Former Education and Petroleum Minister Jibril Aminu Dies at 85
Professor Jibril Aminu, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished scholar-statesmen, is dead. He was 85.
The former Minister of Education and Petroleum died in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness, bringing to a close a life that straddled academia, diplomacy, and high public service. His funeral prayer will hold at 2:00 p.m. today at the Abuja National Mosque, after which his remains will be flown to Adamawa State for burial in his hometown, Song LGA.
Aminu’s journey began in medicine—he graduated top of his class from the University College Hospital, Ibadan in 1965 and earned a PhD in Medicine from the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, in 1972. But it was his cross-sector legacy that set him apart.
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Between 1989 and 1992, he held two of Nigeria’s most sensitive cabinet portfolios—first as Minister of Education, then as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. In that role, he rose to global prominence, serving as President of the OPEC Conference and of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation.
From 1999 to 2003, he was Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States. He later represented Adamawa Central in the Senate for eight years.
Aminu also played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s constitutional debates, as a delegate to the 1994–95 National Constitutional Conference.
