Musa Yar'Adua
{{Short description|Nigerian administrator and politician (1912–1993)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = Minister of Lagos Affairs
| term_start = 1960
| term_end = 1966
| termend1 = 1960
| termstart1 = 1959
| office1 = Minister of Pensions, Establishments and Nigerianisation
| predecessor = Muhammadu Ribadu
| predecessor1 = position established
| succeeded = position abolished
| succeeded1 = Shehu Shagari
| birth_date = 1912
| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|06|22|1912|df=y}}
| birth_place = Katsina, Northern Nigeria Protectorate
(now in Nigeria)
| image = Nigerian prominent 34.jpg
| constituency2 = Katsina Central
| office2 = Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives
| termend2 = 1966
| termstart2 = 1959
| predecessor2 = position established
| succeeded2 = position abolished
| education = Barewa College
| children = {{plainlist|
}}
| party = {{plainlist|
- National Party of Nigeria (1978–1983)
- Northern People's Congress (1955–1966)
}}
| primeminister = Tafawa Balewa
| primeminister1 = Tafawa Balewa
| spouse =
}}
Musa Yar'Adua (1912–1993) was a Nigerian politician and teacher who served as the Minister of Lagos Affairs during Nigeria's First Republic. Yar'Adua was minister when Lagos Island and the capital territory was designated as the city of Lagos in 1963.{{Cite news|title=Ministry of Lagos Affairs|last=Ezechukwu|first=G.O.|date=December 21, 1963|work=Morning Post}} Before entering politics, he worked as a school teacher for fourteen years and later held administrative positions in the Katsina Native Authority. From 1953 until his death, he was a member of the Katsina Emirate Council, serving first as Tafida and later as Mutawalle. He was the father of Umaru Musa Yar'adua, Nigeria's 13th president, and Shehu Musa Yar'adua, Chief of Staff of Obasanjo's military government.{{cite news|url=https://blerf.org/index.php/biography/alhaji-musa-yaradua-mp/|title=YAR'ADUA, Alh Musa|date=4 November 2016|work=Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation}}{{Cite book |last=Siollun |first=Max |url=http://archive.org/details/oilpoliticsviole0000siol |title=Oil, politics and violence : Nigeria's military coup culture (1966-1976) |date=2009 |publisher=New York : Algora Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-87586-708-3 |pages=90}}{{Cite web |title=Umaru Musa Yar’Adua {{!}} Nigerian President, Politician & Activist {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Umaru-Musa-YarAdua |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}
Early life and education
Musa Yar'Adua was born in 1912 in Katsina, then part of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. His father, Mallam Umaru, held the title of Mutawalle (royal treasurer) of the Katsina Emirate during the reign of Emir Muhammadu Dikko. His mother, Malama Binta, was Fulani from the Sullubawa clan, and a sister of Emir Dikko.
Yar'Adua began his education at Katsina Elementary School in 1926. From 1928 to 1930, he was educated at Katsina College.
Career
Following his graduation, Yar'Adua worked as a teacher at Katsina Middle School for fourteen years. In 1945, he transferred to the Agriculture Department of the Katsina Native Authority (KNA), where he was appointed Wazirin Gona (agriculture secretary) and was stationed in Daudawa. He served in this position until 1953. That year, after Isa Kaita was elected into the Regional House of Assembly, Yar'Adua succeeded him as Tafida (development secretary) of the KNA.
In 1955, Yar'Adua joined the Northern Peoples Congress. He contested and won the Katsina Central constituency in the 1959 Nigerian general election. Following the election, he was appointed Minister of Pensions, Establishments and Nigerianisation in the cabinet of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. In 1960, he was reassigned as Minister of Lagos Affairs, a post he held until the collapse of the First Republic in 1966.{{Cite book |last=Shagari |first=Shehu Usman Aliyu |url=http://archive.org/details/shehushagaribeck0000shag |title=Shehu Shagari : beckoned to serve : an autobiography |date=2001 |publisher=Nigeria : Heinemann ed. books (Nigeria) plc |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-978-129-932-2 |pages=89}}{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/sim_africa-digest_1960-02_7_4 |title=Africa Digest 1960-02: Vol 7 Iss 4 |date=February 1960 |publisher=Africa Publications Trust |others=Internet Archive |language=English}}
Minister of Lagos Affairs
During the years before Nigeria attained independence in 1960 and in the First Republic (1960–1966), the capital city's physical, social and economic environment underwent a period of rapid growth. Yar'Adua's ministry collaborated with the Lagos City Council and executive development board to manage development with the capital. The ministry was involved in granting lease to foreign missions interested in establishing embassies or consuls in Nigeria and worked with a U.N town planning team composed of Otto Koenigsberger, Charles Abrams, and Maurice Shapiro to develop physical and social amenities.
Later life
After the January 1966 coup, Yar'Adua focused on local affairs in Katsina, particularly while serving on the Katsina Emirate Council, continuing as Tafida and later as Mutawalle, a title he received in 1986. During the Nigerian Second Republic (1979–1983), he was a member of the ruling National Party of Nigeria.
Yar'Adua died on 22 June 1993.{{Cite book |last=Farris |first=Jacqueline W. |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Shehu_Musa_Yar_Adua/ztfiAAAAMAAJ |title=Shehu Musa Yar'Adua: A Life of Service |last2=Bomoi |first2=Mohammed |date=2004 |publisher=Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation |isbn=978-978-8069-36-2 |language=en}}{{Rp|page=222}}
Personal life
Yar'Adua was married to Hajiya Dada (1922–2024). They have had several children, including Shehu, Chief of Staff of Olusegun Obasanjo's military government, Umaru, Nigeria's 13th president, and Abdulaziz, who is a member of the Nigerian Senate.{{Cite web |last=Maishanu |first=Abubakar Ahmadu |date=September 3, 2024 |title=Yar’Adua’s mother buried in Katsina: What you might not know about her |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/730976-yaraduas-mother-buried-in-katsina-what-you-might-not-know-about-her.html |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Premium Times}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-09-03 |title=Matriarch of Yar'Adua Family, Dada Habi Yar’Adua, Passes Away at 102 |url=https://www.arise.tv/matriarch-of-yaradua-family-dada-habi-yaradua-passes-away-at-102/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Arise News |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Northern People's Congress politicians
Category:20th-century Nigerian politicians
Category:Politicians from Katsina
Category:Barewa College alumni
Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria)