Jibril Aminu

Jibril Muhammad Aminu (25 August 1939 – 5 June 2025), previously known as Aminu Song, was a Nigerian professor of cardiology and politician. He was Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2003 and served as the senator representing Adamawa Central senatorial district from 2003 to 2011. He was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Quotes I can tell you that the early years (20-25) of one’s life are the best; enjoy them and do what you like while you can. It is a time to celebrate and have fun. Primarily, my late mother looked after me. My uncle was like a big umbrella and I am very grateful to him. I am still very close to his children. Everybody knows that he is virtually my hero. He looked after me very well. He was very good to me and a lot of other people. It is not true. People said I loved singing because the name of my town is Song. Based on that, they would call me to sing for them. I won’t say I was noted for singing. I will rather say I was noted for bearing the name Song. It is not a Fulani name but the name of an ethnic group my ancestors displaced and called “Song,” which means “somebody else” in Baje language. That is why people think I love singing. It was the only university in Nigeria at that time. Everybody knows that I am very fond of the Yoruba. Ibadan wasn’t a Yoruba university. As the only university in the country at that time, people from all parts of the country were there. I was in Ibadan for 9 years. Yes, it was the first job I did. Every time it rained I would run and measure the rain. The shocking thing we were told in school was that there were about 40 inches of rain every year. Now, I don’t think you can get more than 25. In Calabar, it was raining all the time, but in Benin it was not raining that much. The weather has drastically changed. It is the same thing with vegetation. On the television they would show forests with trees, but we don’t see such things anymore. It is frightening that these days you don’t see anything but deserts. The experience was that when I entered a lorry for the first time, it seemed like I wasn’t moving. It seemed like houses and trees came and passed. It took quite some time to realise that I was the one moving. Some fell sick, but I didn’t. The boat wasn’t a bad experience because we had rivers in Song.