How BUK Lost Eight Professors in Two Months

How BUK Lost Eight Professors in Two Months

AREWA AGENDA – Bayero University Kano is in a state of grief as the ancient City’s most renowned Ivory Tower has earlier today, lost its Deputy Vice Chancellor (Admin), Professor Haruna Wakili.

Wakili, a one time Commissioner for Education in Jigawa State, died of undisclosed illness at the age of 60, at the National Hospital in Abuja after a protracted illness.

Professor Wakili’s death makes it the 8th in a series of illustrious deaths that has gripped BUK’s lecturers in two months.

In early May, A professor of Physical Health Education at the University, Monsuru Lasun-Emiola, died after a brief illness at the Institutions Clinic.

Mr Lasun-Emiola, an indigene of Oyo State, until his death was a senior lecturer with the Department of Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Education of the university.

The first professor to die in this sequence of deaths was Aliyu Dikko who died on Saturday, April 25.

Before his demise, Mr Dikko, a professor of physiology, was a lecturer at the Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano. He was also a former Deputy Vice Chancellor at the same institution.

He was involved in the opening of three faculties of Medicine/Basic Medical Sciences in Bayero University, Kaduna State University and Yusuf Maitama Sule University.

Another professor who died on the same day is Ibrahim Ayagi. A renowned professor of economics, Mr Ayagi attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, 1963 -70 and proceeded to University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the USA from 1970 – 74.

As Kano State Commissioner of Education in the 1970s, Mr Ayagi had set up Kano’s celebrated Twin Science Secondary Schools at Dawakin Kudu and Dawakin Tofa.

Some analysts believed the graduates of these two schools became the crème de la crème of medicine and science in the Northern states.

Mr Ayagi was also the chairman of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) of the Obasanjo administration and proprietor of Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo Secondary School.

On April 26, Balarabe Maikaba of the Department of Mass Communication, BUK, died after an illness.

A professor, Mr Maikaba was the former head of Mass Communication Department, BUK, and a visiting lecturer to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and Kaduna State University (KASU).

On the same day, Sabo Kurawa of Department of Sociology passed on after a protracted illness.

The academic held positions of deputy vice chancellor, administration and subsequently deputy vice chancellor, academics at the Bayero university.

He is survived by his wife, Dije Kurawa, a professor of Accounting at Bayero University and many children including Najib Kurawa, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutse.

On Monday April 27, Uba Adamu, a retired academic with Kano State Polytechnic died as a result of age-related complications at the age of 85.

Born in the old quarters of Daneji in Kano in December, 1935, Mr Adamu obtained a BSc in political history in 1968 at Abdullahi Bayero College, now Bayero University.

He also attended the University of Ife, (today’s Obafemi Awolowo University) for a short course in public administration.

He is survived by two wives, 17 children and 54 grandchildren. His eldest son is Abdalla Uba-Adamu, the Vice-Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

Also on Monday 27, Ghali Umar, another lecturer, died.

The late Umar was a former head of department and a senior lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Kano University of Science and Technology.

These deaths are coming at a time when the University system is battling the COVID-19 pandemic on the one hand and the Federal Government on the other hand as a result of Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU)’s refusal to enroll on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

BUK has particular been hit by the Federal Government’s adamance in yeilding to ASUU’s demand after the face off resulted in the institution terminating the appointments of 30 academic staff who are in its employ on contract basis.

Most of those affected are senior retired lecturers, including the Chief Imam of Kano, Professor Sani Zaharadeen; and Professor Abdulkadir Dangambo of the Department of Languages.

The termination of their appointments according to the university authorities, is because the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) does not accommodate contract staff.

Arewa Agenda is a Publication of young writers from Northern Nigeria towards peaceful coexistence and national development through positive narratives.