*Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri to “Muhammadu Buhari University”

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Toyin Falola

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Jul 18, 2025, 12:22:59 PM7/18/25
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*Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri to “Muhammadu Buhari University”*



By

*Umar Ardo, Ph.D*


President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to rename the University of Maiduguri as “Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri” in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari has raised fundamental questions regarding its logic, appropriateness and historical justice. While the gesture may appear symbolic on the surface, a critical examination exposes its lack of intellectual, cultural and moral grounding.


2. First and foremost, Muhammadu Buhari was a career military officer and a politician - not an academic, educationist or intellectual in any public sense. His legacy, whether praised or criticized, is rooted in his military career, his ascension to the presidency and his distinct governing style marked by authoritarian tendencies, economic conservatism and a controversial anti-corruption crusade. Renaming a university, a citadel of learning, knowledge, research and intellectualism, after someone whose relationship with academia is at best peripheral, if not outright tenuous, dilutes the institution’s identity and purpose.


3. ⁠Universities are ideally named after figures whose lives and legacies exemplify educational values, critical thinking, nation-building through scholarship or transformative contributions to education policy. In this regard, Buhari’s record does not resonate with such ideals. The naming of the university after him is thus a clear mismatch between legacy and institutional identity.


4. Instructively also, the University of Maiduguri is neither situated in Buhari’s home state of Katsina nor in his geopolitical zone of the North-West. It is in Borno State, a region with its own rich historical figures, political icons and educational pioneers who could be more appropriately celebrated in a naming gesture. Buhari did not attend, teach at or found the University of Maiduguri. Nor did he demonstrate any special affinity or leave an indelible mark on the institution during his presidency. In this light, the renaming appears arbitrary and lacking not only in cultural relevance to the host community, but also lacking of geographical and emotional relevance.


5. There is also the question of historical fairness. The University of Maiduguri, along with six other federal universities, was established by the late General Murtala Ramat Muhammed in 1975 as part of a visionary policy to expand access to tertiary education across the country. Yet, none of these institutions bear his name. General Murtala’s short but impactful leadership laid critical foundations for Nigeria’s modern administrative and educational systems. If any leader deserves to have a university named after him - especially one of the seven he established - it is Murtala Muhammed.


6. To overlook Murtala and instead honour Buhari, who did not initiate nor significantly reform Nigeria’s higher education sector, is to distort historical credit and deny rightful recognition. Not to have thus honoured him is a historical injustice to the late General Muhammed.


7. If the intention was genuinely to honour President Buhari for his service to the country, several other avenues would have been more appropriate and meaningful:

• A military academy or barracks, given his identity as a soldier and former Head of State;

• A rural development institute, if one were to associate him with the “change” rhetoric and agricultural initiatives of his administration; or

• A public structure in Katsina, his home state, thereby maintaining a geographical and emotional resonance.


8. Honouring public figures posthumously is not inherently objectionable. But it must be done with a sense of proportionality, cultural sensitivity, institutional relevance and historical justice. The naming of national monuments or educational institutions should not be driven by political patronage, sentimental populism or hasty gestures of appeasement. This act, like the previous ones of the Tinubu regime, is a dangerous policy of politicizing institutions of learning by tying their identities to transient political figures rather than enduring national ideals or educational pioneers. Universities must transcend ephemeral politics and serve as beacons of critical inquiry, not as memorials to partisan figures whose legacies remain contested in the public sphere.


9. For any rational mind, President Tinubu’s decision to rename the University of Maiduguri, Alma Mata, after Muhammadu Buhari is ill-advised and conceptually misplaced. It undermines both the institutional integrity of the university and the historical contributions of those more deserving of such recognition. Nigeria must adopt a principled and thoughtful approach in immortalizing its leaders, especially in ways that inspire future generations and reflect the true spirit of the institutions being renamed. Rather than rewrite history to suit contemporary political narratives, we must honour history by upholding truth, merit and relevance. This gesture, unfortunately, fails on all counts.


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Victor Okafor

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Jul 19, 2025, 3:41:12 AM7/19/25
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I could not agree more with this rationale critique of an irrational action. One wonders what the advisory memo to the President by which this irrational renaming was recommended must have read like. It neither makes any discernible political sense nor serves any identifiable national patriotism purpose. In fact, it's a renaming that is likely to provoke a national student outrage. Does anyone remember the length and recurrent nature of university strikes that happened under the watch of the late President? Does anyone remember the lackadasical manner by which his government handled those strikes? Does anyone recall any scholarly speech ever given by Buhari? Does anyone recall any book or scholarly publication by Buhari? Does anyone recall any articulation of profundity on either African affairs or world affairs by Buhari? As i wrote down these questions, i wondered if anyone who reads them would be inspired to follow-up with similar questions of his or her own.

Proportionality
That said, in fairness to Buhari, his administration was noted for infrastructural investments in pockets of the country. Since his governance emphasized infrastructure, what would have been deserving and logical is to name after him, one of the major federal roads that his administration constructed. 

Sincerely,

Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Department of Africology and African American Studies
Eastern Michigan University
Food for Thought: 

“I myself do not judge a man [or a woman] by  the color of his [or her] skin. The yardstick that I use to judge a man [or a woman] is his [ or her] deeds, his [her] behavior,  and his [or her] intentions. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth." -- Malcolm X.




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Emeagwali, Gloria (History)

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Jul 20, 2025, 12:15:21 AM7/20/25
to 'Victor Okafor' via USA Africa Dialogue Series
I totally agree with the suggestion of dedicating a street or highway in his name. He was not a man of erudition so changing the university in his honor is out of place. His second  term was a disaster but I give him some credit for his first term, even though in military garb. He was one of the first heads of state to challenge the IMF and speak about counter trade with Brazil in the 1980s.

It is ironic that he failed so badly - as a civilian President.

Dr. Gloria Emeagwali
Professor of History/African Studies, CCSU
Chief Editor- "Africa Update"
https://sites.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries
www.vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali
www.africahistory.net
Founding Coordinator, African Studies, CCSU
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Biko Agozino

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Jul 20, 2025, 12:15:22 AM7/20/25
to 'Victor Okafor' via USA Africa Dialogue Series

What is in the name of a university that does not have a website after 50 years of existence? We should be asking the university to account for its impact all these years and worry less about the guy-naming. What are the major achievements of the university, what are its visions and missions for the future? Do not be distracted by guy-names:




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