Hajia Dada Yar’Adua, the mother of former Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters during the Obasanjo military regime, passed away on Monday, September 2, 2024, at the age of 101. She breathed her last at the Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina after a brief illness.
The Yar’Adua family is expected to announce her burial arrangements in due course.
Hajia Dada was the wife of Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua, Mutawallen Katsina and a former Minister of Lagos Affairs during the First Republic. She was the mother of Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the second in command in the Obasanjo-led military regime, and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who served as Nigeria’s president from 2007 until his death in 2010.
She was also the mother of Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army. Additionally, one of her grandchildren, Murtala Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, served as a minister during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
Born in 1919, Hajia Dada Yar’Adua was best known as the matriarch of the influential Yar’Adua family. Her marriage to Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua produced five children, two of whom became prominent figures in Nigerian politics. She was widely respected for her strength, resilience, and deep commitment to her family’s values, which were rooted in her upbringing in Katsina State.
Throughout her life, Hajia Dada was known for her humility and preference for staying out of the public eye, despite her family’s prominence. She made significant contributions to her community, particularly in the areas of education and women’s empowerment, always choosing to work quietly behind the scenes.
Her life was a testament to her devotion to family, faith, and country. Even in her later years, Hajia Dada Yar’Adua remained a symbol of the enduring legacy of the Yar’Adua family in Nigerian history.
