By Mohammed Ndarani SAN
On Tuesday, the 10th of December, 2024, the National Universities Commission (NUC) via a letter issued by the Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr Chris Maiyaki, and addressed to the Executive Governor of Niger State, His Excellency, Alhaji Mohammed Bago, conveyed the approval of the Commission for the establishment of the Abdulsalami Abubakar University of Agriculture and Climate Action, Mokwa. With this approval, Abdulsalami Abubakar University of Agriculture and Climate Action has become the 65th State University and the 277th University in the Nigerian University System.
This feat is remarkable for many reasons. Five, however stand out. First, the establishment of this University speaks to the vibrant vision of the farmer Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Mohammed Umar Bago, for education. This University is not the first State-owned University in Niger State. Before it, the State already has the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai. Instituting the framework for another State-owned University, this time, a specialised one, speaks to the contemporaneous acuity of the Executive Governor of the State with the current challenging realities. What better and stronger way of projecting this preparation than by the enactment of the establishment law and the preparation of the relevant documents that contain the blueprint for the successful take-off of the University? As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world.”
Second, the establishment of this University will serve the additional purpose of reducing, considerably, the rate of unemployment in the State. This it will do by the creation of diverse opportunities. Apart from the direct employment opportunities are found in the administration, teaching and support services, there is also the indirect employment opportunities which will serve to mop up the unskilled labour that is often the focus of attention for terror recruitments.
In addition to these, the university, being a specialized university, will equip the students with marketable skills, especially in the area of climate action – a subject that is currently occupying the attention of the world. There is also the pull the university will exert in attracting businesses, especially in research and technology, with the additional advantage of serving as a hub that can foster innovation and entrepreneurship, often through research and startup incubators. It is expected that these and other untapped potentials will catalyse the economic growth and development of Mokwa in particular and Niger State in general and plant it firmly in the firmament of other notable university towns such as Cambridge, in Massachesetts, United States, which is home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oxford, United Kingdom which is home to University of Oxford, leuven, Belgium which is home to University of Leuven and Stellenbosch which is home to Stellenbosch University. There is also Stanford, in California, United States, which is home to Stanford University which feeds the tech-driven economy of California through the provision of the skills that fuel Silicon Valley.
Third, the establishment of a university of agriculture is very important in this age when food security has become a dire concern. Statistics around the globe paint a foreboding picture that leaves one in palpable tension. For instance, in Nigeria, it is reported that at least 26.5 million people suffered from food insecurity in 2024 as a result of the wildly unpredictable farming season and its frequent flash floods and long months of drought. Kenya also faced periodic food crises owing tit e prolonged droughts ad climate change with 4.4 million Kenyans found to be worst hit. The sad story continues around the continents with India in Asia being ranked 111 out of 125 on the Global Hunger Index, with 35.5% of children under five stunted and 19.3 wasted due to inadequate diets and poor health services. The story is the same in Europe and in the Americas with Ukraine and the United States facing food insecurity challenges. This information can be found in the databases of the World food programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group among other specialized agencies. It is expected that the Abdulsalami Abubakar University of Agriculture and Climate Action will contribute immensely in combatting food insecurity not only in Niger State, but in Nigeria too.
Fourth, and this is by no means the least, is the topical issue of climate change. His Excellency, Governor Bago, by procuring eggheads to ponder over this burning issue and to draw up a curriculum that incorporates it has executed a brilliant masterstroke, the first of its kind in the world. Climate change is a variable to consider in any discussion or project that involves enhancing agricultural productivity and, by extension, food security. Climate change affects agriculture through a number of factors such as increase in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns and increased evaporation due to higher temperatures which in turn affect irrigation and rainfed agriculture, extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and soil erosion, shift in growing zones, pest and disease outbreaks, heat stress on livestock and feed availability for livestock.
The overall effect of one of these or a combination of two or more of these have far-reaching consequences on agricultural productivity and, by extension, food security. It is expected that the new University will design methods of combating climate change and thereby mitigate its effect on agriculture. For instance, we expect the University to come up with research on methods of adopting climate-resilient crops, improving water management systems and promoting sustainable farming practices.
His Excellency, Farmer Governor Bago deserves a huge dose of commendation for this innovative, naming the university after an indigenous natives of Niger state, former president of Nigeria General Abdulsalam Abubakar and uncommon step he has taken in assisting humanity in this moment of climate change crises by contributing to the establishment of the University. It is expected that the University will fulfil the vision of its founding father and live up to its full potentials of being a world class giant in its own field of specialised knowledge.
Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed SAN, a famous lawyer, public affairs analyst and commentator, writes from Abuja.
