The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maryam Abacha

  • Abacha’s loot laughs at Maryam’s lies

    Abacha’s loot laughs at Maryam’s lies

    • By Ray Ekan

    A former First Lady of Nigeria and wife of Nigeria’s most autocratic ruler, Maryam Abacha is trying to generate a controversy about her husband, General Sani Abacha. In a recent interview she said that her husband who ruled Nigeria from November 17, 1993 to June 8, 1998 never stole public funds but rather saved money for the country. She also claimed that this money he allegedly saved for the country mysteriously vanished after his death in 1998. She went further and “berated Nigerians for believing that her husband stole public funds and that it is because Nigerians are fools, that is why they listen to everything.”

    Her feeble effort at the deodorization of her corrupt husband’s reputation has failed woefully because there is a huge incriminating evidence everywhere against him and there is no iota of exculpating evidence for him anywhere. If there is any evidence that exculpates him, she should do him, her family and herself a favour by producing it. It is that evidence that can confirm that Nigerians are fools by believing that her husband stole in a big way, Nigeria’s public funds. If she does not produce that evidence then her speech amounts to a mere vomit.

    Here is the evidence of her husband’s massive thievery of Nigeria’s public funds. On July 23, 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar who took over the government after Abacha’s death had taken the decision, based on credible intelligence, to set up a special investigation panel to unravel the looting that took place under Abacha’s regime. The panel was headed by Peter Gana, a Deputy Commissioner of Police who was the head of the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). A report was produced in November 1998 by the investigating panel that incriminated Abacha especially with his illegal collection of huge funds in cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the pretext of tackling insecurity. Assets and cash were seized from the Abacha family by the Abubakar government which had issued the Forfeiture of Assets Etc. (certain persons) Decree No. 53 of May 26, 1999. Where was Maryam Abacha when this happened?

    Secondly, when Olusegun Obasanjo took over as president in 1999, the government hired, based on credible intelligence, a Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini, who apparently knew a lot about the Abacha loot. He had published an article in a book titled “Recovering Stolen Assets.” His article was titled “The Abacha Case.” In January 2021, he also told the BBC in detail how the billions were stolen out of the CBN and deposited in various countries. The lawyer worked with the Special Investigation Panel in Nigeria and the Swiss Attorney General who ordered all Swiss banks to provide evidence of the existence of any accounts opened under Abacha’s name and family. The evidence produced by the Swiss banks was overwhelming. This led to the discovery of similar bank accounts in the United Kingdom, United States, France and Liechtenstein etc. So where was Maryam Abacha when all of this was going on?

    Thirdly, Transparency International and other credible organisations have declared for many years now that what Abacha stole is about $5 billion. So far, what has been collected for some years now by the various governments of Nigeria up to year 2022 is $3.65 billion. So where has Maryam Abacha been when these monies were collected?

    Fourthly, in 2008 the amount found in the Abacha family’s Swiss account was reported to be $508 million. Was that an inheritance from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man to the Abacha family? Or did the Abacha family suddenly discover a diamond mine in their backyard that only they knew about?

    Read Also: E-visa system processes over 14,000 applications in six weeks, says minister

    Fifthly, even as recently as November 2023, the Bola Tinubu government received $150 million of the Abacha loot from France. Where was Maryam Abacha when this loot was recovered and returned to Nigeria?

    The search for the recovery of the rest of the loot from various countries has continued. The country needs every dollar that was stolen from its treasury by the dictator with dark glasses. People may ask why it was very easy for such huge sums of money to be taken away without Nigerians generally or those who kept custody of the funds specifically asking questions. The answer is that many Nigerians are cowards and would not dare say No to a dictator who had made several Nigerians, prominent and not so prominent, to disappear without trace. They were afraid for their lives. Also, it is possible that they, the keepers of these funds, may have compromised themselves and did not therefore feel courageous enough to query the request for huge funds, in cash, from the dictator.

    Additionally, the funds were requested generally for the purpose of tackling insecurity in the country. Even though there were demonstrations and riots that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections, there was no overwhelming security challenge in those days; not anything near to what we have today. But in Nigeria, security has often been used by decision makers at the centre and the states to cart away huge sums of money that are never accounted for. Nigerians have not been able to make their leaders to account for the expenditure of security funds because the impression is given or gained that security is a top secret matter that must not, cannot, ought not to be, revealed to the public. This position is an affront to the idea of accountability and transparency in a democracy.

    Corruption is generally forbidden in all jurisdictions including Nigeria. There is no country in the world that gives a standing ovation to corrupt people. All countries impose various degrees of punishment on people convicted of corruption. In China it is death. In other countries including Nigeria, it is imprisonment.

    But even if Nigerians were aware of Abacha’s loot while he was the Head of State, what could they have done to a dictator who was the personification of ruthlessness? Nothing. But even in other settings, Nigerians have shown less than serious commitment to the eradication of corruption in Nigeria. There was a retired governor of one of the states who was being tried somewhere in Nigeria. At the court premises, a huge crowd of placard-carrying people, obviously hired, surfaced. Their placards urged the court to leave their “patriot” alone. Then the man travelled out of the country. He was arrested in that foreign country and taken to another country. There he was tried, convicted and jailed. What Nigeria failed to do because of the complicity or lack of commitment of its people and institutions, another country did it for us. Even though corruption is strictly forbidden in our laws, it is tempting to be corrupt because forbidden fruits apparently taste sweetest. Ask Adam.

     It is also appropriate to say that Nigerians did not seriously try to challenge the various military governments in Nigeria on corruption. That is why corruption ballooned during the days of military rule in Nigeria. In 2008, General Muhammadu Buhari said at the 10th anniversary of Abacha’s death that Abacha was not a thief. It was obvious that he was not sincere but was simply playing politics because even by that date, Nigeria had already started collecting in bits and pieces part of the Abacha loot. And when he became president, he collected part of it too and said nothing to contradict himself on Abacha’s integrity. That is hypocrisy.

    Mrs Abacha shouldn’t have said anything about her husband’s integrity or lack of it. She should have kept silent. Her silence would have been golden, more golden than her recent vomit.

  • Maryam Abacha’s lie

    Maryam Abacha’s lie

    • A widow’s failed attempt to whitewash her husband’s image and rewrite history

    For a taciturn person like Maryam Abacha, the country should be all ears whenever she opens her mouth. That was why many people did not take it kindly when the widow of Nigeria’s former despot, General Sani Abacha, bared her mind on certain issues on the country’s past, in a rate interview she granted Television Continental (TVC) on June 9. Gen. Abacha died on June 8, 1998.

    Mrs Abacha, rather than seize the golden opportunity of the interview to atone for the sins of her husband, chose, sadly, to rise in stout defence of some of his actions and policies.

    The former first lady spoke on sundry issues, including security, the June 12 election and the money her husband stole when he was head of state, better known as Abacha loot. I deliberately said the money Sani Abacha stole (and not allegedly stole as Maryam would have preferred, to rub it in) because that was (and still is) Sani Abacha in the eyes of millions of Nigerians.

    It is an understatement that Mrs Abacha’s comments in that interview got many Nigerians angry.  They said she had such guts to say what she said because she is in a country where corruption is treated with kid gloves. That she could not have had such privilege in a country where their entire family would have been wiped out for the fraud perpetrated by their patriarch!

    Coming from people who ordinarily would have been touting rule of law and due process in the circumstance had the matter concerned somebody else, shows the level of their anger and frustration with the former first lady’s comments.

    But that is Nigeria for you. We often determine the quality of a message through the messenger. Many of us tune off as soon as we see that the message is coming from a messenger whose face we do not like.

    But, it shouldn’t be so.

    Unfortunately, that was my position too until Wednesday when I decided to make the Abachas my topic for today. “Oro wo lo wa lenu asegita, to ni ki Oyinbo pade oun lagogo mejo owuro kutu hai”? (What would make a wood seller request for an early morning appointment with a White man?) What would the wife of a man who was hated with a passion by Nigerians, and for good reasons, say on the issues under discussion? Who else would she have sided with if not her late husband? Moreso now that the husband is no longer in a position to defend himself.

    I had to drop off the bus of Nigerians who like throwing away the baby with the bath water because it is not usually helpful.

    So, what were Maryam Abacha’s views on each of these issues?

    First security. Or insecurity, on which the former first lady spoke tongue-in-cheek! On the one hand, she commended the armed forces for their efforts and, on the other hand, wondered why we have not been able to bring insurgency down to its knees. But that was after rubbing it in that there was nothing like that in her husband’s time. Hear Maryam: “You are not even talking about the security of the country. I’m (sic) just a wife in the house. Yes, I’m (sic) close to him as his wife. But was there any insurgency during his time? No, there was none. He was able to tackle… Liberia, he went there and corrected things and Nigeria was at peace”.

    She didn’t stop there: “There are other countries, apart from Nigeria, that have insurgents and they have tackled them. And I don’t know what is the matter with Nigeria until now, that we still have insurgents…

    “And we have the government. We have the government from the top to the states, to the local governments and so on. So I don’t know how come these things have stayed so long and they have not been really tackled.”

    Mrs Abacha acknowledged that we have all it takes to deal with insurgency:

    “We have neighbours that have really tackled it. And they are smaller countries. And we are bigger. We are richer. We are more experienced.

    “I believe in our military. I believe in our army. I believe in the armed forces and I think they can do better if they wish to do so. And I pray that they do.”

    On this score, even though the former first lady tried to engage in some delicate balancing by saying “Now look at what we are in. I cannot say governments have failed. They have not really failed. No government can fail,”, the government should not fail to get her message on insecurity.

    As a matter of fact, she merely echoed what many people have said. Insurgency is still with us (apparently) because some influential people are making money from it. This is aside the elites that are also using it for political purposes.

    So, government must do more in this regard.

    Now, to the June 12 election.

    Apparently referring to the claim by former self-styled president, General Ibrahim Babangida, in his book,

    “A Journey in Service”, released in February, that Gen. Abacha was largely responsible for the cancellation of the election, Mrs Abacha rose in stout defence of her husband.

    It was a rare opportunity for the former first lady to give it back to her husband’s boss. The presidential election was won by Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

    We must admit that Maryam was making some sense when she wondered how her husband who was not the head of state at the time could have made such an important decision.

    Hear her: “I’m not here to talk about Babangida or anybody. I don’t want to talk about anything or anybody. All I know is that that annulment was not done by my husband, and then if it was him, then that means he was very powerful.

    “He was even more powerful than the president, and if the president is there and somebody else is calling the shots, then that means Abacha was the greatest.”

    Read Also: After daughter’s wedding, Maryam Abacha celebrates again

    I stand with Maryam on this, too. Babangida, from many accounts of him in the public domain is not the kind of general that would take bullet with his buttocks. True generals face, not back, bullets. How could such a man say someone else was calling the shots on a matter as crucial as annulling the freest and fairest election in the annals of the country? Something does not add up here.

    Definitely, if Abacha was the one calling the shots on Babangida’s transition programme, and was in fact responsible for the annulment of the election, then Abacha must have succeeded because his wish aligned with that of Babangida whose body language on the entire transition programme indicated he was himself not ready to go as agreed and announced by his government.

    Now to the main menu: the Abacha loot, stupid!

    It was on this aspect that I find Maryam’s comment most ridiculous and distasteful. Even then, as in the other issues, she is entitled to her opinion. This is much more so when her late husband was the ‘thief-in-chief’.

    She said, “Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed? Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad? And the monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months the monies vanished. People are not talking about that. Why are you blaming somebody? Is that tribalism or a religious problem, or what is the problem with Nigerians?

    “So where would he have stolen the money from? Where would he have stolen the money from?  Because Nigerians are fools, they listen to everything”, she added. Let Maryam listen to herself. Where do even lesser  people stealing public funds stealing it from?

    It was at the juncture where Maryam said her late husband kept some money for Nigeria but which disappeared in a few months that rekindled my interest on this aspect. Much of what we were told and which, in our “foolishness” we believed, was stashed abroad by Gen. Abacha.

    Barkin Zuwo who governed Kano State for only three months, from October 1, 1979 to December 31, 1979, kept N3.4m  (that is about N5.4 billion at today’s exchange rate and N952m at about N128 to a dollar then). We are talking of the equivalent of about 225 BRAND NEW (emphasis mine) Peugeot 505 GL at 15,000 apiece!. That was what a governor kept in the state government house and when the soldiers who sacked their government on New Year’s Eve in 1983 asked him why he kept such a huge amount out of the bank, he merely told them that he did nothing wrong. “Government money in government house, what’s wrong with that?”, he rhetorically asked.

    The point I am trying to make is that whatever Barkin Zuwo’s intention, what was found on him was found here at home.

    All the foolish questions about where Gen. Abacha could have got the money that he stole from were misdirected. Maryam should have asked her husband where they got all the private luxury they enjoyed and are probably still enjoying. Or, better still, ask today’s public officials who also have itchy palms to bail her out.

    Where has Maryam Abacha been all this while that Nigeria has been collecting money stashed abroad by her husband and his cronies? At least over $5bn of such monies had been recovered as at 2023. That is for the known.

    True, a wife properly so-called should try as much as possible to defend her husband, and vice versa. But even then, there should be limits. Maryam Abacha should indeed apologise to us (Nigerians) that she has called fools for believing that her husband was a ‘Grade A’ thief.

    It was not because he was smart that we didn’t focus on his thieving when he was around; it was because some other issues eclipsed that aspect of his life, especially after he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan’s interim national government (ING) and made himself head of state. The way he ruled repressively, especially in the aftermath of the annulment of the June 12 election engaged our attention more than anything else.

    Gen. Abacha had his stars to thank that somebody like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was no longer around in his time. Fela would have put it to him that ‘e be thief’; ‘he be rogue’; ‘he be robber’ and in fact, that ‘he be ‘armu robber’ (armed robber’). And there was nothing he could have done. The General Obasanjo’s of this world know that for sure.

    If Mrs Abacha had said her husband was not the only thief, I am sure many Nigerians can live with that. If she had said some other people had re-looted some of the money recovered from her husband, many of us can still stomach that.

    But to say her husband was not a thief; I believe General Abacha himself must be struggling wherever he is to correct his darling wife that that  impression is not only far from the truth; it is blatant falsehood; and go ahead to apologise to Nigerians for the misinformation.

  • Maryam Abacha’s amnesia

    Maryam Abacha’s amnesia

    • By Kene Obiezu

    Sir: History may appear meek and malleable, but the ferocity with which it singes the fingers of those who attempt to rewrite it is often enough to deter the most spurious of scribes.

    The privileged wife of a long-deceased dictator, one who perhaps was Nigeria’s most brutal, sitting regally in her seating room, well-appointed no doubt with Nigeria’s money, on national television, 27 years after his death, to accuse Nigerians of lying, tribalism and religious bigotry over well-founded claims that her husband, Sani Abacha, looted public funds while he was president, and stashed his loot in offshore accounts all over the world, is most tragic..

    She asks for evidence that her husband stole money, for signature. Furthermore, she alleges that the money her husband left for Nigeria vanished without a trace and says she is praying for Nigerians that they may have goodness in their hearts.

    If she had any modicum of conscience and not condescension for the country and citizens that her husband treated with such murderous indignity, Maryam Abacha would have used the window of the interview to beg Nigerians for forgiveness. Instead, she felt it was a rare opportunity to put Nigerians in their place for falsely accusing her husband of stealing the country blind.

    Indeed, whenever Nigerians who notoriously let things slide easily look like they will forget about Abacha, his loot, somewhere across the world will cry out to Nigerian skies for recovery, unleashing an avalanche of accusations and acrimony. Such is his legacy. Such is the stain to his name that his family must now bear.

    Read Also: NASS to Tinubu: Make State of Nation Address to Nigerians from parliament yearly

    The money recovered as part of the Abacha loot may have been re-looted by notoriously corrupt Nigerian public officers, but it cannot detract from the heist the late dictator perpetrated against Nigeria.

    So, Mrs. Abacha should spare Nigerians her sanctimonious sermons or self-serving prayers about having goodness in their hearts. Nigerians already have goodness in their hearts. This goodness is reflected in the fact that they have largely restrained themselves from speaking ill of the dead in discussing her late husband, despite the unaccountable iniquities he initiated or tolerated after he seized power through a military coup. That is goodness enough. That Nigerians have not called for the prosecution or ostracisation of members of his family for his deeds is further evidence of the goodness of their hearts, which goodness he doesn’t deserve.

    No, Nigerians are no fools. They have never been. Despite their grit and grace in the face of profound national challenges, and their ability to let things slide, they are no amnesiacs. They remember those who have ruined their country, and they will pass their names to posterity.

    •Kene Obiezu,

    keneobiezu@gmail.com

  • Hospital conducts free surgeries on 200 VVF patients in Sokoto

    Dr Bello Lawal, the Chief Medical Director, Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital, Sokoto, says the hospital offered free specialized surgeries to 200 Vestico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients from January till date.

    Lawal said on Thursday in Sokoto, that 227 VVF patients were treated, out of which, 200 underwent t surgeries.

    According to Lawal, “prolonged labour during child birth remained the source of VVF and not early marriage as being misconstrued by many people.”

    He said in spite of efforts by governments, donor agencies and organisations on treatment of VVF patients, a high percentage of patients remained untreated.

    He said the hospital, which had served as VVF centre for the past 21 years, offered routine fistula surgeries weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

    Lawal said after treatment, patients were referred to the skill empowerment training centre, also within the hospital, to learn a vocation before integrating into their respective communities.

    Read Also: NGO solicits improved awareness on women’s health

    He said that the Sokoto State Government ensured disbursement of monthly financial subvention to the hospital, which enabled the hospital to  sustain the programmes.

    The chief medical director added that the state government also upgraded the theater, “making it among the few best fistula theaters in the country.’’

    He said that discussion was in progress with University Hospital London to use the center as world fistula and related training center.

    He expressed optimism that by the end of the year, the Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) would be signed.

    Lawal commended an NGO, Extended Hands Foundation for sponsoring the treatment of 25 VVF patients in the hospital, adding that the organisation  promised to assist more patients.

    NAN

  • APTECH opens ultra modern IT school in Kano

    Former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Sulaiman Abba yesterday in Kano said that the newly commissioned multi million Naira Aptech Computer Education Arena situated in the ancient City of Kano, will go a long way in addressing the educational challenges of Nigerians who are yearning to become future Engineers and professional  technologists  by imparting the needed Information Technology (IT) knowledge in them to achieve their goals within the shortest possible time.

    Abba who made the disclosure during the official commissioning of the Computer Institute in Kano by the former First Lady, Dr. Maryam Abacha, said the Aptech which is an affiliate of  Middle Sex  University, London is practically out to train Nigerian students on the latest modern  IT skills .

    According to him, Aptech  Multi  Media is a world class Centre in Nigeria  set to create  career  oriented professionals  ready for the booming animations industry, in which Kano people should avail themselves with this opportunity, where students  admitted will under  go a two year Advanced Diploma Course in Computer Technology and then  proceed to the Middle Sex University for a  one year  degree course on  IT.

    “Any of our student who want to advanced his studies after the two year Diploma program should be ready to spend at least N7m in London, any of its Campuses in Malta, Dubai, and Mauritius   would attract N2m fees   through credit transfer facility of which 50 per cent discount would be awarded to the students.”

    Abba, who is the coordinator, said that Arena Multi Media is committed to providing Quality education with a focus on innovative animation and Multi Media training programs as well as practical application of industry relevant skills meant to sharpen their creative skills and job oriented trainings that will ensure all round developments that matched industry requirements.

    On his part, the Business Head Aptech India, Mr. Seetam Thakuri  Aptech is currently operating in about 4O Countries across the five continents , and was established in 1986 with a global learning solutions provider and has trained millions of students  across the  globe.

    Thakuri explained that Aptech constantly updates its curriculum, certified facility and world Class infrastructure as well as enhancing minds by offering quality training and building careers on various students and has won numerous awards for excellence in training and education globally.

  • Maryam Abacha varsity joins InternationalUniversities’ body

    Maryam Abacha American University Niger (MAAUN) has been admitted into the International Association of Universities (IAU). This is to facilitate and enhance academic learning in the institution.

    IAU is a melting pot of academic activities and a hub of academic interaction around the world. It has built a unique conveying power and global outreach.

    Members attend a variety of academic events focusing on key higher education topics, bringing together intellectuals, experts and leaders from across regions to cross-fertilise ideas.

    A letter by the Secretary General/Executive Director, International Bureau of Universities, Hilligje Van’t Land, said MAAUN met its criteria for admission.

    The letter reads: “Your institution has met all criteria for admission as set by the IAU administrative board, so we are delighted to accept the application on behalf of the IAU president and members of the administrative board.

    “Allow me to welcome Maryam Abacha American University Niger as a member of this great association.”

    MAAUN, according to Hilligje Van’t Land, will have access to complementary copies of IAU reference works and publications, enhanced access to the World Higher Education Database (WHED portal) and HEDBIB, a database on higher education systems, administration, planning, policy and evaluation, among others.

     

  • Maryam Abacha regains groove

    Maryam Abacha regains groove

    Time often plays a fast one on the heroines of every age. In the blink of an eye, an icon of high society is swept aside only for her to make few and far between cameos at high octane events.

    This appears to have been the fate of former First Lady, Maryam Abacha.

    In her heyday, she was everywhere launching programmes and foundations, playing the host at exquisite events or acting as an esteemed guest of honour at functions. In those days, she could shape or change policies with mere verbal pronouncements.

    All that had changed with the death of her husband and former head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, who gave up the ghost in mysterious circumstances while he held sway as the nation’s military dictator. His death forced Maryam to lie low as she was shunned by those who once queued up for the crumbs that fell from her table.

    The former first lady has however regained some of her former glories in recent times. She has been spotted at a few high profile shindigs exuding the poise and confidence of a matriarch of high society. One of them was the recent birthday party of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, where she shone brightly in the midst of some of her children who accompanied her to the occasion.

  • Maryam Abacha regains groove

    Maryam Abacha regains groove

    After a long time away from the social radar, Maryam, the widow of the late former Head of State General Sani Abacha, has resurfaced on the scene. Her re-emergence on the social scene was in relation to the birthday soiree of her daughter, Gumsu.

    Stepping out in luxurious golden lace designed in the traditional Muslim style, Maryam drew the appreciation of all in attendance. She was in high spirits throughout the event and even took pictures with her daughter and a few others.

    The matriarch of the Abacha family turned 70 this year and has mostly stayed out of the public eye. The mother of three daughters and six sons spends most of her time in the family home in Kano, surrounded by scores of her children and grandchildren.

  • Maryam Abacha American varsity gets UK accreditation 

    THE Maryam Abacha American University (MAAUN), Niger, has secured accreditation from the Accreditation Service for International Colleges and Universities, United Kingdom (ASIC UK).
    By the accreditation, MAAUN has attained the highest standard for accreditation by the European renowned accreditation body, which is an approved accreditation body by the British government and can be found on Wiki “List of recognised higher education accreditation organisations worldwide”.
    A statement by the university proprietor, Dr. Adamu Gwarzo, said: “ASIC is one of the 12 accreditation bodies recognised by Home Office, UK, a ministerial department of the British government.”
    The statement added that it is also an approved accrediting body for the purposes of compliance by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and doubles as a member of the UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) and Quality Standards Group, which is also a member of the British Quality Foundation (BQF).
    BQF is an affiliated accreditation body of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA Europe).
    Gwarzo noted that ENQA Europe, a member of international accrediting bodies was listed in the international directory by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the USA and is a member of the CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) as well as member of United Nations (UN) Academic Impact.
    Gwarzo noted that with the accreditation, MAAUN has become one of the renowned world accredited universities.
    He added that with such accreditation, the university can compete favourably with any university globally.

  • Maryam Abacha varsity earmarks N1bn for infrastructure

    Maryam Abacha varsity earmarks N1bn for infrastructure

    President and Founder of Maryam Abacha American University of Niger Republic, Dr Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo yesterday said the management of the institution has set aside N1 billion for the construction of theatre halls, classrooms, administrative blocks and laboratories at the permanent site of the university.

    Dr Adamu who stated this during a brief ceremony to mark the foundation of the permanent site said the university was fast growing in number, adding that there was the need to create a conducive environment for easy assimilation of knowledge.

    He added that “the N1billion will also be used for the construction of lecture theatres, classrooms, administrative blocks and laboratories in the University.”

    According to him, construction of the permanent site will boost economic activities in Jiratawa village, Maradi state, in the Niger Republic where the University is established.

    Dr Adamu said the management would provide state-of-art equipment, especially in the departments of health science and technological studies, adding that, “the management will provide all the infrastructural development at the permanent site in phases.

    “The University pledges to lay a solid foundation and contribute its quota in the educational sector with the aim of strengthening the existing relationship between Niger and Nigeria.

    “The establishment of the University will bring the boosting of the socio-economic development of Niger Republic in general and the state of Maradi in particular,” he said.

    Speaking at the event, the former Nigerian first lady, Maryam Abacha, thanked the management of the University for naming the institution after her, adding that the Abacha family of would continue to identify with programmers that would uplift the standard of living of the less privileged.

    In her own remarks, the First Lady of Niger Republic, Mrs Malika Mahamadou Issoufou, congratulated Maryam Abacha University for its giant strides that recorded infrastructural and academic advancement within a short time of three years.

    “This University, being the first English speaking University in the country will greatly compliment the broad and rich academic culture that already exists in the Niger Republic.

    “The goals of University education are well known essentially as it includes the dissemination of Knowledge, teaching, research, training and production of needed manpower for the society,” she added.

    She further pledged that the Niger Government would continue to give the university management maximum support in all areas that will ensure the growth of the institution and promote education in the country.