Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada
I was not happy when Northwest University Kano was renamed to Yusuf Maitama Sule University, as student leaders of that University then, we followed the interest of the students who were also not happy with the renaming at that time for one reason; the renaming was politically motivated, to hurt the founder of the institution Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. I was busy mobilising students to protest, the next day I was invited to the DSS for questions where I spent hours and all the people we were mobilising the protest together ran and dissociated themselves from it. I have no option but to plead with the DSS to release me, assuring them that not a single student would protest the government’s action.
The renaming has affected many students who are seeking admission abroad; it’s Northwest University on my transcript and Yusuf Maitama Sule University on my certificate. This is kinda confusing and not good at all.
Politicians should immortalise individuals in their new projects not existing ones. The renaming of the University of Abuja to Yakubu Gowon University is not good for the university’s alumni.
The President should have found a new project or built a new University by naming it after the former Head of State.
I don’t support the idea of playing politics by renaming our universities and this happens mostly in Nigeria.
Imagine waking up renaming the University of Maiduguri to Mohammed Goni University, Yobe State University to Ibrahim Geidam University, the University of Ibadan to Abiola Ajimobi University, the University of Lagos to Lateef Jakande University.
It will be bad for the alumni of the aforementioned universities to come across this.
Why is this only happening in Africa? Look at Makerere University in Uganda, it was established in 1920 but despite Yoweri Mosevenni’s long reign; he didn’t for once attempt to change it to even his name for selfish reasons.
He didn’t think of renaming the Entebbe International Airport after him but in Nigeria, we have this culture of renaming everything after individuals.
If you want to be immortalised, leave a lasting legacy as Gowon did in establishing NYSC. That enough is Okay and better than naming an institution after him.
President Tinubu should have renamed the University of Lagos after Gowon, not Abuja. I’m sure his people will reject this not for any reason but because of the large number of people that will be affected by it.
The University of Abuja Alumni were all crying over this painful decision.
