— Urges CBN to maintain the tradition of supporting institutions of learning

ABUJA — THE Emir of Kano, Mohammad Sanusi 11, on Tuesday, said that universities cannot function without the services of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU.

The Emir also told the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and other government institutions to maintain the tradition of equipping national institutions of higher learning with necessary facilities, which he started when he served as the CBN governor.

Speaking when he received SSANU leadership and members led by its President, Comrade Mohammed Haruka Ibrahim, on a courtesy in his palace, the first class monarch, who was once a member of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, said he took advantage of his university education background to give back to the sector.

He said if the CBN and other institutions of government continue with the trajectory of equipping universities and other institutions of higher learning, the complaints about a lack of facilities will become a thing of the past.

He said: I am happy to receive you. I was familiar with SSANU. I started my life as an academic and a member of ASUU, so the university cannot function without SSANU.

“So, somebody has to employ the teachers and pay their salaries and provide the facilities and the infrastructure and maintain the vehicles, and therefore, like everything else, it’s extremely important to recognize that the university is like a vehicle with many parts, and every part is important.

“If you take out one part, the vehicle will not move. And yes, it’s true. One of the things I’m most pleased about in my years in the Central Bank was perhaps because of my university background, I did take advantage of being there to see what I could do to support the universities across the country, federal and state.

“And it gives me great pleasure sometimes when I just run into a Vice Chancellor and he tells me, in my university, you did this and all that, and it’s a legacy, and I hope that the Central Bank and other institutions will continue with that tradition.

“Because the truth is, if year after year, institutions do that, this whole complaint about a lack of facilities will disappear. The institutions that make a surplus also are permitted to do it, whether it’s building outputs or building faculties or investing in technology, in centers of excellence, in laboratories.

“And I hope you will engage these institutions and encourage them, and engage the government, encourage them to to do this.

“I’m happy that you’re having this meeting in Kano. Kano has received so many of these national meetings in the last one year. I’m so glad, I’ve seen the National Association on Food and Technology. I’ve seen Nutrition Society. We have you, and it’s a testimony to the re-emergence of Kano as a bustling, vibrant city that’s peaceful and also an intellectual hub.”

Emir Sanusi advised the SSANU members to endeavor go patronise markets in the state and spend some of their money in order to contribute to the economy of Kano.

He also said he looked forward to receiving from the association any kind of indication of any way in which he could be of help.

Speaking earlier, the national President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim Haruka, recalled the contributions of the Emir to universities when he was the CBN governor.

Comrade Ibrahim said: “We have decided to come to palace after receiving positive reports, progressive reports about the peace and tranquility within this domain.”

He further said, “We have people from the east, from the west, from all parts of Nigeria. And testimonies are abound that your hands are clear and your work speaks in volumes about what you have done in developing education in Nigeria.

“And that is why we felt that we cannot come to Kano and do our meetings without coming to pay homage to you, to also seek the royal blessings from you.”

The SSANU President said the meeting will look at the educational development and the setbacks facing it, adding that it has been realized that “the kind of graduates that we produce naturally find it difficult to fit in when they leave the precincts of the universities.”