JUST IN: Former Petroleum Minister and UNIMAID Vice-Chancellor is Dead

Professor Jubril Aminu, a prominent Nigerian academic, politician, and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, has died at the age of 85. His death was confirmed by Abdullahi Adamu Prambe, the Commissioner of Housing and Urban Development in Adamawa State and a member of the late professor’s family.

Born on August 25, 1939, in Song, Adamawa Province, during colonial Nigeria, Aminu’s life was marked by an enduring commitment to medicine, education, and public service. He earned his medical degree from the University of Ibadan in 1965 and later obtained a Ph.D. from the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School in London. He began his academic career at the University of Ibadan, serving as a Consultant, Senior Lecturer, and Sub-Dean of Clinical Studies between 1973 and 1975.

Aminu played a key role in shaping Nigeria’s higher education landscape, most notably as Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) from 1975 to 1979. He was also a visiting professor at Howard University in the United States before serving as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri from 1980 to 1985, where he continued as a Professor of Medicine until 1995.

He held several significant public offices. From 1989 to 1992, he served as Minister of Education and later as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources under General Ibrahim Babangida’s military government. From 1999 to 2003, he was Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, and later represented Adamawa Central in the Senate from 2003 to 2011. He was awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2002 and received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Ahmadu Bello University in 1988.

However, Aminu’s legacy is not without controversy. As Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, he was at the centre of one of Nigeria’s most significant student rights cases. In 1983, over 500 students were expelled following a protest, leading to the landmark Supreme Court case *Yesufu Amuda Garba & Others v. University of Maiduguri*. The court ruled in favour of the students, stating that the university had overstepped its bounds by adjudicating criminal matters, which only courts of law are constitutionally empowered to handle.

Among those expelled was Orji Uzor Kalu, who was then active in student leadership and would later become Governor of Abia State. Kalu refused to return to the university despite being recalled, standing in solidarity with his fellow expelled students.

In 1986, under Aminu’s tenure as Minister of Education, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) was banned, and the Akanbi Panel was established to regulate student activism, further cementing his reputation as an enforcer of military-era suppression.

Despite his intellectual stature and extensive service, Aminu remained a polarising figure, remembered both for his contributions to national development and his alignment with authoritarian policies during Nigeria’s military rule. He is survived by his family, professional colleagues, and many mentees who continue to reflect the breadth of his influence.