Senate Committee on Army Chairman Senator Abdul Aziz Yar’Adua has praised President Bola Tinubu for renaming the Institute of Petroleum Studies in Kaduna after his late brother General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, describing the decision to create the General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology as a historic act of national recognition for one of Nigeria’s most consequential political figures whose democratic contributions had outlasted the era in which they were made.
Senator Yar’Adua, representing Katsina Central, said the renaming transcended the symbolism of placing a name on a public facility and represented the country’s formal acknowledgement of a statesman who had distinguished himself as a soldier, a democrat, and a committed advocate for institutions built on merit, patriotism, and equal opportunity. He said the decision would ensure that future students passing through the institution would continually encounter the values that defined his brother’s public life as an inspiration for their own development.
He said students pursuing careers in geology, engineering, and technological innovation at the renamed institution would draw from the example of a man who remained respected across regional and political divides throughout his life and whose contributions to Nigeria’s transition toward democratic governance had shaped the country’s political trajectory in ways that continued to resonate decades after his death. He said the university would serve both as a center of academic excellence and as a living monument to the ideals of sacrifice, visionary leadership, and commitment to national development that General Yar’Adua embodied.
