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Federation within a Federation:The Untold Story of Prof Na’Allah as Uniabuja Vice-Chancellor

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2 years ago

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Professor Na'Allah

 

Hakeem Alohunmata

The 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates as one entity, called Nigeria, has repeatedly been described as a ”marriage of inconvenience” or simply put, a ”forced marriage”. To some people, even, it was a wedding without marriage. This is the position of the pessimists who see Nigeria as a failed project. How can it be a successful project when the couples are constantly in conflict like sworn enemies? A nation that graciously allows artificial divisions to becloud its sense of harnessing its cultural diversity and religious plurality for national development. A nation that allows faint lines of boundaries to blur its vision of tapping into the resources of its over 400 languages for tourism enterprise. A nation that allows mutual suspicion to daunt its passion for developing its human resources for skill exportation.

A nation that allows political affiliations to clog the wheel of its fortune, progress and prosperity. Pursuing the banality of a fictitious interest, the nation is found wanting in the loneliness of a multi-crore forest. The multitude of culture, plurality of ethnicity and diversity of religion, rather than being a blessing to the nation, seem like an irredeemable curse placed on a traitor in a local movie. Nepotism, sectionalism and corruption have eaten so deep into the system that it has spread like a wildfire to every sphere of our institutions.
University of Abuja, a federation within the federation, shares a similar experience. It is the only federal University in Nigeria that has all the thirty-six states of the country as its catchment in terms of staff recruitment and student admission.

It is an heterogeneous community, and a conglomerate of conflicting ethnic groups, diverse cultures and polarized religious affiliations. Like the bigger federation, the ethnic divisions and religious affiliation have, over the years, become a bane in the development of the university. The institution had badly been bitten by the bared fangs of nepotism. Past leaders of the university had tried, without much success, to free the University from the tightening claws of sentiment in order to chart a course for development of the University. However, lack of political will to suppress ethnic favoritism and religious bigotry whips the chord of incessant internal crises, underscored by monumental bickering and eventual down-tooling of labour unions within the university. Prolonged industrial actions, blatant disregard for academic calendar, admission and certificate racketeering, infrastructural deficit, poor staff and students welfare, and low-level of academic research output, top the chart of the numerous challenges bedeviling the institution. And this is no less the reason why the university was being derided and ridiculously referred to as a ‘glorified secondary school’.

This was the situation of Uniabuja, until the birth of a new regime spearheaded by an altruistic, patriotic and detribalized Nigerian – Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah. Rather than succumbing to the seemingly insurmountable problems, which are as big as the mountains surrounding the campus itself, Prof. Na’Allah saw an opportunity in the ethnic and socio-cultural division of his staff. No sooner he was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor in 2019, than he coined a slogan – The University for National Unity – for the university. This slogan has come to stay as the University is now popularly known as UofA of Nigeria and the University for National Unity. The coinage of this slogan shows the readiness of Prof. Na’Allah, right from inception, to form a government of national unity by mobilizing staff, students and stakeholders regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliations to work with him on his mandate to bring an aggressive development to the University. The idea of University of Abuja as a university for National Unity becomes his watchword. It is at the fulcrum of his programmes and policies, and it was brought to bear even in the appointment of deans and directors into key positions in the University without sacrificing merit. His idea of national unity was reflected in the admission process. Having realized that some sections of the country had benefited too much for so long in the scheme of things including student admission, he reviewed the admission process to ensure that applicants from every state of the federation are admitted to the University without prejudice. Prof. NaAllah’s patriotism could also be noted in the staff recruitment exercise by standing firm on the principles of federal character. His belief in National Unity resonates in two critical centres he established: the Centre for Community Development and Centre for Stakeholders Mobilization. While the Centre for stakeholders mobilization is working hard to mobilize for support from people of different background and status from within and outside the University, the Centre for Community Development serves as a link between the ‘town and gown’. Through the Centre for Community Development, the host communities are deeply involved in the activities and programmes of the institution. They now feel more attached to the University like never before. The harmonious relationship between the host communities and the university made it possible for Prof. NaAllah to achieve the construction of perimeter fencing of the entire university land – a task no one believe was possible.

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Prof. Na’Allah’s zeal for infrastructural development is not known only to University of Abuja. As the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University, he started the university from zero infrastructure to a masterpiece, a world-class university with beautiful landscape, superb architectural edifice, good road networks, stable and quality academic delivery, a feat that made the then Kwara State Governor call on the House of Assembly to review the one-term tenure policy of a Vice-Chancellor, to allow him come back for another term of five years.

This also is an uncommon privilege earned by uncommon character and dedication to duties. The Executive Secretary of TETfund, Arch. Sunday Echono, visited the university recently. He could not but confirm the solid foundation laid by Prof. Na’Allah upon which KWASU today stands.
However, the great achievements he recorded at KWASU were not enough to reveal the patriotism in him as KWASU seems to be a small community with small political set up. The opportunity eventually came when he was called upon to serve his nation in the capacity of Vice-Chancellor of a Federal University- a university with conservative tradition that defies modernity; a university that takes solace in mediocrity and stagnancy; a university with galaxies of scholars working in isolation without collaborations; a university with a senate that is divided against itself across ethno-religious lines.
Managing such an institution was a huge task because the most difficult thing to accept is change. As a master strategist, Prof. Na’Allah, amidst stiff rejection, cheap blackmail and witch-hunting, was able to waddle through the muddy water to pave the way for the needed development in the University. Under his leadership, University of Abuja has regained its rightful position in the community of Universities in Nigeria. With his doggedness and administrative acumen, Prof. Na’Allah had, in no small measure, maintained the sanctity of academic calendar and improved academic standard of the University. With COVID-19 lockdown and the prolong ASUU strike that rocked the entire 2020 and early part of 2021, University of Abuja was one of the few, if not the only, universities that did not lose a single session. Prof. Na’Allah developed a robust virtual learning system that allowed students to take their classes while at home. Students now know the day they will graduate, the first day they are admitted into the University. This was largely made possible with the introduction of a portal system by Prof. NaAllah who is popularly known across the length and breadth of the campus as a digital Vice-Chancellor.

To the committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigeria Universities, Prof. NaAllah is known as an infrastructure Vice-Chancellor. He leaves no one in doubt of his capability by turning University of Abuja to a construction site. To him, the best welfare any staff can get is to have a conducive working environment. He then began on an aggressive mobilization for fund by blocking leakages, improving the university internally generated revenue (IGR) without unnecessary hike in school fees, rallying for financial supports from philanthropists, organizations and well meaning alumni of the University, and lobbying government and government agencies to invest in the infrastructure of the university. These endeavour yielded tremendous benefit as money raised are prudently plunged into building of faculties, befitting lecture theatres, state-of-the-art laboratories, world-class international conference centres, building of new hostels and renovation of existing ones, staff clubs, new staff quarters on campus, mini stadium, solar farms, computer laboratories across the campus, first-of-its-kind new senate building (ongoing), completion of the old senate building as well as all other abandoned projects (PG school, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Sciences etc.) landscaping and street lighting of the entire campus, good road network, to mention a few.

This recent
transformation occasioned by a world class administrator, Prof, AbdulRasheed Naallah, opened up the University to both local and international collaborations. Government agencies, ministries, diplomats from various countries, international organizations, Universities from other African countries, Europe, China, Japan, North and South Korea, are now trooping to the University for partnership and exchanges. This gives the ever-expanding student population the opportunity for intercultural exchanges as some students of the university, that won Fukushima Prefecture Governor’s award were recently invited for a tour of Japan by the Japanese government; so also is the University receiving international students on exchange programme to its campus. The Chinese government is continuously supporting the University’s Engineering programme through provision of state-of-the-art equipment.

Prof. Na’Allah, in a grand style and in one scoop, did what no Vice-Chancellor in the history of Uniabuja had ever done by securing NUC approval to start twenty-six (26) new programmes including Aeronautic and Astronautic Engineering. He is a Vice-Chancellor of many first’s’: The first Vice-Chancellor to introduce students employment scheme to Nigerian education system, the first Vice-Chancellor to introduce Railway Engineering (awaiting NUC resource verrification result), Aeronautic and Astronautic Engineering (at KWASU) as undergraduate programmes and so on. Prof. NaAllah’s unmatched administrative experience in managing tertiary institutions had, without doubt, brought about a significant change not only to University of Abuja but also to the Nigerian higher education system as other Universities now tow the lines of a new direction he had painstakingly led.

Prof. NaAllah is a distinguished academic and astute administrator that only needs a bigger stage to turn around the fortune of Nigerian education system.

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Opinion

Matawalle: The Northern Anchor of Loyalty in Tinubu’s Administration

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5 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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By Adebayor Adetunji, PhD

In the broad and competitive terrain of Nigerian politics, loyalty is often spoken of, yet rarely sustained with consistency, courage and visible action. But within the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one Northern appointee has demonstrated this quality not as a slogan, but as a lifestyle, as a political principle and as a national duty — Hon. (Dr.) Bello Muhammad Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence.

Since his appointment, Matawalle has stood out as one of the most loyal, outspoken and dependable pillars of support for the Tinubu administration in the North. He has never hesitated, not for a moment, to stand firmly behind the President. At every turn of controversy, in moments of public misunderstanding, and at times when political alliances waver, Matawalle has continued to speak boldly in defence of the government he serves. For him, loyalty is not an occasional gesture — it is a commitment evidenced through voice, alignment, and sacrifice.

Observers within and outside the ruling party recall numerous occasions where the former Zamfara State Governor took the front line in defending the government’s policies, actions and direction, even when others chose neutrality or silence. His interventions, always direct and clear, reflect not just loyalty to a leader, but faith in the future the President is building, a future anchored on economic reform, security revival, institutional strengthening and renewed national unity.

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But Matawalle’s value to the administration does not stop at loyalty. In performance, visibility and active delivery of duty, he stands among the most engaged ministers currently serving in the federal cabinet. His portfolio, centred on defence and security, one of the most sensitive sectors in the country, demands expertise, availability and unbroken presence. Matawalle has not only embraced this responsibility, he has carried it with remarkable energy.

From high-level security meetings within Nigeria to strategic engagements across foreign capitals, Matawalle has represented the nation with clarity and confidence. His participation in defence summits, international cooperation talks, and regional security collaborations has positioned Nigeria as a voice of influence in global security discourse once again. At home, his involvement in military policy evaluation, counter-terrorism discussions and national defence restructuring reflects a minister who understands the urgency of Nigeria’s security needs, and shows up to work daily to address them.

Away from partisan battles, Matawalle has proven to be a bridge — between North and South, civilian leadership and military institutions, Nigeria and the wider world. His presence in government offers a mix of loyalty, performance and deep grounding in national interest, the type of partnership every President needs in turbulent times.

This is why calls, campaigns and whisperings aimed at undermining or isolating him must be resisted. Nigeria cannot afford to discourage its best-performing public servants, nor tighten the atmosphere for those who stand firmly for unity and national progress. The nation must learn to applaud where there is performance, support where there is loyalty, and encourage where there is commitment.

Hon. Bello Matawalle deserves commendation, not suspicion. Support — not sabotage. Encouragement, not exclusion from political strategy or power alignment due to narrow interests.

History does not forget those who stood when it mattered. Matawalle stands today for President Tinubu, for security, for loyalty, for national service. And in that place, he has earned a space not only in the present political equation, but in the future judgment of posterity.

Nigeria needs more leaders like him. And Nigeria must say so openly.

Adebayor Adetunji, PhD
A communication strategist and public commentator
Write from Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

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Opinion

Drug Abuse Among People With Disabilities: The Hidden Crisis Nigeria Is Yet to Address

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5 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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By Abdulaziz Ibrahim

Statistically Invisible, Persons with Disabilities feel shut out of Nigeria’s drug abuse war as a report from Adamawa reveals lacks data and tailored support needed, forcing a vulnerable group to battle addiction alone.

In Adamawa State, the fight against drug abuse is gaining attention, but for many people living with disabilities (PWDs), their struggles remain largely unseen. A new report has uncovered deep gaps in support, treatment, and data tracking for PWDs battling addiction despite official claims of equal access.

For nearly three decades, Mallam Aliyu Hammawa, a visually impaired resident of Yola, navigated a world increasingly shrouded by drug dependency. He first encountered psychoactive substances through friends, and what began as casual use quickly escalated into long-term addiction.

“I used cannabis, tramadol, tablets, shooters everything I could get my hands on,” he recalled. “These drugs affected my behaviour and my relationship with the people close to me.”

Family members say his addiction changed him entirely. His friend, Hussaini Usman, described feeling “sad and worried” when he realized Aliyu had fallen into drug use.

Aliyu eventually made the decision to quit. It was marriage and the fear of hurting his wife that finally forced him to seek a new path. “Whenever I took the drugs, I felt normal. But my wife was confused about my behaviour,” he said. “I decided I had to stop before she discovered the full truth of what I was taking.”

A National Problem With Missing Data

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Nigeria has one of the highest drug-use rates in West Africa, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Over 14 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 use psychoactive substances. Yet, within that massive user base, PWDs are statistically invisible.

There is almost no national data on drug abuse among persons with disabilitiesa critical gap that experts warn makes it impossible to design effective, inclusive rehabilitation programmes.

Ibrahim Idris Kochifa, the Secretary of the Adamawa State Association of Persons with Physical Disability, told this reporter that PWDs face unique, systemic pressures that intensify their vulnerability to drug abuse, specifically citing poverty, unemployment, isolation, and social discrimination.

“Whenever a person with disability is caught with drugs, the common decision is to seize the drugs and let him go,” Kochifa said, speaking on behalf of the disabled community leadership. “But if they consult us, we have advice to offer on how they can be treated and rehabilitated. Without involving us, no programme will fully benefit people with disabilities.”

NDLEA Responds

At the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Command in Adamawa, officials insist their services are open to everyone without discrimination.

Mrs. Ibraham Nachafia, the Head of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA Adamawa State Command, said during an interview, “Our rehabilitation centre is open to all. There is no discrimination. Anyone including persons with disabilities can access treatment.”

While the official position suggests inclusiveness, disability advocates call it “tokenistic.” They argue that equal access on paper does not translate to tailored support in practice. True rehabilitation for PWDs requires specialized counselling that understands their unique traumas, physically accessible facilities, and significantly stronger community engagement to prevent relapse.

A Call for More Inclusive Action

Advocates are now urging the Nigerian government and drug-control agencies to build a response framework that recognizes PWDs as a vulnerable group in need of targeted support.

The advocate Goodness Fedrick warns that until rehabilitation and prevention programmes reflect the realities faced by people with disabilities, Nigeria’s battle against drug abuse will remain incomplete.

For people like Aliyu Hammawa, who managed to recover without structured support, the message is clear: many others may not be as fortunate.

This story highlights the urgent need for inclusive, data-driven, and community-supported approaches in Nigeria’s fight against drug addiction. Until the nation sees and serves this ‘hidden crisis,’ its overall battle against addiction will continue to be fought with one hand tied behind its back.

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Opinion

Debunking the Myth of Christian Genocide in Nigeria: Unmasking America’s Militarism and Invasion Tactics

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6 days ago

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December 7, 2025

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By Sani Khamees

In 2017, while serving in Kano through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Nigeria, I crossed paths once more with Professor Horace Campbell. An invitation arrived at the department of Political Science, Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies, summoning us to hear Campbell speak on his latest book, ‘Global NATO and Catastrophic Failure in Libya: Lessons for Africa in the forging of African unity.’ I shared with my HOD that I had first met Campbell in 2010, during his condolence visit for the late Dr Tajudeen Abdulraheem, my former school director in Funtua. My HOD eagerly accepted, and we prepared for the evening. After introducing myself to Campbell, he handed me his book and asked for a summary. His work reveals how Western powers, under the banner of NATO, used the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1973 and the so-called ‘responsibility to protect’ as a pretext to invade and devastate Libya (Campbell,2013).

The Libyan uprisings emerged from the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia in 2010 and spread across Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, and finally Libya. After Tunisia’s Bin Ali fled and Egypt’s Mubarak was toppled by a tidal wave of revolution, Benghazi erupted in rebellion just days later. But the West soon intervened, transforming a popular movement into an armed struggle. In response, Gaddafi threatened to unleash the full force of the state to crush the discord.

By February 21, 2011, Western media had rewritten the story, claiming that innocent civilians faced imminent massacre by the Libyan army. Headlines like “Gaddafi Warns of ‘Rivers of Blood’ as UN Prepares to Vote” from The Guardian and reports from CNN suggesting the urgent need for intervention due to potential atrocities influenced public perception. The United States, Britain, and France seized the moment, pushing a UN Security Council resolution under the guise of ‘responsibility to protect.’ This cleared their path into Libya, leading to Gaddafi’s death and the takeover of the nation’s political and economic future.

In the aftermath of Libya’s collapse, chaos swept across the Sahel as militias like Boko Haram, Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JIMIM), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP), Bandits, and Ansaru surged back into prominence. The collapse led to a vacuum of power and increased availability of weapons when Gaddafi’s vast armory was looted and diffused across the region. These armaments and the instability spurred by Libya’s breakdown facilitated the resurgence and strengthening of militant groups in surrounding areas, including Nigeria. In Nigeria, Boko Haram in the Northeast and Bandits in the Northwest became household names, operating mainly in the country’s northern regions. Boko Haram launched its campaign in Borno State with the rallying cry ‘no to western education’, then spread to Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, and even Kano, areas with deep Muslim roots. Their reign of terror included bombings of worship centers, hospitals, markets, and busy roads, as well as kidnappings for forced marriage, abuse, and other social vices.

Rivaling Boko Haram in brutality are the armed bandits who first emerged in Zamfara State and quickly spread to Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, and Katsina, now encroaching on the north-central states of Plateau, Benue, and Kwara. Unlike Boko Haram, these bandits are driven by profit, engaging in kidnappings for ransom, assaults on villages and towns, and the deliberate killing of civilians.

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Both Boko Haram and the armed bandits have left a trail of devastation: thousands of civilians killed, worship centers and farmlands destroyed, and entire villages emptied as people flee for safety. Their violence knows no boundaries of religion, tribe, or ethnicity. Boko Haram has bombed mosques, including the Kano city mosque near the Emir’s palace, killing over 120 and injuring around 200. (wikipedia, 2014) Bandits have kidnapped thousands and indiscriminately attacked travelers and villagers. Their latest atrocity saw worshippers in Mantau village, Malumfashi, gunned down during dawn prayers.

It is a fact that most terror attacks in Nigeria occur in the Muslim-majority north. While these groups show no regard for religion or ethnicity, it is the Muslim population that suffers most, simply because they are the majority. However, the narrative of a targeted genocide against Christians fails to hold when we incorporate the experiences of both Muslim and Christian communities in the north. According to a report by the International Crisis Group, the majority of attacks and incidents of violence between 2010 and 2019 occurred in northern regions, with Muslim communities being disproportionately affected. Studies also suggest that around 8 out of 10 victims of Boko Haram’s attacks are Muslims (Group, 2010).  Testimonies from these communities reveal a shared struggle against violence and a mutual rejection of divisive labels imposed from outside. A Muslim community leader from Maiduguri described a neighborhood where Christians and Muslims live side by side, united in their fear and condemnation of extremist violence. Similarly, a Christian resident of Kaduna expressed that they view their Muslim neighbors as partners in resilience rather than adversaries. Such perspectives challenge simplistic genocide narratives and highlight how local identities and solidarities complicate the external binary framing of conflict in Nigeria.

Echoing the tactics used to justify intervention in Libya, a recent claim by American politician Bill Maher alleges that Christians in Nigeria are being targeted for genocide. He asserts that Islamists have killed over 100,000 Christians and destroyed 18,000 churches, painting a picture of a systematic campaign to erase Christianity from Nigeria. These claims are fabrications, designed to set the stage for another ‘responsibility to protect’ intervention. Nigeria’s wealth in natural resources and oil has long made it a target for Western interests.

It is clear that the US seeks to repeat the Libyan scenario in Nigeria. Western media excels at crafting divisive narratives that pave the way for imperial ambitions. This pattern is not new. Samir Amin, in ‘The Liberal Virus: Permanent War and the Americanization of the World,’ describes how Hitler used the Reichstag fire as a ploy for repression, drawing parallels to George Bush’s invasion of Iraq and NATO’s intervention in Libya (Amin, 2004). Now, the same playbook is being opened for Nigeria.

However, it is crucial to recognize the active role Nigerian actors, both in person and groups, play in countering these narratives and steering their own destiny. The Nigerian government has engaged in diplomatic dialogues and sought the support of international bodies to challenge misleading accounts and protect the country’s sovereignty.

Additionally, vibrant civil society organizations in Nigeria work tirelessly to foster inter-communal dialogue and resist attempts to sow discord. Nigerian media outlets, both traditional and digital, have amplified local voices and stories that underline a unified resistance against manipulative foreign interests. These efforts highlight Nigeria’s agency in shaping its future and resisting external exploitation.

Sani Khamees is a community activist and Pan-Africanist from Funtua, Katsina state of Nigeria.
Facebook: SaniKhamees@facebook.com
Twitter (X): @Khamees _sa54571

References
Campbell, H (2013). Global NATO and Catastrophic Failure in Libya: Lessons for Africa in the forging of African unity. New York, Monthly Review Press

Amin, S. (2004). The Liberal Virus: Permanent War and the Americanization of the World. Monthly Review Press. https://nyupress.org/9781583671078/the-liberal-virus/

(2014). 2014 Kano attack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kano_attack

Group, I. C. (2010). Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict. International Crisis Group. https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/wps/icg/0020843/index.html

Amin, S. (2004). The Liberal Virus: Permanent War and the Americanization of the World. Monthly Review Press. https://nyupress.org/9781583671078/the-liberal-virus/

(2020). 90% of Boko Haram’s victims are Muslims — Buhari. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/02/90-of-boko-harams-victims-are-muslims-buhari/

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