By Bashir Bello

Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has fully settled the outstanding tuition and accommodation fees of 84 Kano students stranded in Northern Cyprus, ending years of hardship, uncertainty, and international embarrassment.

The governor while presenting certificates to the students, confirmed that all debts owed to the Cyprus Near East University have been cleared.

In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature, on Thursday, they said the governor has also directed the students to be automatically employed in the state civil service.

According to the statement, “the affected students — initially sponsored under a foreign scholarship scheme introduced by former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso — were left in limbo after Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s administration discontinued funding for the programme.

“The move not only disrupted the students’ education but also subjected them to severe financial and emotional trauma, with some facing legal threats from their host institution at Near East University in Cyprus.

“For years, the students endured untold suffering: locked out of classrooms, evicted from accommodations, and ridiculed abroad as they battled to survive in a foreign land without support.

“The situation drew widespread criticism from human rights groups and diaspora communities who decried the politicization of education and the abandonment of vulnerable 84 citizens abroad.

“A total of two billion, two hundred and forty million (N2, 240, 000, 000) has been paid to secure the certificates of the students who have waited for over five years.

“This action paves the way for the candidates to receive their certificates and begin to pursue their careers.

“Among the beneficiaries were 28 medical students, other paramedical and engineering who graduated with MBBS, BSc./MSc Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Computer and Biomedical Sciences,” the statement, however, reads.

Vanguard News