President Bola Tinubu has renamed the University of Maiduguri in Borno State capital city after his predecessor, late Muhammadu Buhari.
He announced this at a special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) he convened on Thursday to honour Buhari, who died last Sunday and was buried in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State on Tuesday.
Tinubu led the session of tributes, which included those from National Assembly leaders, some Ministers, to which Buhari’s son, Yusuf, responded to with words of appreciation and with teary eyes and voice, flanked by three of his sisters.
In his remarks, Tinubu said the late Buhari was “first among soldiers in war, first among citizens in peace, and first, without ambition or flattery, in the hearts of his fellow citizens.
“Yet it was in the quiet and unadorned settings of his private life that his true greatness was revealed: pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile”.
Tinubu recalled that “those who knew him most intimately understood that the authority of that exalted office never changed him.
“In the face of pressure, he remained calm. In the face of crisis, he remained resolute. In the face of triumph, he remained modest. Most remarkably, he retained his jovial spirit”.
He also noted that “President Buhari was not a perfect man – no leader is – 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. His was a life lived in full service to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God”.
In his tribute, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, described Buhari as “a man forged in the furnace of battle and tempered in the trials of governance.
XA man who gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him”.
He further stated that “President Muhammadu Buhari was not perfect. No leader is. But he was principled.
“He stood for something. And in a world where it is easy to chase headlines, he chose instead to chase honor”.
Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, similarly recalled that Buhari was “a sentinel of service, a steward of
simplicity, and a statesman shaped by sacrifice”, who embodied quiet strength, moral clarity and an unshakable sense of duty. At a
time when society was seduced by materialism, he chose a life of modest means and meaningful service”.
There were similar eulogies from the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Watson-Jack; Minister of Aviation, Festus Key amp; Minister of Works, David Umahi; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Women Affairs; Imaan Suleiman; Minister of Health, Ali Pate, and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaaq.
