Shehu Yar'Adua
| Shehu Musa Yar'Adua | |
|---|---|
| 4th Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters | |
| President | Olusegun Obasanjo as Military Head of State |
| Preceded by | Olusegun Obasanjo |
| Succeeded by | Alex Ekwueme as 1st elected Vice President of Nigeria |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 March 1943 Katsina, British Nigeria |
| Died | 8 December 1997 (aged 54) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater |
Nigerian Military Training College Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Nigeria
|
| Service/branch |
 Nigerian Army
|
| Years of service | 1961–1979 |
| Rank | Major General |
Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (March 5, 1943 – December 8, 1997) was a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters under General Olusegun Obasanjo's 1977 - 1979 military government.
Yar'Adua was born in Katsina into a titled Fulani family. His father, Musa Yar'Adua, was a teacher who later became the Minister for Lagos Affairs from 1957 to 1966 during Nigeria's First Republic. His father held the traditional title of Mutawallin Katsina (keeper of the treasury). Yar'Adua's grandfather, Mallam Umaru, was also the Mutawallin, and his younger brother, Umaru Yar'Adua, became the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2007.
Yar'Adua attended Katsina Middle School and then Katsina Provincial School (now Government College, Katsina) for his secondary education; at the provincial school, he was classmates with current Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari. At the urging of his father and his father's friend, the defense minister Muhammadu Ribadu, Yar'Adua took the entrance exam of the Nigerian Military Training College. He passed and was enlisted in the army in 1962 as part of the course 5 intake of the Nigerian military training school. Yar'Adua was selected for further training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Sandhurst, England.
In 1964, after he returned from Sandhurst, Yar'Adua was posted to the first infantry battalion of the Nigerian Army in Enugu under the command of Col Adekunle Fajuyi as second lieutenant. From 1964 to the end of the Nigerian Civil War, he held various positions including platoon commander in 1964, and from 1965 to 1966 adjutant of the First Infantry Battalion in Enugu. He was a battalion commander in 1967, and in 1968 became a Brigade Commander. During the civil war, he commanded the 6th infantry brigade under the leadership of Murtala Mohammed, commander of the second division.
In October 1967, Yar'Adua was given the responsibility for the capture of Onitsha after two (2) unsuccessful attempts by the Nigerian troops.
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