
