Aminu Abdullahi, Commissioner Higher Education Sokoto State, is the Iya Sokoto, a respected titleholder of the Sultanate. Before his appointment by Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto he was for nine years the Accountant General of Sokoto State. He was also at various times Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Environment and Animal Health.
Based on his education and vast experience he was saddled him with the responsibility of rebuilding the higher education sector that was in his words in the “Intensive Care Unit (ICU)” throughout the eight years of former Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s administration He spoke with Musa Garba.
OW exciting has your assignment as Commissioner for Higher Education been?
Without thinking twice about it I would say that it has been a wonderful experience superintending over this critical sector. I am indeed very grateful that I contributing my quota to ensuring that Sokoto State children receive qualitative education. And when you work with a governor that’s wholeheartedly committed to the development of education and that’s supportive that definitely makes your assignment less stressful. Before we go far into the interview I think it’s important that I explain the difference between the ministries of higher education, science and technology and basic which in a sense shows the importance the governor attaches to the educational sector. The first reason for the creation of the three separate ministries is because the governor wants an effective supervision of the educational sector which by the way is huge. So in Sokoto State like some other states we have three ministries- basic and secondary, science and technology and higher education, though we might be three ministries but we collaborate because we are dealing with essentially the same raw materials or if you like we are in a sense like the 3 Arms of Government- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary- though distinct we must work harmoniously to deliver development to the people.
So the ministry of Higher Education is solely concerned with tertiary education – the institutions of higher learning that offer different courses to students after their secondary level of education. We have Diploma, Certificate and Degree Awarding Instuitions under the ministry numbering about ten (10). But at the recent State Executive Council meeting the Council in its wisdom took the decision to return the School of Nursing to the Ministry of Health and the School of Legal Studies to the Ministry of Justice, for more effective supervision. The fact is that these five (5) tertiary institutions were transferred to their mother ministries in line with the laws establishing them. Only God knows why the previous administration decided to put them under ministry of higher education. We equally have twenty (20) privately owned tertiary institutions in Sokoto State that are also under our supervision only because the government doesn’t fund them like it funds its own schools. Like every other sector when this administration assumed office things were at different levels of decay and the educational sector wasn’t spared which is most unfortunate. The handover note that officials of the ministry put together for me was depressing because the situation in all our institutions was alarming …the morale of the workers was expectedly low because their course were not accredited and they were not paid their teaching incentives. For instance the state university was without power for more than three (3) years. Most of the lecture theatres were in a state of dilapidation. On assumption of office Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto instantly instructed the Kaduna Power Company to restore power immediately to the university and the other institutions after reaching an agreement with them on payment of the backlog. That singular act elicited wild jubilation and confirmed that a Daniel has indeed come to judgement. Am ashamed talking about what Sokoto State suffered in the hands of Aminu Tambuwal, a man who at one time was the Number Four citizen and who could have been president in line with the constitutional succession process and who on his own had attempted being the president of our dear country twice. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto has shown by words and actions that his commitment to the development of education is not political, that he in fact means his campaign promise to revamp the educational sector. He has paid all outstanding salaries; including the teaching allowances and rehabilitated dilapidated infrastructures in our higher institutions …if you visit them you will find an environment that is conducive for learning… we can’t be blaming the students for poor performance when we haven’t provided them with the necessary tools and environment to study. The situation we met was terrible. We have equally gotten most courses being run by institutions accredited under one year. How on earth can any institution worth its salt run unaccredited courses? It certainly amounted to a sheer waste of everybody’s time, especially that of the students. Thankfully the examination bodies have shown an understanding which has gone a long way in resolving the issues. The governor has approved the payment of accreditation fees to the various bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto in all sincerity has restored the hope of these students that was dashed by the past administration. As a mark of his commitment there is no memo from this ministry seeking his intervention on any urgent matter that hasn’t received his prompt response. He understands the importance of education and is determined to change the narrative.
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About the lack of accreditation of courses…what specific institutions are you talking about – because you have a state university and a polytechnic?
The courses that were not accredited cut across the various departments of the schools. For instance some science courses were not accredited same with some social science courses. …depending on the school. The most important point is that we have solved a problem which was why the governor was elected. He saw problems and offered himself to solve them….that the mentality of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto. While he believes in accountability he equally believes that the misdeeds of the past shouldn’t be an excuse, shouldn’t hold us back and every appointee understands this fact.
You’ve also talked about rehabilitation, give me an idea of the total amount spent so far on the accreditation exercise.
We have spent good money on the rehabilitation of dilapidated structures in our institutions…. to date about N3 billion.
I want to take you back to the accreditation issue. Can you give me an idea of the total cost?
For accreditation the cost is huge. For some courses we paid N35 million and for others N70 million. …it depended on the course. Thankfully accreditation is once in five (5) years, so we have some breathing space. So far virtually all our institutions have had their courses accredited and the cost is running into millions of naira. Some few months back we paid the NUC about N100 million for courses being run at the State University and they were very impressed with our governor for his efforts in running a university that is truly a center of learning and research. In fact they followed up with a letter of appreciation to the governor. The governor on his part is extremely happy because he is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you for free that the university surpassed the NUC conditions, and that we didn’t cut corners ….we adhered to their guidelines.
I want to ask you about the heads of these institutions. Were they satisfied parading themselves as Rectors, Provosts when their schools were running unaccredited courses… and did you sack them?
According to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 which aims at ensuring the prudent management of resources and to promote transparency and accountability, if a public officer steals money he would be charged to court of law and tried. Also according to that same law if an officer commits an irresponsible act he or she is liable for persecution. But it wasn’t their fault that the Aminu Tambuwal administration refused to accredit the courses their schools were running. They didn’t commit a deliberate and irresponsible act because they kept drawing the attention of government to the problem and there is overwhelming evidence. So it would have been heartless sacking them for a crime that they didn’t commit.
So why didn’t the previous administration pay for the accreditation of these courses?
I wish I could provide you with the answer considering the importance of our schools running courses that are accredited. It certainly beats my imagination why they didn’t. Am not saying this to paint the previous administration in bad light, but just to put the facts before the public and nothing more. The governor has since moved on from what they didn’t do to doing them. Sokoto State is lucky to have a calm and dedicated governor after the disastrous eight years of Aminu Tambuwal.
Considering the premium placed on education by the governor, how well has he funded education? Does his budgeting allocation to education meet the UNESCO standard of 25%?
I want to recall that in November 2023, several countries under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopted the Recommendation on education for peace and human rights, international understanding, cooperation, fundamental freedoms, global citizenship and sustainable development.
Today, UNESCO remains the only global standard-setting instrument that lays out how education can and should be used to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development and in positioning education as a key driver of peace and international understanding. Education in the 2024 budget was allocated the highest percentage and in 2025 it has equally maintained its number one position in terms of budgetary allocation. Sokoto State in the last two years has in fact surpassed the UNESCO budget recommendation. And what does this say about Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s unwavering commitment to education? It no doubt clears whatever doubt about his desire to rewrite the ugly story of education in the state. As a professional accountant I prefer to talk more in terms of releases because you can be allocated a fantastic budget without it being cash backed. So we say thank you to the governor for not only allocating funds to education, but for his express approvals and for cash backing them. Our modest achievements are due to his leadership and support.
In the light of the economic situation many states have been forced to increase fees in their institutions. So should your students expect an increase in fees and would it affect enrolment?
You know the story of Sokoto State. We remain eternally grateful to our father who by the way was my teacher and leader Senator Aliyu Magatarda Wamakko for laying a solid foundation for our educational system using his experience as an educationist. As Governor of Sokoto State, he put in a place several fundamental policies; free and compulsory education, he encouraged girl child education and so many other policies. We certainly won’t be increasing fees rather we would continue to encourage our students with incentives like scholarships to pursue their education to the highest level. The robust policies of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto have continued to attract more students to enrol into schools in the state and abroad. In fact enrolment has increased and very interestingly is the fact that students have stopped skipping school. We have achieved all these due to the policy of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto who understands the importance of education and is walking the talk. The previous government had for inexplicable reasons stopped the stipends and other privileges of the students which Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto immediately restored.
Are you able to meet up with your services to the schools like electricity, water, and the other basic things that an institution needs to function effectively?
Yes. It’s important I make this additional point…in Sokoto State none indigenes are treated as indigenes, they don’t pay school fees and the government doesn’t exclude them when it is paying examination fees. Once you are resident in Sokoto State you are automatically an indigene of the state, you pay the fees that the indigenes are paying. Back to your question, the Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto administration understands that schools must be well funded. From next year the governor has directed that schools would be given N200,000 monthly allowance to meet minor expenses which would help them face desks, repairs of toilets etc. So this is a government that understands its responsibility to its schools and indeed all government departments. You must also be aware of the efforts of the governor ensuring the availability of water 2/4/7 in the state.
I’m not too sure about other states allocation for education meeting the UNESCO standard, but what is the relationship between your state, UNESCO and other development partners?
The interesting thing about developmental partners is that they only come in when they see what you are doing. It’s only when they see your seriousness and enthusiasm that they would partner with you. Our budget outlook which is friendly attracted them. We are actually had a synergy with them, and several other projects with different development partners. UNESCO that you mentioned earlier linked us up with other partners because they are impressed with what we are doing. They are facilitating and augmenting what the government is doing. So we are happy with the relationship.
Are they specific interventions, for instance, for girl-child education?
Yes. But that is in Basic and Secondary Education. It would be great if you equally interview the commissioner in charge of the ministry.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) … to what extent has your state university benefited from its funding?
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its farsighted wisdom in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions. You know that before the establishment of the agency in 2011, government-owned tertiary institutions were poorly funded so the scheme was designed to improve the crisis in the sector through its interventions especially in the area of facilities where the decay was monumental. In fact facilities in most schools had almost collapsed, teachers and lecturers morale were at their lowest. The enabling environment for conducive teaching and learning was absent. So the government took this step to arrest the rot. This background is important so we can appreciate the seriousness of the situation and why the agency was set up. TETFund’s interventions are only for the universities. Primary schools have the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that is saddled with the responsibility of providing greater access to, and ensuring quality of basic education throughout the country. The Universal Basic Education Programme was introduced in 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to also address the rot in the sector.
So has Sokoto State University benefited from its intervention(s)?
Each year TETFund intervenes based on specific requests of the concerned institution. They don’t decide for you, because you know what you need most. For example if we need a Laboratory, we will spell out our specific needs to TETFund and they would react appropriately. So they can’t come and build hostels for us when what we need is a lecture hall or ICT facilities. Our schools have well equipped hostels, we have beds so we don’t need them, so we can’t ask them to buy beds that we have. So the answer is a big yes. The state university has tremendously benefited from the intervention of the Fund in various areas.
Let’s talk about the 9 -Point Smart Agenda of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto. What exactly does he want to achieve with his investment in education?
Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is absolutely clear about what he wants to achieve in education, which is development of human capital that’s important to the development of the state. The governor is driving the economic development of the state, so it’s important that we have indigenes that are skilled to work in the industries he is attracting. We recently graduated eighty(80) medical doctors and being our citizens they can operate better in our environment because they understand the language and culture of the people. He sees education as both a social and economic investment. An educated person would easily understand the need to pay his/her tax and to be law abiding. I would give you the example of an educated woman – she is a nurse, and the first teacher of her children, so if she is educated that would certainly impact on their healthcare and education because she would be able to give them proper care and teach them alphabets before they start school. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto means business with his well thought out 9-Point Smart Agenda. In housing he has delivered. He was recently crowned the Urban and Housing-Friendly Governor of the Year 2024 in recognition of his achievements in the sector. It’s not a joke to deliver 1,000 housing units under two years. In the area of legal reforms he has equally done well. During our last State Executive Council meeting the Secretary to the State Government announced the execution of over 180 projects that have been completed in the last one and half years. The governor is a serious minded person…he won’t fail himself, his father Senator Aliyu Magatarda Wamakko or the people who have stood solidly behind him.
Are your institutions of higher learning running entrepreneurship courses or are their curriculum still geared towards the continued production of public servants?
The National Policy on Education introduced entrepreneurship into the curriculum of higher institutions. In the year 2000 the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partnered to incorporate Entrepreneurship Education (EEd) into Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) curricula. The main goals of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria include, preparing the students to be self-reliant and self-employed, creating employment opportunities, helping students to transition from a traditional economy to a modern industrial economy, training students to be creative and innovative in identifying business opportunities and to establish careers in small and medium-sized businesses. In Sokoto State our tertiary institutions have embraced the entrepreneurial message. I understand that even at the Secondary School Level the students are being thought Entrepreneurship. This is the way to go because government has a limited capacity to create jobs.
Are your students and schools adequately supervised?
Yes they are being adequately supervised. We regularly send out supervisors who are experts in their respective subjects to go and supervise the teachers. It’s actually part of the system it’s just that the last administration the government bluntly refused funding their assignment. That was a huge challenge. You don’t expect a public servant to spend his/her money to carry out government duties. So logistic issues were largely responsible for that responsibility not being carried out like it ought to. When I resumed office I was told by the officials of the ministry and I believe them that they use to contribute money to buy fuel to run the generator and buy stationeries. All that changed immediately with the coming of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto. Ministries are now being funded to be able to carry out their functions. The governor without much noise has restored the monthly allocations to the ministries and agencies. It’s important that I stress that we take our monitoring role very seriously. And that we treat both privately or publicly owned institutions the same way. We usually carry out unannounced and random visits. We don’t want them to prepare for our visit which would defeat the purpose.
In terms of personnel do you have the adequate manpower in your schools?
On the whole yes, but I know we have some departments that are over staffed while others are lacking personnel…but that’s being addressed. Recently we carried out an audit, which enabled us to identify some departments that had surplus staff and the departments that were lacking. So we are working on moving staff from over staffed departments to areas of needs and where they can contribute more efficiently to the overall goals of the institution.
Is your State University running Medical courses?
Not yet. We are taking things one at a time.
The School of Nursing used to be under your ministry. Is it fair if I conclude that all courses being run by the school are accredited?
Yes all courses being run by the School of Nursing are accredited. It would also interest you to know that the State University is equally offering nursing. Our degree is HND unlike other universities that prefer awarding B.Sc Nursing. It’s a matter of choice.
What are the critical projects that are captured in the budget that you intend to complete this year?
Like I said earlier the governor has been very generous in approving our projects and providing the necessary funds. In the year ending we have executed over 30 impactful projects worth over N3 billion spread across the various tertiary institutions.
