By Ayomide Otitoju
President Bola Tinubu has announced the renaming of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in Borno State to Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri, in honour of the late former President.
The announcement came during an expanded session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, convened to pay tribute to Buhari, who died on July 13 in London after a prolonged illness.
“Before we take the prayers — in honour of his memory, with this special session of the Federal Executive Council (expanded) — can we adopt the naming of the University of Maiduguri with a new name — Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri,” President Tinubu said to applause from attendees, which included former ministers, family members, and Buhari’s son, Yusuf.
Paying glowing tribute, Tinubu described Buhari as a leader whose legacy transcended public office. “Yet it was in the quiet and unadorned settings of his private life that his true greatness was revealed,” he said. “Pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile.”
He added: “His life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue. The purity of his private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public service.”
Buhari, who previously served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1983 to 1985, was democratically elected President in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. His burial in Daura, Katsina State, on July 15 was attended by President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and other dignitaries.
