- Safiu Kehinde
President Bola Tinubu has renamed the University of Maiduguri after late former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu made the announcement at the Special Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting held in honour of his late predecessor.
The meeting which was initially slated to hold on Tuesday was postponed till Thursday on account of the state burial organised by the Federal Government in collaboration with Katsina State Government.
Speaking at the FEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tinubu announced the renaming of the Maiduguri university to Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri.
“Before we take the prayers — in honour of his [Buhari’s] 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 President said at the end of the FEC meeting.
This was welcomed with applause from attendees, including ministers who served under Buhari, and his son, Yusuf.
In his remark, Tinubu lauded the late former President for his integrity and non-sentiment.
He described Buhari as an unfailingly tender, loyal, and good leader whose private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public service.
“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,
“Steady in posture and spirit, dignified in bearing, and commanding by his very presence, his example guided all who encountered him. Still, it endures.
“And, to those whom he loved most intimately, he was unfailingly tender, loyal, and good. 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,” Tinubu said.
NPO Reported that the former President passed away at a London hospital on Sunday after prolonged illness.
In the wake of his death, Tinubu had declared a seven-day national mourning with the national flag flown half-mast across the country.
The President had also directed his Vice, Kashim Shettima, to accompany the body of his predecessor from London.
With the burial shifted till Tuesday, several Nigerian dignitaries and foreign delegates converged at Buhari’s hometown, Daura, Katsina State, where they await the arrival of the late ex-President’s body.
He was eventually laid to rest at his residence shortly after the arrival of the body with Nigerian political leaders spearheaded by Tinubu paying their final respect to late former President.