Being the keynote remarks of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, GCON, Waziri Adamawa, Vice President of Nigeria (1999–2007) at the 28th anniversary of the passing of General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, under the theme: “The Union We Hope to Become” on December 8, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja.
Permit me to begin by saying that I stand before you today with a full heart – full of memories, full of gratitude, and full of a renewed sense of duty.
To speak of General Shehu Musa Yar’adua is not just to recall history; it is to summon the living spirit of a man whose courage, loyalty, and intellect helped shape not only me, but also the direction of our nation’s democratic journey.
Tribute to a Fallen Mentor and Comrade.
Twenty-eight years have passed since Shehu left us, yet I feel his presence in the rhythm of our political discourse and in the heart of every Nigerian who believes in justice and in the promise of this country.
For me, and for many of us who shared that long, uncertain road of struggle, Shehu was more than a fellow traveller; he was a mentor, a brother-in-arms, a partner in vision, a trusted confidant, and a moral compass.
Ours was a friendship tempered by adversity and a relationship forged in the furnace of a shared conviction that Nigeria could, and must, be governed by truth.
When the political tides turned dark, and the cost of conviction seemed unbearable, Shehu would remind us that every generation must pay its price for freedom. He never asked others to take a risk that he himself was unwilling to bear.
He led from the front – fearless, thoughtful, and deeply humane.
The Meaning of His Legacy
When men such as Shehu walk the earth, they leave footprints that endure. Though he departed too soon, the weight of his vision continues to whisper through our history and our hearts: a vision of Nigeria where service outshines ambition, and integrity conquers expedience.
To speak of General Shehu Musa Yar’adua today is to address the ideals that still define our struggle for a just and united Nigeria. He was among the first to grasp the hard truth that democracy is not sustained by elections alone but by institutions, by integrity, and by citizens who care enough to act.
In the movement we built together, Shehu taught us that leadership must never become an instrument of privilege; it must remain a vessel of service.
His vision was one of inclusion – to give ordinary Nigerians a voice in decisions that shape their daily lives; to make unity not just a word in our national anthem, but a lived experience for all.
He saw leadership not as an inheritance but as a divine calling of stewardship. His was a discipline forged in humility and refined in the crucible of duty. In times of power, he remained modest. In moments of loss, he remained steadfast.
In the solitude of imprisonment, he remained defiant.
When Shehu spoke of leadership, he envisioned it as mentorship – a relay where each generation hands the baton forward, not dropped in fatigue nor corrupted by greed.
The leadership baton we inherited is heavy. It carries dreams unfulfilled, hopes deferred, promises betrayed. Yet, it is ours to lift again, stronger and purer.
Shehu’s moral compass was fixed on equity. He refused to be confined by tribe, religion, or region. His loyalty was to one constituency – the Nigerian people. His faith was in one ideal – the unity and greatness of our nation.
And his ultimate ambition was not to govern Nigeria but to help Nigerians govern themselves with dignity, justice, and mutual respect.
Many remember Shehu as a brilliant General, a strategist, a man of discipline and precision. But those of us who walked beside him remember something greater: his tenderness toward his fellow man, his disdain for injustice, and his faith in Nigeria, even when the odds demanded despair.
To the Yar’adua Family
At moments like this, words often feel inadequate. But today, as one who stood with Shehu side by side through seasons of hope and trial, I must say this to his beloved family: we owe you a debt no nation can fully repay.
It is often said that great men do not arise in isolation – they are nurtured within families of vision, discipline, and service. And in this respect, no Nigerian family has given more towards building the leadership of this nation than the Yar’adua family.
From their patriarch, the late Alhaji Musa Yar’adua, an accomplished educationist and a respected Minister of the First Republic, whose sense of patriotism and duty helped lay the foundation for governance in a modern Nigeria.
To General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, the man we gather here to remember – an accomplished soldier, an astute statesman, a visionary reformer, and a fearless democrat who gave everything, including his life, in the pursuit of justice and national renewal.
He was a brilliant soldier whose hobby was always reading books. Any time you saw late Shehu he had a book in his hands.
And to his kid brother, President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, who, though fate dealt him a cruel hand when his strength failed him at a time his country needed him most, demonstrated what leadership founded on humility, intellect, and conscience truly means.
This family has shown, across generations, a consistent and unbroken devotion to the service of Nigeria, both in times of promise and in moments of adversity. You offered Nigeria one of its finest sons, and you did so with grace.
You bore the weight of his imprisonment, the loneliness of his absence, and the pain of his passing with dignity and strength. In doing so, you showed the same resilience and faith that defined Shehu’s life.
The Yar’adua family has borne both the burden and the glory of service to Nigeria with unmatched grace. Through your family’s sacrifice, our nation has gotten a lineage of leadership defined by integrity, intellect, and patriotism.
Your “gift” to our nation, gave substance to the dreams of millions of our citizens.
Shehu’s ideals live because you allowed the rest of us to share in his life and legacy.
For this, on behalf of his comrades-in-struggle and the many whose lives he touched, I extend our profound gratitude.
The Union We Hope to Become
The theme of this occasion, “The Union We Hope to Become,” invites us to measure how far we have come, – and how far we still must go.
When Shehu spoke of Nigeria’s unity, he did not imagine a union built on slogans or fear; he envisioned one held together by justice, equality, and opportunity.
He believed that no Nigerian should be made to feel small because of his/her faith, his/her tongue, or his/her birthplace. His dream was not utopian – it was practical, pragmatic, and deeply patriotic.
Yet, twenty-eight years on, we see the fragility of that union tested and brought to the fore again and again. Distrust, exclusion, and despair threaten to undo what men and women of good conscience, like Shehu, sacrificed their lives to secure.
And whenever the road seems hard, I recall Shehu’s voice – steady as ever – urging us not to relent, for no nation builds itself in comfort.
He used to remind us that every generation must dream of a greater Nigeria, but it is not enough to dream, – we must build. The Nigeria of our dreams will not come to us through rhetoric or sentiment; it will come only through collective resolve, discipline, and honest work.
Shehu’s dream was not naïve. It was a courageous dream. He dared to believe that justice could triumph over corruption. That service could replace selfishness. That hope, if it is guarded by discipline and faith, could outlive despair. And he challenged each one of us not to wait for perfect conditions, but to act, to lead, to build, and to believe.
Our youths in particular, need to note that our nation stands again at a turning point. As we face unemployment, insecurity, disillusionment, and division, some have lost patience and many have also lost trust.
Yet amidst this despair, Shehu’s message to you all is: Do not give up on your country. Do not give up on one another.
“The union we hope to become” starts with us – one and all. It starts with honesty in our daily work.
It starts with empathy in our hearts. It starts with the courage to say what is right even when it is unpopular, to dream even when others laugh, and to stand tall even when the road is rough.
Look around. Across this great land, young Nigerians are rewriting the narrative in technology, in art, in governance, in community building.
The spirit of resilience that Shehu spoke about lives in your ideas, in your determination, in your refusal to surrender to bitterness.
But unity cannot be a slogan. It must be a practice. It means listening before judging. It means valuing every Nigerian voice – north or south, rich or poor. It means daring to create a country where opportunity belongs to effort, not to ancestry. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the union we must become.
General Shehu Musa Yar’adua believed that no nation could truly rise without justice as its backbone.
He believed that partnership between generations, and between leaders and citizens is the path to progress. That belief must live again through us.
So, to every young Nigerian listening today, let me say this: You are not powerless. You cannot be spectators in your own nation’s story. You MUST be the authors, the dreamers, the doers, and the builders of a new Nigeria.
I urge our youths to rise, not in anger but with resolve. Let us heal our divisions with dialogue, not silence. Let us remember that our diversity is not a curse – it is our greatest blessing. This is the time to transform Shehu’s vision into a living reality.
Our youths must become the generation that dared to finish what others began. You have to prove that the union Shehu hoped for can indeed be the union we become.
Carrying the Torch Forward
As one who shared his journey, I can testify that Shehu never saw democracy as an abstract ideal. To him, it was the practical realization of dignity – the power of people to decide their own fate.
Our responsibility now is to ensure that his labour was not in vain. We must continue the fight for transparent governance, for institutions that serve citizens rather than exploit them, and for a political culture that honours merit above mediocrity.
For that is the union he hoped to build, and it remains the union we must become.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as we conclude this memorial, let us remember that to celebrate Shehu Musa Yar’adua’s life is to renew our contract with the Nigerian dream he served.
To his family – may the Lord continue to comfort and strengthen you.
To his friends and comrades – let us remain faithful to the ideals we once pledged to uphold together.
To the younger generation – know this: freedom and justice are never given; they are earned by courage, by conviction, and by sacrifice.
May the Almighty God bless the memory of General Shehu Musa Yar’adua – soldier, statesman, and servant-leader. May He bless the Yar’adua Foundation for keeping faith with his legacy.
And may He bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you.
