Connect with us

Opinion

Professor Gausu Ahmad: As Editor-Scholar Takes a Deserved Bow…

Published

2 years ago

on

Professor Gausu Ahmad

 

By Aliyu Abubakar

As a youth corps member in 2005, I was torn between two promising job prospects. One was the potential of getting hired to teach as a Graduate Assistant in the Mass Communications Department of Bayero University Kano, and two, the opportunity of plunging deep into the pool of journalism practice. While my dream has always been to be a journalist and hopefully reach the pinnacle of the noble pen-pushing profession, I was, sincerely speaking, more attracted to, and more passionate about staying back on campus to impart knowledge and also grow into an academic.

So, a few days after rounding off the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme at Local Government Secondary School, Ohiana, in Okene, Kogi State, I returned to Kano. Prior to my return, Malam Gausu Ahmad, the then Head of Department (HOD) at Mass Communications Department, BUK had written a letter on my behalf to the NYSC, requesting for my redeployment to BUK, so I could, in his very courteous words, “help with some workload in the Department.” He basically wanted me to start learning the ropes of lecturing. Sadly, the request fell on deaf ears!

I was however fixated on that big dream of landing a lecturing job, even when all pleas to get me redeployed to Kano returned negative. Having tried without success, Malam Gausu stepped in and acted like a true father and mentor that he has always been to us. He consoled and convinced me to stay back in Kogi, assuring that if the lecturing job was meant for me, I would definitely return and pick up the appointment. Therefore, in the spirit of accepting my fate, I deliberately opted for a teaching job at my place of primary assignment, despite the opportunity of practicing journalism at NTA or even Confluence FM, all in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. However, instead of going to the Federal College of Education, Okene or the young Kogi State University at Ayangba, I ended up at a local council secondary school in Okene.

All along my one year stay at Kogi, Malam Gausu was tracking my progress, assuring me that once I am done with the national service, things will work out. Shortly after rounding off the NYSC in February 2006, I went back to BUK to demonstrate my availability for the GA appointment at the Mass Communications Department. Co-incidentally, it happened that one fateful day, the Late Musa Umar Kazaure, Daily Trust’s then Kano Bureau Chief, came visiting at the department, principally to see his old friend, Malam Gausu Ahmad. One of the items on the plate then was Daily Trust’s traditional offer of automatic job placements to Mass Communications graduates, who were privileged to have “emerged top of their class.”

Malam Gausu immediately summoned me to his Office where I met the Late Musa Kazaure. After all the salutations, the HOD said: “Daily Trust Kano Bureau Chief is here. They want you in Abuja on Monday for an automatic job offer. What do you think of it? Are you interested?”, he asked. He then sent off the Late Kazaure and came back to me. Before I even responded, he interjected: “But what do we do with the Graduate Assistant job that you applied for, which, though could take some time to be finalised, could also materialise?” he quizzed, now appearing concerned. I didn’t hesitate in my response. “HOD Sir, I love journalism, but lecturing is all I want to do Sir,” I said.

It was obvious Malam Gausu was not convinced with my answer. Therefore, he further inquired if I wanted an honest advice or I was just keen on hearing what would make me happy. He then said: “Young man, go and learn the trade. We can always invite you once the University’s Appointments & Promotions Committee (A&PC) has scheduled a date for the possible ratification of your Departmental Graduate Assistant Interview,” the HOD explained. Justifying further, he said by the time I am back from Daily Trust, the invaluable experience gained would have brightened my chances as added advantage for the GA job.

That advice by Malam Gausu, though discomforting at that time, turned out to be apt and crucial. Just like he suggested, I went to Daily Trust and learnt the little I learnt from journalism practice. Though I did not end up in the academia, like both of us badly wanted, Malam Gausu was instrumental in my decision to head to Daily Trust for some requisite experience. Fortunately, it is one counsel I always thank God I accepted, as it has opened up new vistas in my personal and work lives. Everyone who knows me knows how I relish talking about my early development at Daily Trust and how it has helped to shape my career as a Public Relations practitioner later in life. It was all down to Malam’ Gausu’s counsel.

Advert

Malam Gausu is not just about counselling or mentorship. Back in the days at BUK, he was, and arguably still, the father of print journalism in Mass Communications Department. Once you go into his lectures, you could tell that he was super proud and passionate about the journalism profession, especially the print aspect. His Newspaper Production, Features Writing and Critical Issues in Mass Communications classes were full of delight for students. Alongside the Late Abubakar Jika and Malam Haruna Ismail, they have helped nurtured a crop of budding campus journalists who fell in love with the art of writing. The trio demystified the intricacies and complexities of getting published in leading national newspapers and magazines. Despite the emerging threat of new media, some of us are still in love with print journalism, all because of people like Malam Gausu.

In the 2002/03 academic session, the 400 Level Mass Communications class was dichotomised based on the Print and Broadcast specialisations. While the Broadcast Class took five over six (5/6) of the entire class, the Print Class (which I belonged to) was left with about 15-18 students, just about one over six (1/6) of the entire class population. During his first appearance in the class for the Newspaper Production (MAC 4235) lecture, Malam was visibly elated. This is because he was going to have fewer students to attend to, and, in his words, “to sufficiently analyse, debate, challenge, discuss and dissect newspapers and how they get to the news stands.”

Malam Gausu obviously wanted our print class sessions to be a replica of the newsrooms he experienced at the New Nigerian in Kaduna or Concord Newspapers in Lagos. If he is not picking holes in some wayward, sensational headline casting, he is lamenting about why a particular issue, as topical as it was then, would be buried deep into the latter pages of a newspaper. Also, if he is not highlighting a story angle for someone to write something on, he is helping us book an interview with some of the newsmakers on the campus. The point here is Malam Gausu understand the nuances and politics of print journalism in and out. He has practiced it, he has taught it to students and he has embodied all the good virtues exemplified by the noble profession. Indeed, we have been very lucky to have benefited from his fountain of knowledge.

Malam Gausu is a man of faith, indeed a very spiritual person. When he took over as HOD, the Department was ‘bedevilled’ by some, often times man-made misfortunes, ranging from poor compilation of results to other administrative bottlenecks. Within that “period of plague”, Malam Gausu invited some Alarammomi (people who have committed the Holy Qur’an by heart) from within the Department. They met and repeatedly recited the Holy book, invoking the Almighty Allah to salvage the situation. This of course was complimented by his workaholic efforts to bring about positive change and redeem the Department’s image within the then Faculty of Arts & Islamic Studies (FAIS).

In 2002, I had the rare honour and privilege of participating in an Inter-Faculty Musabaqa (Quranic Memorisation Competition), organised by the then Munir Dahiru-led Student Union Government (SUG) of BUK. When I was announced as the winner of the 10 Hizb category and the news got to Malam Gausu, he celebrated as if I had won the International Qur’anic Contest for Nigeria in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He called me to his office, held the Certificate and prayed on it. He also promised to inform the then Dean of FAIS (Dr. Mukhtar Abdulkadir? I can’t remember) about the “remarkable success.” When Ibrahim Siraj Adhama, a student of the Department, (now a PhD and a Lecturer at the Department), mesmerized the whole world in 2002 to clinch the year’s International Qur’anic Contest in Saudi Arabia, Malam Gausu quietly led the celebrations. His support was also pivotal in ensuring that the Alaramma graduated well within the required time schedule. Malam doesn’t hide his love for Ahlul Qur’an.

Though highly principled, Malam Gausu is also very humble and unassuming. He is jovial and loves cracking jokes too. As MACOSA President in 2003, I appointed well over ten Special Advisers. Malam Gausu, who was to sign on their “certificates of meritorious service” felt the list of our appointees was too long. So, he called me into his Office and queried. “Why do you have to appoint plenty advisers, Mr. President?” I admitted that for some of them, they merit it, while for others, it was purely for reasons of inclusion and for some, it was to bring the opposition much closer. I also said that the appointments had no extra cost on MACOSA’s finances. Malam Gausu suddenly gave me a stern look, and said, “You sounded like General IBB, who would appoint everyone perceived as his critic into his Government! Good luck to you as you neutralise them all.” We all burst into laughter, and then Malam took his time to sign all the certificates.

Malam Gausu transfered his services to the academia in the early years of the new millennium, bringing about his vast journalism experience into the ivory towers. As beneficiaries of such experience, we could tell that Malam Gausu (now leaving as Professor Gausu) has paid his dues. I hear people talk of Professors Umaru Pate and Abdalla Uba Adamu as pioneers behind the unbundling of Mass Communications from one huge Department into a full-fledged Faculty of Communications. That is not contestable. But as he takes his well-deserved leave after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years, even the two erudite Professors would attest to the legendary role played by the Zaria-born Professor Gausu Ahmad in laying the foundation which perfectly blended the town and gown together towards the emergence of a new community of communications scholars at the BUK.

Congratulations Prof! Allah Ya Sanya albarka. Allah Ya sa a gama lafiya.

Aliyu Abubakar lives in Abuja.

Related Topics:

Opinion

Kano Governor Yusuf Shortlisted for Africa’s SANKOFA Award of Excellence in Infrastructural Development

Published

6 hours ago

on

July 25, 2026

By

 

By Abba Anwar

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf makes a list of potential Awardees across West African sub-region, observed and screened by an African association named Réseau des Jeunes du Sahel pour le Progrès, le Développement et la Démocratie (Network of Sahel Youth for Progress, Development and Democracy), on infrastructural development in their respective states.

The top most Award from the association, called Sankofa Award of Excellence across various sectors, is given to people or leaders who excel in their respective areas of work or responsibilities.

With the recent disclosure made by the Commissioner of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Nura Ma’aji Sumaila, on the state of infrastructural development and payments of contracts in the state, the association included Kano to be part of the states across Nigeria and West African countries, screened for an Award of Excellence.

Source close to the association reveals that, Governor Yusuf’s achievements in the area of infrastructural development, could not be neglected and the Governor stands a better position to be seen and amplified across the globe. As a result of his commitment and service to humanity.

Parts of the major reasons that informed the association’s decision to include Governor Yusuf for Sankofa Award of Excellence for Infrastructural Development in West Africa is his genuine inclusion of infrastructures that are human centred, modern, location specified and standardization process and procedures.

According to the source, the Screening Committee saddled with the responsibility of selecting qualified personalities across West Africa are in their final stage of releasing the result. Assuring that, under infrastructural development, Kano excels. Though not officially announced.

Advert

When Governor Yusuf gets this Award, he will be the second person from Nigeria who bags the Award. Last year the Deputy Senate President Barau I Jibrin, PhD, CFR, got the SANKOFA Award for Legislative Excellence in Africa. Coincidentally, Governor Yusuf who is also from Kano state, would be the second Nigerian in this category.

The President of the association Mr Fassoko Doumbia, from Mali, confirmed to my source that, from all indication, “Kano State Governor, from Nigeria, Mr Abba Kabir Yusuf is in the forefront of those screened for the Award.”

With this recognition of excellence, the Award places Governor Yusuf to be one of the best Nigerian governors. And the best across West Africa on infrastructural development. One good thing about the Award is, it will as well serve as an engine oil for state commitment and unwavering service delivery.

Mr Doumbia reveals further that “… it is amazing looking at the unmatched number of completed and ongoing projects as Kano has 799 completed projects and 709 projects at various stages of completion. It is encouraging to see that Governor Yusuf is executing over 1,508 developmental projects across all 44 LGAs.”

What keeps hope and commitment alive are the transparent monitoring, evaluation and effective payment to contractors. Of which out of N928 Billion of the total contract sum, the state has already paid over N600 Billion, that’s 64.7% payment rate.
Unlike in many states in Nigeria and West Africa. The association believes that Kano institutionalized transparency through the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation.

The screening committee appreciated Kano’s strategic and balanced infrastructure spread, between urban and rural areas plus improved security. For urban renewal it has the sum of N169 Billion. While there are 5km roads in 38 LGAs with the sum of N118 Billion. They appreciated the rural infrastructure across 44 LGAs with the sum of N397 Billion for roads, education, healthcare, and social services.

While under security infrastructure the total sum of N6.863 Billion for Neighborhood Security Watch offices in 36 LGAs. This assured deliberate, balanced development with value for money, quality delivery, and measurable impact on the lives of the people. All courtesy Governor Yusuf.

It serves also as indices of how Governor Yusuf makes the list for such Award, that his infrastructures are signals for the delivery of landmark, human-centered projects as Kano completed tangible projects that directly improve lives of the citizenry, with 40 metropolitan roads, 44 PHCs, 120 schools, 5 water plants, with the ongoing Dan Agundi and Tal’udu flyovers at over 80% completion.

It has also been discovered that, Kano enjoys proven technical leadership and political will. Which glaringly displays the political will and technical competence required to drive massive infrastructure without corruption or delays. This is part of the major engagements being identified, which eventually resulted into the popular Sankofa Award of Excellence.

Anwar writes from Kano
Saturday, 25th July, 2026

Continue Reading

Opinion

Beyond the Numbers: What the Ekiti 2026 Governorship Results Reveal About Coalition Politics and Path to 2027

Published

5 days ago

on

July 20, 2026

By

 

By Abass Sherifat Taiwo

Returning Officer Adenike Oladiji, a professor and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, announced the results in the early hours of Sunday, at roughly 3:13 a.m. Incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the APC won comfortably, polling 319,224 votes across the state’s 16 local government areas. His closest challenger, the PDP’s Oluwole Oluyede, trailed far behind with 40,543 votes, while the ADC’s Dare Bejide came in third with 12,872 votes.

Of the 384,940 voters accredited for the election, 375,777 cast valid votes, a validity rate of about 97.6%, suggesting relatively few spoiled or rejected ballots.

Oyebanji’s win carries added weight as the first consecutive re-election in Ekiti’s history, a state known for unseating incumbents since 1999. His dominance was also total: he won all sixteen LGAs, and even his closest contest, in Ikere, was still a comfortable margin. His five strongest councils alone delivered nearly half his statewide votes, showing concentrated rather than thin support.

Elite alignment mattered too. For the first time, every living former Ekiti governor backed his re-election, leaving the opposition without any prominent defectors to rally behind. This unified backing functioned as a coordinated endorsement strategy, a visible signal of consensus that opposition parties had no comparable message to counter.

Between the opposition parties, PDP’s showing is more telling than ADC’s. ADC placing third as a newer platform isn’t surprising, but PDP, a long-established national party, barely crossed 3,000 votes in most councils, pointing to weak grassroots structure rather than just a bad cycle. The deeper question is whether this reflects a structural failure or a failure to sustain visibility and message presence at the ward level between election cycles.

Party | Votes | % of Valid Votes
APC | 319,224 | 84.95%
PDP | 40,543 | 10.79%
ADC | 12,872 | 3.43%
ADP | ~1,289 | 0.34%
Accord | 564 | 0.15%
LP | ~263 | 0.07%
AAC | ~188 | 0.05%

When the vote totals of every opposition party are combined, they amount to roughly 55,719 votes, or about 14.83% of all valid votes cast, a stark contrast to the APC’s dominant 84.95% share on its own. Even in a hypothetical scenario where every opposition party ran on a single, fully united ticket, their combined total would still fall short of the APC’s by approximately 263,505 votes. This gap illustrates just how commanding Oyebanji’s victory was: it was not simply a matter of a divided opposition splitting votes among several parties, but a result that would have withstood even total opposition unity.

Advert

Following the Ekiti result, APC framed it as proof of growing national support ahead of 2027, pointing to the rise in its vote totals in the state from about 187,000 in 2022 to roughly 318,000 in 2026, and projecting even higher numbers for Tinubu in 2027. Opposition parties, including the ADC and SDP, pushed back, arguing that Ekiti’s off-cycle, low-turnout nature makes it a poor predictor of a national contest.

Both claims need scrutiny. APC’s growth trend is real, but it happened in a state the party already governs, where incumbency and federal attention worked in its favour, so it says more about consolidating an existing stronghold than expanding into contested territory. The opposition’s caution is fair, but understates that APC’s structural advantages, incumbency and federal resources, aren’t unique to Ekiti and could repeat elsewhere. The more accurate takeaway is that Ekiti confirms APC’s strength where it already holds power, without proving it can replicate that in genuinely competitive states by 2027.

ADC’s third-place finish in Ekiti, just 3.43% of the vote, looks unremarkable on its own, but it only makes sense next to the party’s national story. A year earlier, ADC had positioned itself as the face of a new opposition coalition, pulling in heavyweight names like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi with the promise of a unified front against the APC. That promise hasn’t held: Obi and Kwankwaso have since defected to a rival platform, the NDC, while ADC battles leadership disputes and court cases that put its own 2027 participation in doubt.

That is the real lesson here for coalition politics as a communication problem, not just a structural one. ADC did not fail for lack of big names, it had plenty. What it could not do was hold one coherent message together once multiple egos and regional bases began pulling in different directions. Whether it can still become the platform it promised by 2027 is uncertain, but Ekiti is an early sign of a bigger unraveling.

Beyond Ekiti, the result speaks to a deeper pattern in Nigerian opposition politics: alliances are far easier to announce than to sustain. This suggests APC’s greatest advantage going into the next general election may not be its own performance, but the opposition’s continued inability to stay united. The near-total validity rate and one-sided outcome in Ekiti also raise questions about how genuinely competitive Nigeria’s state elections currently are, and whether low-turnout, off-cycle polls like this one can reliably signal national voter sentiment.

The Ekiti result is less a story about Oyebanji’s popularity alone than about the opposition’s structural fragility. Even a fully united opposition ticket would not have closed the gap, which means the problem isn’t vote-splitting, it’s organisational weakness, unstable coalitions, and the absence of a party capable of matching APC’s machinery and incumbency advantages. What Nigeria’s opposition needs before 2027 isn’t just structural unity, but a coherent, disciplined communication strategy capable of sustaining one message across factions, something no coalition has yet demonstrated. Until Nigeria’s opposition can build a coalition that survives contact with real electoral pressure, results like Ekiti’s are likely to repeat themselves in APC strongholds heading into 2027.

By Abass Sherifat Taiwo
Department of Development and Strategic communication University of Abuja
200level

Continue Reading

Opinion

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf Has Earned a Vote of Confidence on Education

Published

7 days ago

on

July 19, 2026

By

 

By Hon. Muhammad Sanusi S. Kiru, FCIA
(Former Commissioner of Education, Kano State)

There comes a time in public discourse when fairness must prevail over partisanship and facts must take precedence over preconceived opinions. That moment has come in my assessment of the educational reforms being implemented by the administration of His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

As a former Commissioner of Education and someone who has consistently evaluated government performance with candour, I owe the people of Kano State an honest appraisal of the Governor’s performance in the education sector. After objectively reviewing the administration’s interventions from 2024 to 2026, particularly its determined efforts to address the acute shortage of teachers, I have reached an inescapable conclusion: Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf deserves a vote of confidence for his outstanding commitment to the development of education in Kano State.

One of the greatest challenges confronting our educational system has been the persistent shortage of teachers, resulting in unfavourable teacher-pupil and teacher-student ratios across many public schools. This problem has adversely affected the quality of teaching and learning for many years.

The present administration has confronted this challenge with courage and determination. Between 2024 and 2026, the government recruited or absorbed 8,715 permanent teachers and engaged 3,688 temporary BESDA Cohort V teachers, bringing the documented total to 12,403 education personnel. With recruitments by other education agencies, the overall figure is widely estimated at approximately 13,000 teachers.

Advert

This represents one of the largest teacher recruitment exercises in the history of Kano State. More importantly, it is a strategic investment in the future of our children and in the long-term development of the state. By substantially reducing the teacher deficit, the administration has strengthened both the basic and post-basic education subsectors and created a stronger foundation for improved educational outcomes. The new recruitment not only means making our classrooms more vibrant and ensuring that teaching is consistently taking place, but it also signifies a positive shift in the narrative reflected in monitoring reports, the annual school census, and national personnel data.

Looking at the tangible achievements now before us, particularly in education, it is clear that the administration has made significant and commendable progress. Leadership should always be judged by measurable accomplishments, and in this regard, the Governor has acquitted himself admirably.

One area where the administration must, however, improve is public communication. Many of its remarkable achievements have not received the publicity they deserve. A well-coordinated and effective publicity strategy would ensure that citizens fully appreciate the scope and impact of these landmark interventions.

As His Excellency prepares to personally attend the special ceremony for the presentation of appointment letters to the newly employed teachers on Tuesday, 21st July 2026, I consider it appropriate to congratulate him on this historic milestone. The ceremony is more than a presentation of appointment letters; it is a celebration of renewed hope for thousands of families, a reaffirmation of government’s commitment to quality education, and a significant step towards building a stronger educational system for future generations.

I wish His Excellency a successful and hitch-free ceremony and pray that Almighty Allah grants him wisdom, good health, and continued strength to sustain the ongoing transformation of the education sector. May this programme mark the beginning of even greater achievements in the quest to provide every child in Kano State with access to quality education delivered by competent and dedicated teachers.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf deserves sincere commendation for these giant strides. If this policy of continuous recruitment and investment in teachers is sustained, it will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the defining legacies of his administration. Future generations will look back on this period as a turning point in the educational history of Kano State.

I therefore extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency and offer him a well-deserved vote of confidence. I also wish him every success as he formally presents appointment letters to these newly recruited teachers on Tuesday. May the occasion be memorable, successful, and another milestone in the march towards educational excellence in Kano State.

Continue Reading

Trending