President Bola Tinubu has renamed the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in Borno State as Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri, in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He made the announcement on Thursday during an expanded Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting was convened to pay tribute to Buhari, who passed away in London on 13 July after a prolonged illness.
Before concluding the session, President Tinubu said:
“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.”
The announcement received a warm round of applause from those present, including ministers who had served in Buhari’s administration and his son, Yusuf Buhari.
During the tribute session, President Tinubu described Buhari as a principled and disciplined leader who lived a life of quiet dignity and moral clarity.
“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 remarked.
“Steady in posture and spirit, dignified in bearing, and commanding by his very presence, his example guided all who encountered him. Still, it endures.”
He also highlighted Buhari’s loyalty and tenderness towards his loved ones, noting that his private virtues illuminated the integrity of his public service.
Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s second-longest-serving leader, first ruled as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he returned to power as a civilian president, serving two terms from 2015 to 2023. He was laid to rest in Daura, Katsina State, on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from within and outside Nigeria.