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President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua – History and Vision
April 2007 was a momentous occasion in Nigeria’s history, marking not just the election of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to Nigeria’s highest office, but also the first civilian handover of power since independence in 1960. The president, who maintains a firm belief in the rule of law, tight monetary policy and the power of the private sector, seemed ideally placed to build on his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo’s legacy. However, as 2008 draws to a close, President Yar’Adua is having to guide Nigeria through new and daunting challenges.The path to power
In contrast to previous president Obasanjo, a southerner, Umaru Yar’Adua was born in Katsina, Katsina State in 1951, into an elite Muslim Fulani family. His father, Musa Yar’Adua, was to serve as Minister of Lagos Affairs in the first post-independence government, and was later briefly vice chairman of the National Party of Nigeria, while his older brother, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, acted as second-in-command to Obasanjo, during his first period running the country from 1976 to 1979. Despite his aristocratic roots, Yar’Adua has always been politically left-wing – he admits to being a Marxist while studying at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1972-75. The revolutionary lecturer, Dr Bala Usman, was a strong influence on Yar’Adua at this time. Yar’Adua received a BSc Education degree, specialising in chemistry, from the university and later a master’s degree in analytical chemistry in 1980. From 1975 to 1983, he taught in various colleges and at Katsina Polytechnic before becoming a businessman.
