By Comrade Sanusi A. S. Maikudi
Dr. Umar Ardo’s essay questioning the renaming of the University of Maiduguri to Muhammadu Buhari University presents itself as an intellectual critique but ultimately reads as a deeply flawed polemic. It suffers from selective amnesia, cultural detachment, and partisan distortion. A more grounded and honest assessment would see this naming for what it truly is: a deserving tribute to a national figure with ancestral, military, and developmental ties to Borno and the wider North East.
- Let’s Begin with the Human Side
Muhammadu Buhari is not just a former president or retired general — he is a son of Nigeria and a grandson of Borno. His mother, Hajia Zulaihat, was a Kanuri woman from Borno State, giving him not only emotional and genealogical roots in the region, but a deeply symbolic cultural connection.
In African tradition — especially among the Kanuri, Fulani, Hausa, and many others — grandchildren are loved, cherished, and often adored even more than children. They are the living bridge between the ancestors and the future, carrying family honour, memory, and blessing.
How, then, does a man like Dr. Ardo — who proudly bears the title of “Ardo” — write like an alien just arriving from Mars, devoid of any awareness of African cultural heritage? In our world, kinship is sacred. To deny a grandchild is to insult the ancestors. To mock a respected elder in public is a cultural taboo. One is left to wonder: Has Dr. Ardo’s dose of Pullako — the Fulani moral code of restraint and dignity — expired in the trenches of political opposition? Or has the dust of partisanship so blinded him that he now disowns his own uncle in the market square?
Let it be clear: Buhari is a grandson of Borno, a child of the North East, and a leader whose legacy cannot be wished away simply because it is politically inconvenient for some.
- Military Service: A Legacy of Sacrifice
Beyond cultural roots, President Buhari served as Military Governor of the former North-Eastern State, which covered today’s Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba States. His governance helped shape regional stability and administration.
Later, as General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Nigerian Army’s 3rd Armoured Division in Jos, Plateau State, Buhari personally led military operations against Chadian rebels who had seized Nigerian islands in the Lake Chad Basin. Under his command, Nigeria’s territorial integrity was restored. Borno was defended. Honour was upheld.
That alone gives him a place of honour in the region’s modern history — not as a distant figure, but as a frontline protector.
- Presidency and Rebuilding the Northeast
As president, Buhari’s legacy in the North East is not symbolic. It is practical and measurable:
He established the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to lead the reconstruction and development of the war-torn region.
He ensured the University of Maiduguri remained open despite Boko Haram’s threat to overrun it — a powerful affirmation of education in the face of terror.
He invested in rebuilding schools, hospitals, roads, and housing across Borno and neighbouring states.
So, when Dr. Ardo says Buhari had no “emotional” or “cultural” connection to the university or the region, he ignores history, family, and the facts on the ground.
- Educational Legacy: The Numbers Don’t Lie
Dr. Ardo dismisses Buhari’s educational footprint as insignificant. But the numbers tell a different story. Under President Buhari’s administration (2015–2023), over 50 federal tertiary institutions were established, including:
Federal Universities
Federal University of Technology, Babura (Jigawa)
Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare (Bauchi)
Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru (Kebbi)
Federal Maritime University, Okerenkoko (Delta)
Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (Akwa Ibom)
Federal University of Education, Kano
Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun (Osun)
Federal Colleges of Education
Jama’are (Bauchi), Iwo (Osun), Gidan Madi (Sokoto), Odugbo (Benue), Isu (Ebonyi), Ekiadolor (Edo), Bende (Abia)
Federal Polytechnics
Monguno (Borno), Ohodo (Enugu), Ugep (Cross River), Shendam (Plateau), Bali (Taraba), Ayede (Oyo), Wannune (Benue), and more.
No administration in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has equaled this level of federal investment in tertiary education across the federation.
- Murtala Muhammed: Honour is Not a Zero-Sum Game
Dr. Ardo laments that the University of Maiduguri was not named after the late General Murtala Muhammed, who founded it in 1975. He is right to recognize Murtala’s vision, but wrong to suggest that Buhari’s honour is a betrayal.
We must resist turning public recognition into a zero-sum contest. The fact that Murtala hasn’t yet been honoured with a university name is an oversight to be corrected — not a reason to deny Buhari his rightful place. Honour is not diminished by sharing it.
- Is Any Legacy Ever Uncontested?
Dr. Ardo’s claim that Buhari’s legacy is “contested” and therefore unworthy is a flimsy argument. All great leaders have contested legacies — Mandela, Zik, Awo, Balewa, Sardauna. The test of leadership is not universal praise, but impactful service. Buhari’s legacy includes:
A modest and disciplined personal lifestyle
A determined anti-corruption war
Massive infrastructure development
Integrity in governance, even when politically costly
These are values Nigerian universities should teach and celebrate — not ignore.
- Conclusion: A Case for Balance and Honour
Naming a university after Muhammadu Buhari does not insult academia. It enriches it with historical and civic meaning. It is not an act of partisan appeasement, but of national remembrance. It affirms that leadership — with integrity, sacrifice, and modesty — matters.
To dismiss this act with disdain, as Dr. Ardo does, is to ignore the moral weight of African culture, the bonds of kinship, and the long shadows cast by service.
Let us not reduce national honour to academic elitism or political bitterness. Let us embrace a broader, more dignified tradition of remembrance — one that sees the whole person, the whole legacy, and the whole nation.
Muhammadu Buhari is not just a retired general. He is a child of Borno, a servant of Nigeria, and a man whose name on a university wall reminds us that integrity still counts. And that, Comrade Ardo, is something worthy of honour.
Sanusi A. S. Maikudi
Kaduna I Nigeria
July 2025
