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
The vice president of Nigeria is the second-highest official in the Federal government of Nigeria#Executive branch, executive branch of the federal government of Nigeria, after the president of Nigeria, and ranks first in the Nigerian president ...
as
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to 1979. He was a prominent politician during the later transition from military to civilian rule in the late 1980s and into the 1990s.
Early life
Yar'Adua was born in
Katsina into a
titled family. His father,
Musa Yar'Adua, was a teacher who later became the Minister for
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 ...
Affairs from 1957 to 1966
during Nigeria's First Republic and 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 before he was appointed to the title of Mutawallin
Katsina (''keeper of the treasury''). Yar'Adua's grandfather, Malam Umaru, was also the Mutawalli, and his younger brother
Umaru Yar'Adua, who later became the president of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010, held the title as well. His paternal grandmother, Malama Binta, a
Fulani from the
Sullubawa clan, was a princess of the
Katsina Emirate and a sister of Emir
Muhammadu Dikko.
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 former Nigerian president
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
. At the urging of his father and his father's friend,
defence minister
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
Muhammadu Ribadu, Yar'Adua took the entrance exam of the
Nigerian Military Training College. He passed and was enlisted into the
Nigerian Army
The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...
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
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...
. He was turbaned as the Tafidan Katsina by the Emir of Katsina
Muhammadu Kabir Usman.
Military career
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 the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...
in
Enugu
Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
under the command of Col.
Adekunle Fajuyi 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 Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
, 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, Yar'Adua 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 unsuccessful attempts by the Nigerian troops.
In 1975, he was an active participant in the
military coup d'état
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
that deposed General
Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975.
Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...
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.
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters
Following the
1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt, 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 () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...
of power consisting of General
Olusegun 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 200 ...
as
Head of State
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
, Shehu Yar'Adua as Chief of Staff
SMHQ, and General
Theophilus Danjuma
Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a Nigerian politician and retired lieutenant general who played a key role in post-independence military and political events in Nigeria. Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through shipping ...
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) was a Nigerian politician who was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by Military Head of State of Nigeria, military head of sta ...
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 ...
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 Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...
started his political transition program in 1987 with the establishment of a
Political Bureau, 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 Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...
,
Bola Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...
,
Magaji Abdullahi, Ango Abdullahi, Ahmadu Rufa'i, Yahaya Kwande,
Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Wada Abubakar,
Babalola Borishade, Timothy Oguntuase Akinbode,
Sabo Bakin Zuwo,
Sunday Afolabi,
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,
Tony Anenih,
Chuba Okadigbo
Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo (; 17 December 1941 – 25 September 2003), was a Nigerian politician, philosopher, academic, writer and political scientist. He served as the 8th president of the Nigerian Senate from 1999 to 2000. Sometimes refe ...
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
Form ...
(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
PDP may refer to:
Computing and technology
* Packet Data Protocol in wireless GPRS/HSDPA networks
* Parallel distributed processing in Connectionism#Parallel distributed processing, connectionism
* Plasma display panel
* Policy Decision Point in t ...
chairman
Anthony Anenih, former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...
, former minister
Dapo Sarumi,
Bola Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...
,
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
12 June 1993 which was won by
M.K.O. Abiola. After the 12 June 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 dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998.
Abacha's seiz ...
became the new
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
Head of State, disbanding the political parties.
In 1994, Yar'Adua won a seat representing
Katsina 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 derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
Union of
Journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
office in
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 ...
that earned the attention of the military leadership who detained him for four days.
Arrest and death
In March 1995, General Yar'Adua alongside
Olusegun 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 200 ...
,
Lawan Gwadabe 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 end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
by a military tribunal in 1995, after calling on the Nigerian
military government
A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel.
Types of m ...
of General
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998.
Abacha's seiz ...
and his Provisional Ruling Council to re-establish
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
rule. The sentence was commuted to life in prison but he died in captivity on 8 December 1997.
Following Yar'Adua's death, widespread discontent emerged among human rights organizations and Yar'Adua supporters, who viewed the government's handling of his detention and death with suspicion. The lack of an official government announcement regarding Yar'Adua's death fueled allegations of government complicity or negligence, as Yar'Adua had reportedly fallen into a coma in prison in
Abakaliki before being transferred to
Enugu
Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
, where he ultimately died. On 14 December, thousands of his supporters took to the streets in
Katsina, demanding the resignation of Abacha. The death of Yar'Adua also intensified northern grievances against the Abacha regime, as many northern elites and traditional rulers were already disillusioned with the general's concentration of power and exclusionary political tactics. The rising frustration also coincided with broader socio-economic concerns in the region, including growing radicalization among the northern poor and dissatisfaction with Abacha's governance.
Personal life
In 1965, Shehu Yar'adua married Hajia Binta and they have five children, including Murtala Yar'Adua, former Nigerian deputy minister 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.
Legacy
Following Abacha's death in 1998 and the subsequent return of democracy, Yar'Adua's political group, the People's Democratic Movement, formed the core of the
Peoples Democratic Party. The party won the
Presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
, 21 state governorship seats, 59 seats in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and 206 seats in the
House of Represantatives in the 1999 general elections.
Yar'Adua's associates continue to play major roles in Nigerian politics. His erstwhile boss
Olusegun 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 200 ...
, his brother
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 ...
, his friend
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
, and his
SDP associate
Bola Ahmed Tinubu all served as
Presidents of Nigeria. His protege
Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...
became
Vice President
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
.
On 12 June 2025, Nigeria's highest honour of merit, the
GCFR, was posthumously conferred on Yar'Adua by President Bola Tinubu during
Democracy day celebrations.
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
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