The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maryam Abacha

  • NGO makes case for Maryam Abacha American varsity

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (CITAR-NGO) wants President Muhammadu Buhari to call the National Universities Commission (NUC) to order and save over 1000 Nigerians studying at the Maryam Abacha American University in Niger Republic (MAAUN) from international ridicule.

    Executive Secretary of the organisation, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, who made the call in Abuja, urged President Buhari to intervene in the face-off.

    He said the hoopla over MAAUN was needless as several officials from government agencies in Nigeria had already given credence to the institution.

    Spokesman of NUC, Ibrahim Usman Yakasai last week warned  students and parents against patronising MAAUN. Ibrahim had accused the university of among other things, offering admission to  students who lack the basic requirements to gain admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

    MAAUN runs programmes, such as Nursing, and Medical Laboratory Science on part-time which, the NUC considers unacceptable.

    Countering NUC’s position, Yakubu told reporters that there were no fixed and sacrilegious criteria anywhere in the world, adding that what some countries or institutions may accept as criteria, may not attract others owing to one reason or another.

    He said MAAUN had given admission to about 1000 Nigerians, a bulk of which come from the North, adding that this is better than allowing them roam the streets and constituting nuisance through insurgency, armed robbery and other atrocities.

    “It is untenable for NUC to make this stance when all correspondents between the university and the Federal Ministry of Education recognised the university on one hand and other correspondents between admitted students and other individuals and the Ministry (of education) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognised MAAUN on another,” he said.

    He wondered why the NUC would contradict itself and other institutions, urging President Buhari to intervene and stop the embarrassment caused owners of the university who named it in honour of the wife of the late Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha.

     

  • NUC disclaims online degrees, Maryam Abacha University

    NUC disclaims online degrees, Maryam Abacha University

    THE National Universities Commission (NUC) yesterday warned Nigerians against patronising online universities and degree awarding institutions operating such system.

    Any certificate obtained from such institutions, it said, is not recognised.

    Its Director, Information and Public Relations, Ibrahim Usman Yakasai, who spoke at the commission’s Abuja Headquarters, said degrees obtained online are not accepted in the country.

    He said: “Nigeria will not recognise online degrees. Online degrees are not accepted in Nigeria at the moment.”

    Yakasai also warned Nigerian students and parents against patronising Maryam Abacha American University in Niger Republic, noting that the Commission has been inundated with enquiries from some Nigerian students offered admission into the university.

    Yakasai added that students were offered admissions on part-time with a graduation time of four semesters for programmes, such as Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science, Public Health, among others.

    “In Nigeria, the duration for a full-time degree programme is not less than three years for direct entry and at least six years for part-time, while professional programmes in Science, Engineering and Health Sciences, including Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science and Public Health, are not offered on part-time basis in Nigeria.

    “Also, part-time cross border education in Nigeria is not allowed,” he explained.

    He lamented that the university admitted students, who did not have the basic requirements to gain admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    He said Ghana National Accreditation Board (NAB) had banned 53 tertiary institutions in Ghana – some of which Nigerian students run to – from advertising and admitting students.

    Yakasai said all countries were at liberty to accept or reject certificates from any foreign university they felt “is operating below their acceptable standards”.

    “We wish to restate that as the only quality assurance agency for universities in Nigeria, the NUC is maintaining its stand that degrees from Maryam Abacha University will not be accepted in Nigeria,” he said.

  • Maryam Abacha hits her stride

    Maryam Abacha hits her stride

    Away from the glare of power, Mrs. Maryam Abacha, whose late husband, Gen. Sani Abacha, ruled with iron fist before he died as head of state 15 years ago still has the dash that endears her to friends and associates. The former first lady has reappeared on the social scene after taking what seemed like a sabbatical leave. No longer is she on the obscure end of the totem pole of Nigeria’s high society.

    As you read this, she is back in town, attending social events. She looks resplendent in her dazzling attire and expensive jewellery, making nonsense of the speculations that made the rounds sometime ago that she was under the weather.

  • Happy times for Maryam Abacha

    Happy times for Maryam Abacha

    Since the untimely death of their breadwinner, it had been one unpalatable story or the other for the late Gen. Sani Abacha family. The family was on tenterhooks as the Federal Government made frantic efforts to retrieve the loot of its late patriach. The attendant arraignment of his son, Mohammed, and the face-off between former Jigawa State governor, Saminu Turaki and Maryam Abacha over the latter’s refusal to allow her daughter, Rekia, to get married to the former, were among the family’s many headaches.

    In fact, the sad tales appeared endless until recently when things started looking up for the family. A few days ago, one of the sons of the former head of state, Sadiq, got married to his heartthrob of many years, Huda Fadoul Khaloud, in Abuja. It seems that mother luck is back in good terms with the Abacha family.