NIGERIAN leaders, including President Bola Tinubu, Katsina Governor Dikko Radda, and the former senate president Bukola Saraki, have expressed their condolences to the family of the late Dada, mother of former Nigerian president Umaru Yar’Adua.
Dada Yar’Adua died in Katsina late on Monday after a protracted illness at the age of 102.
Dada’s death comes 14 years after the former president’s passing and 27 years after her eldest son, Shehu Yar’Adua, a military general, who died on December 8, 1997.
Her death was announced by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua’s media aide, Abdul Hassan, one of the deceased’s sons in a statement, on Tuesday.
According to him, the funeral prayer for the deceased will be held on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the residence of Musa Yar’adua in Katsina.
Leaders mourn
Reacting to her demise, President Tinubu in a statement on Monday night, September 2, by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, extended his condolences to the family of the deceased and the people of Katsina State.
While mourning the matriarch, Tinubu extolled her legacy of compassion, faith, honesty, and good fellowship.
“President Tinubu prays for the repose of the soul of the deceased and affirms that the matriarch of the Yar’Adua family will always be remembered for the support, peace, joy and comfort she offered to many,” the statement reads.
Also, the Katsina State governor, Dikko Radda, mourned the death of Dada, assuring of the readiness of his government to support the family, especially in their moment of grief.
A statement by the chief press secretary to the governor, Ibrahim Kaula-Mohammed, noted that upon receiving the news of Dada’s demise “my boss immediately cut short his engagements in Daura and rushed to Katsina to stand in solidarity with the bereaved family during this difficult time.”
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, also expressed condolences on the passing of Dada.
Barau, in a statement by his media aide, Ismail Mudashir, prayed Almighty Allah to forgive her shortcomings and admit her to Jannatul Firdausi.
He also urged senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua and all those she left behind to take solace in the fact that she lived a righteous life dedicated to the service of Allah and humanity.
Also, former senate president, Bukola Saraki, while mourning the deceased in a post on X, noted that Dada was a ‘true matriarch.’
He said, “Her warmth, grace, and compassion were boundless, extending to all who had the privilege of knowing her.
“My last encounter with her in Katsina is a memory I will always treasure—filled with her kindness and wisdom. It was a reminder of the remarkable person she was.
“Today, I join the nation to mourn the passing of this incredible woman. May Almighty Allah (SWT) grant her a place in Al-Jannah Firdaus. My thoughts and prayers are with the Yar’Adua family during this difficult time.”
Similarly, a former senator, Shehu Sani, described the late Dada as a participant and a witness to history.
He also noted that she was a marathoner who raced through all vegetation.
“She had been through all seasons of life; joy and sorrow, uphills and downhills.She had been through calmness and turbulence of the sea of her country.
“She was a woman who married a great man and gave birth to greater children.She was an endowed woman,a blessed woman who also blessed others to greatness.She walked through life giving men who came across her the wings they need to fly,” Sani said in a post on X.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M