Musa Yar'Adua (1912–1993) was a Nigerian administrator and politician who served as the Minister of Lagos Affairs during Nigeria's First Republic. Yar'Adua was minister when Lagos Island and the capital territory was designated as the city of

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

in 1963. He is the father of

Umaru Musa Yar'adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 M ...

, Nigeria's 13th president, and

Shehu Musa Yar'adua Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (; 5 March 1943 – 8 December 1997) was a Nigerian general and politician who was the ''de facto'' vice president of Nigeria as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to 1979. H ...

, Chief of Staff of

Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007 ...

's military government. During his lifetime, Yar'Adua first held the

chieftaincy A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Af ...

title of ''Tafidan Katsina''. He was later elevated to that of the ''Matawalle'' of the

Katsina Emirate The history of Katsina State, Katsina stretches over a millennium. It is part of the Hausa Kingdoms, Hausa Bakwai states, believed to be founded by the descendants of Bayajidda according to legend. Throughout its history, Katsina has been govern ...

, a title which his father Mallam Umaru once held.

Life

Yar'Adua was born in 1912 to Malama Binta, a

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

from the

Sullubawa ''For the Arab Hutaymi tribe, see Sulluba'' The Sullubawa or Sisulbe are a Fulani clan that historically featured prominently in the Jihad of Usman dan Fodio which founded the Sokoto Caliphate. The ruling dynastic houses of Kano Emirate and ...

clan who was a princess of the royal family of the

and a sister of Emir

Muhammadu Dikko 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 Sullubawa ...

. His father was Umaru Mutawallin Katsina, a chief whose title made him the

royal treasurer Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

of the kingdom. He was educated at Katsina College between 1928 and 1930 and began a career in teaching at Katsina Middle School. He was a teacher for fourteen years before transferring services to the katsina Native Authority. In 1953, he replaced

Isa Kaita Isa Kaita C.O.N., C.B.E., LL.D (ABU), LL.D (BUK), DPA (Oxon) (January 1912November 1994) was a Nigerian politician. He went on to hold the chieftaincy titles of the Madawaki of Katsina and later, the Waziri of Katsina. Prior to joining politics ...

as the development secretary for the Native Authority and two years later, joined Isa Kaita in the politics of Katsina and

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria (or Arewa, Arewancin Nijeriya) was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962, it acquired t ...

. In 1959, Yar'Adua represented Katsina Central in parliament and was chosen as Minister of Pensions and Nigerianisation before moving to the newly created Ministry of Lagos Affairs. He died in 1993.

Lagos affairs

During the years before Nigeria attained independence in 1960 and in the first republic (1960 - 1966), the capital city's physical, social and economic environment underwent a period of rapid growth. Yar'Adua's ministry collaborated with the Lagos City Council and executive development board to manage development with the capital. The ministry was involved in granting lease to foreign missions interested in establishing embassies or consuls in Nigeria and worked with a U.N town planning team composed of Otto Koenigsberger, Charles Abrams, and Maurice Shapiro to develop physical and social amenities. When the first republic was truncated, Yar'Adua returned to Katsina. During the second republic he was aligned with the conservative

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigeri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yar'Adua, Musa 1912 births 1993 deaths Yar'Adua family Northern People's Congress politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians Politicians from Katsina Barewa College alumni Nigerian Fula people Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria)