When I received the Kano State Foreign Scholarship to pursue my master’s degree at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in India in 2012, my first challenge came from the then-deputy vice chancellor of Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
Prof. Yahuza Bello understandably questioned the university’s name, among other inquiries, and asked me to meet with Prof. Sa’id Babura and Dr AB Baffa to investigate the institution’s credentials. Dr Baffa and I thoroughly examined the university’s accreditation status and ranking. We confirmed that LPU was not only fully accredited but also ranked as the best private university in India at that time. Convinced by our findings, BUK released me on fellowship.
BUK later employed some of my friends with whom I studied at LPU. Many of us have earned PhDs from other universities since then, while others are gainfully employed in Nigeria and abroad. Our degree certificates still bear LPU’s name, and these facts speak volumes about the university’s standing.
While I wish LPU had a more “serious” name, something I even audaciously suggested to the university management during my time there, I have come to realise there is little significance in a school’s name. Several universities worldwide have unusual or unwieldy names. What truly matters is the quality of education the institution provides.
I have no problem with the name Northwest University, Kano. Likewise, I have no problem with Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano. However, if given the choice, I would prefer the latter because of the towering figure after whom the university was named. When shortened, YUMSUK is catchy and memorable.
The Kano State Government’s decision to rename YUMSUK back to its original name, Northwest University, is transparently political. More troubling, this action sets a problematic precedent. Future administrations may reverse this renaming, creating an endless cycle of politicised rebranding that serves no educational purpose.
Yes, another institution was named after the statesman, but why not this university as well? The late Yusuf Maitama Sule (Dan Masanin Kano) deserves it. He remains a towering figure in the history not only of Kano but of Nigeria as a whole. We should remember this—and honour it.
From my quick observation, many people prefer Northwest University to the previous name. As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t ultimately matter what a university is called. But I congratulate those pleased with the name change, and I sincerely hope the university’s academic standards will improve along with its new branding.
This is it!
ReplyDeleteAs a former student of Northwest University, Kano, graduated 2019 we are neither convocated nor original certificate was given to us, what’s your thoughts on those whom their statement of result is bearing YUMSUK?
ReplyDeleteThank you and God bless you.
The renaming is purely political, as you stated, and I agree with you that the university's name should remain unchanged, given the contribution the person named after has made not only to the state but to the country as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know if it is okay for two universities in Nigeria to share the same name, as I am aware that another private university in Sokoto state also goes by the name Northwest.
Northwest University Sokoto and for Kano, Northwest University Kano. One is a private University and the other is a state owned University. Another examples are Federal University Dutse, Gusau, Kebbi and many more. Isn't that enough difference?
DeleteThe name doesn't matter but the motive which is politically motivated, these people are taking us back instead of looking forward to improving the University in terms of laboratories, reaching materials and anything that'll pave a way to better and soun education.
ReplyDeleteIt is a misplacement of priorities. Plus if we don't celebrate our own, who will?
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