Umaru Yar Adua: Exit Of A Servant Leader

Olaseeni Durojaiye

On Saturday, May 29, 2003 when Alh Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was sworn in as Nigeria’s 13th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he had high hopes and plans for the country. Part of his lofty plans for the country was captured in his famous Seven Point Agenda but pericadities described as the swelling of the outer part of the heart, brought death to truncate his lofty plans. Little did he know that he would be going into the history books as the country’s fifth president to die in office, though in a peculiar way.

Many commentators in the country may dub his ambitious Seven Point Agenda everything but successful; however, one project that will for long remain in the consciousness of Nigerians is the Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta militants. Before the project got off ground, the state of insecurity in the country had put the country in bad light before the international community. Besides the image crisis, various anti-social activities of the youth supposedly agitating for a better deal for the people of the Niger Delta caused the country’s cash cow  oil and gas industry to plummet with rippling effects in the country.

Then the administration headed by the Servant-Leader came up with the amnesty deal.

Even though the President now rests in peace, the show of commitment to the amnesty project by the new President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is a welcome development as it means the project will be continued with, thus ensuring the country does not witness the state of restiveness witnessed in the region again.

Gentle and soft spoken, the former governor of Katsina State and the Mutawali (Custodian of the Treasury) of Katsina Emirate was born on August 16, 1951. The first civilian university graduate to govern a democratic Nigeria, he was at different times a teacher at the Holy Child College, Obalende, Lagos; and a lecturer at the College of Arts and Science, Zaria, Kaduna State.

As an Administrator, he was general manager of Sambo Farms, Funtua, Katsina State owned by his equally late elder brother, Gen Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (rtd). He was also a director of Habbeb Bank which later transformed into Bank PHB upon the recapitalization initiated by Prof Chukwuma Soludo.

A father of nine children, seven from former first lady and two from his second wife with whom he was divorced when he died on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

He may be criticized as being slow to act, but he undoubtedly brought some calmness to the polity as against an often heated polity during the tenure of Gen Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd). One deft move that contributed in no small measure to that was his directive to Andy Uba, presidential aide under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to respect the ruling of the court that declared his purported election as governor of Anambra State null and void. That singular action spoke loudly of his disposition to respect the sanctity of the court.

As the nation mourns an amiable Servant-Leader; it is Adieu Yar’Adua from M2.