Nigeria: ABU at Two Score and Ten

26 October 2012
analysis

Ahmadu Bello University Zaria was established in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. It came into being after some four pioneer institutions in the region--the Nigerian College of Science and Technology, Zaria, the Ahmadu Bello College, Kano, the Institute of Administration, Zaria, and the Veterinary Research Institute--were amalgamated to form the nucleus of the new school.

And ABU proved to be the one legacy of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sokoto that they cannot destroy. And 'they' here can mean anything from the Federal government, the Northern states and neglect by the alumni. But something big, fast and serious must be done to rescue the situation. If we could recall, the institution belonged to the Northern states before it was taken over by the Federal government; and that was the beginning of tragedy. That singular act by the government eliminated the spirit of competition that had defined the relationship between the regions, and this spirit was perhaps most in intense in the educational sector. At the time they were taken over their quality and standard could compare with of any other institution in the world. If they had not been taken over, no region would have allowed its own to suffer decline.

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