Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (5 March 1943 – 8 December 1997) was a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
military officer and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who was the ''de facto''
vice president of Nigeria
The vice president of Nigeria is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the federal government of Nigeria, after the president of Nigeria, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Officially styled vice presiden ...
as
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to 1979. He was a prominent politician during the latter transition from military to civilian rule in the late 1980s and into the 1990s.
Early life
Yar'Adua was born in
Katsina
Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria. into a
titled family. His father,
Musa Yar'Adua, was a teacher who later became the Minister for
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
Affairs from 1957 to 1966
during Nigeria's First Republic and held the
chieftaincy
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
title of Tafidan Katsina before he was appointed to the title of Mutawallin
Katsina
Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria. (''keeper of the treasury''). Yar'Adua's grandfather, Malam Umaru, was also the Mutawalli, and his younger brother
Umaru Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...
, who later became the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010, held the title as well. His paternal grandmother, Malama Binta, a
Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
from the
Sullubawa
''For the Arab Hutaymi tribe, see Sulluba''
The Sullubawa are a Fulani clan that historically featured prominently in the Fulani War which founded the Sokoto Caliphate. The ruling dynastic houses of Kano Emirate and Katsina Emirate; as well as ...
clan, was a princess of the
Katsina Emirate
Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria. and a sister of Emir
Muhammadu Dikko
Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko also known as Muhammad Dikko dan Gidado (1865 – May 1944), was the 47th Emir of Katsina from 9 November 1906 until his death in 1944. He was the ninth Fulani emir, as well as the first emir from the current ruling Sullu ...
.
Yar'Adua attended Katsina Middle School and then Katsina Provincial School (now Government College, Katsina) for his secondary education; at the provincial school, where he was classmates with current Nigerian president
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
. At the urging of his father and his father's friend,
defence minister Muhammadu Ribadu, Yar'Adua took the entrance exam of the
Nigerian Military Training College
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...
. He passed and was enlisted into the
Nigerian Army
The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army.
History Formation
The Nigerian ...
in 1962 as part of the course 5 intake of the Nigerian military training school. Yar'Adua was selected for further training at the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was turbaned as the Tafidan Katsina by the Emir of Katsina
Muhammadu Kabir Usman.
Military career
![Shehu Musa Yar'adua Center 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Shehu_Musa_Yar%27adua_Center_06.jpg)
In 1964, after he returned from Sandhurst, Yar'Adua was posted to the first infantry battalion of the
Nigerian Army
The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army.
History Formation
The Nigerian ...
in
Enugu under the command of Col
Adekunle Fajuyi
Francis Adekunle Fajuyi (26 June 1926 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian soldier of Yoruba origin. and the first military governor of the former Western Region, Nigeria.
Originally a teacher and clerk, Fajuyi of Ado Ekiti joined the army i ...
as second lieutenant. From 1964 to the end of the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...
, he held various positions including platoon commander in 1964, and from 1965 to 1966 adjutant of the First Infantry Battalion in Enugu. He was a battalion commander in 1967, and in 1968 became a Brigade Commander. During the civil war, he commanded the 6th infantry brigade under the leadership of
Murtala Muhammed, commander of the second division. In October 1967, Yar'Adua was given the responsibility for the
capture of Onitsha after two (2) unsuccessful attempts by the Nigerian troops.
In 1975, he was an active participant in the
military coup d'état that deposed General
Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquishe ...
as Nigeria's Head of State. After the success of the coup, he served as Transport Minister in General
Murtala Muhammed's regime. As Transport Minister his major task was to decongest the
Lagos port. Prior to the coup, officials of the previous regime had ordered 16 million tonnes of cement to build military barracks around the country. However, the berthing facilities of the port were inadequate. The financial implications became more striking because the Nigerian government was liable to pay demurrage fees by the shippers. The Muhammed regime decided to transfer some of the cargoes to neighboring ports and introduce cement management firms to clear and sell the cement and build the new
Tin Can Island Port
Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) is located in Apapa, the port for the city of Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within ...
.
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters
Following the
1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt
The 1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt was a military coup attempt which took place in Nigeria on 13 February 1976 when a faction of Armed Forces officers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, attempted to overthrow the government of Gener ...
, which resulted in the assassination of Murtala Muhammed, Yar'Adua became the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. The new regime was a
triumvirate
A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
of power consisting of General
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
as
Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
, Shehu Yar'Adua as Chief of Staff
SMHQ, and General
Theophilus Danjuma
Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a politician and retired Nigerian army lieutenant general who played a key role in post independence military and political events in Nigeria. Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through ship ...
as
Chief of Army Staff. As head of the SMHQ, Yar'Adua was the de facto second-in-command. Yar'Adua who was from the northern aristocracy was relied on heavily by the triumvirate to consolidate power in the north.
His office was assigned the task of managing operations of
Operation Feed the Nation, a self-reliant agricultural policy of the new
Obasanjo regime. Operation Feed the Nation, known as OFN, was an initiative to boost local production of agricultural produce, especially staple crops such as rice and wheat, so as to improve self-sufficiency of food crops and reduce growing food deficits. Mechanisms used to promote the objective included the distribution of heavily subsidized fertilizers and seeds to farmers, loans to small scale farmers to enable them to purchase equipment, and an educational outreach programme manned by
Corpers to teach peasant farmers how to use modern agricultural equipment.
However, by 1979 the policy had not achieved its primary goal of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Yar'Adua also guided the Supreme Military Council's initiatives on local government reforms which led to the conduct of local government elections in 1976. The local government reforms excluded traditional rulers from certain governance issues and limited their control over property rights. The reforms also granted recognition to local government as a third tier arm of government.
In 1979, the regime transferred power to the civilian elected government of
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...
ushering in the
Second Nigerian Republic
The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic.
Background
Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...
which lasted from 1979 to 1983. The triumvirate later retired from the military.
Political career
General
Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as C ...
started his political transition program in 1987 with the establishment of a
Political Bureau
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist party, communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian language, Russian ''Pol ...
, and a Constituent Assembly was later inaugurated to deliberate on a proposed draft constitution. Though Yar'Adua was not a member of the assembly and a law had proscribed certain old breed politicians from political activities, his associates represented his political leanings at the forum and was active in the formation of political associations during the transitional period.
Yar'Adua and his group formed the People's Front of Nigeria; Members included
Babagana Kingibe,
Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
,
Bola Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as th ...
,
Magaji Abdullahi
Engineer Magaji Abdullahi (22 November 1947 – 24 July 2016) was a Nigerian politician. He was the deputy governor of Kano State between 2003 and 2007. Abdullahi led the Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency (WRECA) in Kano State ...
, Ango Abdullahi, Ahmadu Rufa'i, Yahaya Kwande,
Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Wada Abubakar,
Babalola Borishade
Abraham Babalola Borishade (7 March 1946 – 26 April 2017) was a Nigerian politician. He was a four time Federal Minister in Nigeria, between 1999-2011. He was known as an electrical engineer, teacher and political strategist.
Early life
Borishad ...
, Timothy Oguntuase Akinbode,
Sabo Bakin Zuwo,
Sunday Afolabi,
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
200px, Nigeria.html"_;"title="Kano_State_in_Nigeria">Kano_State_in_Nigeria_
Rabi'u_Musa_Kwankwaso,_Nigerian_Society_of_Engineers.html" ;"title="Nigeria_.html" ;"title="Nigeria.html" ;"title="Kano State in Nigeria">Kano State in Nigeria ">Nigeri ...
,
Tony Anenih
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
,
Chuba Okadigbo
Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo (17 December 1941 – 25 September 2003), was a Nigerians, Nigerian philosopher, academic, writer and political scientist. He served as President of the Senate of Nigeria, Senate president of Nigeria from 1999 to 20 ...
and
Abubakar Koko.
The People's Front later merged with other groups to form the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(SDP). The People's Front and PSP, became the two dominant factions within SDP. However, Yar'Adua's group was very organized and able to win the majority of the elective posts within SDP. During the Governorship and House of Assembly elections, SDP had a slight numerical edge over the opposition
National Republican Convention (NRC).
In January 1992, Yar'Adua spent a short stint in detention, jailed for contravening a law banning certain persons from active politics. However, the law was repealed and Yar'Adua subsequently announced his presidential election. His campaign political structure covered the country; he had a national campaign directorate, and each state had its own campaign coordinator and ward mobilizers. Members of his campaign group included former
PDP chairman
Anthony Anenih, former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
, former minister
Dapo Sarumi
Dapo Sarumi is a Nigerian politician from Lagos State. He was the former minister for Information. In 1991, he contested the Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) gubernatorial primary under the People's Front faction of the SDP led by Shehu Musa Yar ...
,
Bola Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as th ...
,
Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila and
Sunday Afolabi. Yar'Adua was leading the SDP presidential field before results were annulled. A new election was later conducted on
June 12, 1993 which was won by
M.K.O. Abiola. After the June 12 elections were annulled, the Yar'Adua faction negotiated an arrangement for the inauguration of an interim government. In November 1993, the interim government of
Ernest Shonekan was booted out and
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
became the new
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
Head of State, disbanding the political parties.
In 1994, Yar'Adua won a seat representing
Katsina
Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria. to a new National Constitutional Conference. He was an outspoken delegate and in early 1994 organized a political conference at the
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
Union of
Journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
office in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
that earned the attention of the military leadership who detained him for four days.
Arrest and death
![Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Shehu_Musa_Yar%27Adua_Centre_02.jpg)
In March 1995, General Yar'Adua alongside
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
,
Lawan Gwadabe
Lawan Gwadabe (born 1949) is a Nigerian military officer, he was Military Administrator of Niger State in Nigeria from December 1987 to January 1992 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Gwadabe was one of the few men in the a ...
and others were arrested on allegations of plotting a coup to overthrow the General Sani Abacha regime. He was sentenced to
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
by a military tribunal in 1995, after calling on the Nigerian
military government of General
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
and his Provisional Ruling Council to re-establish
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
rule. The sentence was commuted to life in prison but he died in captivity on 8 December 1997.
Personal life
In 1965, Shehu Yar'adua married Hajia Binta and they have five children, including Murtala Yar'Adua, former Nigerian Minister of State for Defence.
Wealth
After retiring from the military, Yar'Adua established a holding company called Hamada Holdings with several business interests in shipping, banking, publishing allowing him to amass a vast private fortune.
References
Further reading
* ''Shehu Musa Yar'Adua: A Life of Service'' (Lynne Rienner Pub., 2004).
* ''Nigeria at Fifty: Contributions to Peace, Democracy & Development'' (Edited by Attahiru M. Jega & Jacqueline W. Farris, 2010).
* ''Neither North nor South, East nor West: One Nigeria'' (Jacqueline W. Farris illustrated by Mustapha Bulama, 2011).
External links
Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaradua, Shehu Musa
1943 births
1997 deaths
Nigerian generals
Nigerian Army officers
Participants in the 1975 Nigerian military coup
20th-century Nigerian businesspeople
Vice presidents of Nigeria
Nigerian Fula people
20th-century Nigerian politicians
Shehu Musa
Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War
Heads of government who were later imprisoned