When Bayero varsity held its 33rd convocation

In the last two years, Bayero University Kano (BUK) started staggering its convocation ceremonies to give opportunity and enough time to graduands to celebrate with their family members and friends.  This year’s convocation was celebrated in four days (15th to 18th March, 2017), as against the usual one-day affair.   In the first two days of […]

In the last two years, Bayero University Kano (BUK) started staggering its convocation ceremonies to give opportunity and enough time to graduands to celebrate with their family members and friends.  This year’s convocation was celebrated in four days (15th to 18th March, 2017), as against the usual one-day affair. 

 In the first two days of the event, the university awarded Bachelor’s degrees to 5,283 qualified candidates from 13 faculties and one School, with 52 of them graduating with First Class Honours. 

On the last day of the convocation, the university conferred a total of 3,124 higher degrees and postgraduate diplomas on graduands who successfully completed their postgraduate studies. Of this number, 65 received the PhD degree; 1,885 were awarded Master’s degrees and 1,174 received Postgraduate Diplomas. All in all, a total of 8,407 candidates graduated from the university.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Muhammad Yahuza Bello, congratulated the graduands for the successful completion of their studies in spite of so many challenges. He advised them to be worthy ambassadors of the university and strive to embody its core values of humility and sacrifice, discipline and commitment, as well as tolerance and respect for differences.

He said: “Make a positive difference in your communities, your places of work and wherever you may find yourselves. Keep the motto of your mata to heart ‘and above every possessor of knowledge, there is one more learned’. Keep learning both from formal and informal sources throughout your life.”     

Abdullahi Sa’id Umar was among students who graduated from the Islamic Studies Department. He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to study in the university and for completing his study within the minimum period of four years. 

Umar said: “As you can see, immediately after the convocation our certificates were ready. This is indeed a good development.”

Ishaq Yakubu graduated from the Department of Education with specialization in Economics. He said arrangements at the convocation were satisfactory. 

“People came from far and near and it seemed they were satisfied with arrangements. I was with my course mates during the convocation and nobody complained of anything. That is why I said the convocation was okay,” Yakubu said.

Dr. Shamsuddeen Muhammad of the Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) was among the 65 who received PhD degree at the convocation.  He commended the university for staggering the convocation.

“Staggering the convocation has provided opportunity for the graduands and their relations to celebrate in an enjoyable atmosphere. Credit should go to the university for decentralizing the convocation and issuing the certificates immediately. I collected my certificate in less than three minutes after the event; in some universities graduands wait up to three years before their certificates are ready. Other universities in the country should try to be like the BUK,” Dr. Muhammad said. 

At the last two convocations, the university did not confer honorary degrees. The vice chancellor, at the 32nd convocation, explained that the decision to not confer any honorary degree then, was not for lack of those deserving such awards, “but for the time needed to select a few from the multiple of qualified candidates.”

At this year’s convocation, two eminent personalities were conferred with honorary degrees for the role they are playing in impacting on the lives of others. Sheik Isyaku Rabi’u and Mr. Man Long Lee received the honorary Doctorate Degrees of Letters and Business Administration respectively. 

Professor Bello said Sheik Rabi’u was honoured for his scholarship in Qur’anic sciences and for his philanthropy in Nigeria and beyond, while Mr. Lee for his contributions to the Nigerian and world economy through job creation and industrial development. 

While reading the citation of Sheik Rabi’u, Dean Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Professor Bashir Tijjani described him as, “a man of God, a philanthropist and a good friend of the university.”

Last year, Sheik Rabi’u Rabiu donated a multibillion naira building complex located at Gadon Kaya in Kano metropolis to the university to house the  Centre for Qur’anic Studies (CQS).

Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed congratulated the graduands and urged them to protect the image of the university. He said the graduands should note that even though their achievements might be a function of hard work and commitment, they must not forget that the opportunity for that came from a caring nation which provided them with the enabling environment and other facilities for their studies. 

“I therefore urge you to continue to show love and respect to the nation by demonstrating unflinching loyalty and highest level patriotism,” Ahmed said.

The visitor to the university, President Muhammadu Buhari, congratulated the graduands and wished them success as they go through the real world of challenges, frustrations and opportunities.

Represented by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, the president said to demonstrate government’s commitment to total revitalization of higher education in the country, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was directed to disburse a total of N213.4 billion to all public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as part of its 2016 annual intervention programme.

The intervention, which was the highest in the history of the Fund according to him, was meant to better equip the tertiary institutions, produce quality middle & high level manpower and steer the nation towards the path of genuine development.

Beginning with Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, more than 40 visiting vice chancellors and heads of academic institutions presented congratulatory and goodwill messages to the university for the successful convocation.