The Federal Government has weighed in on the decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rename the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari — a move that has stirred a wave of mixed reactions across Nigeria.
In a statement released on Friday, the Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, described the renaming as a powerful tribute to Buhari’s enduring impact on Nigeria’s development.
The statement, signed by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, was posted on the ministry’s official X handle.
“The Ministry of Education is deeply honoured that the sector has been chosen as the channel through which the late President’s legacy will be permanently enshrined,”; Alausa stated.
The announcement came shortly after a special Federal Executive Council (FEC) session held in honour of Buhari, who passed away on July 13, 2023, in a London clinic at the age of 82.
Buhari was buried in Daura, Katsina State, following a state funeral.
While some Nigerians have applauded the gesture as a deserved tribute to a man who once served as a military governor in Borno State before leading the country twice as president, others have questioned the rationale behind altering the name of a 50-year-old university.
Still, the Education Minister defended the decision, saying it reflected more than a symbolic renaming.
“President Buhari’s administration (2015–2023) was marked by notable reforms in national security, anti-corruption, infrastructure, agriculture, and human capital development – including the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, TSA, ERGP, and social investment schemes – which significantly contributed to national progress,”; he said.
He further praised Tinubu’s move as a show of “deep empathy and respect,”; adding that it affirms the president’s belief in education as the bedrock of any nation’s development.
According to Alausa, “President Tinubu’s commitment to human capital development is unwavering and consistent with the path of national renewal that President Buhari championed.”;
He emphasized that the renaming is more than a gesture and it is a statement about the values Nigeria must preserve.
“The ministry reiterates its commitment to upholding the values of service, integrity, and excellence that both late President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu exemplify,”; he added.
