President Bola Ahmed 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 Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.
The announcement was made on Thursday during an expanded session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, convened to pay tribute to the late leader.
“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,” Tinubu stated, drawing applause from ministers, aides, and family members, including Buhari’s son, Yusuf.
President Tinubu, who led tributes during the solemn event, described Buhari as a man defined by moral strength, personal discipline, and profound humility. According to Tinubu, Buhari’s private life offered the truest measure of his legacy.
“Pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile,” Tinubu said. “His example guided all who encountered him. Still, it endures.”
The President further described the late Buhari as “unfailingly tender, loyal, and good” to his close associates and family. “His life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue,” Tinubu remarked. “The purity of his private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public service.”
Former President Buhari passed away on July 13 in London following a prolonged illness. He was buried in a private ceremony on Tuesday, attended by dignitaries from across Nigeria and abroad.
Buhari, born in Katsina State, was Nigeria’s second-longest-serving leader. He first led the country as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985 and later returned as a democratically elected president, serving two terms between 2015 and 2023.
His legacy, now immortalised in the naming of a federal institution, remains a subject of national reflection.
