By Umar Haruna Tami
I am still jealous of his passion for knowledge in his life. From Literature-in-English to entrepreneurship, you can spend several hours discussing the trends in these fields with him without losing interest in the discussion. And what strengthens my jealousy is his ability to put the knowledge into practice for the benefit of himself and the development of society as a whole. This, I understand, is the reason why he has been teaching for over two decades.
Rising from primary and secondary school teacher to the assistant director of education in the Local Education Authority and as communication officer at NBAIS, these years of experience have prepared him to teach at various higher learning institutions. He has taught in various colleges of education and the Al-Qalam University, Katsina.
Dr Ibrahim Hassan teaches in the department of Islamic Studies, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina. There, he devotes his intellect to imparting knowledge to the younger ones who, I believe, are lucky to have a dedicated lecturer who is versed in Qur’an education, Hadiths and Islamic Shari’ah. Given that he is blessed with the ability to dissect complex issues found in Islamic Shari’ah, where he specialised at the PhD level, it is understandable that his journey into academia is the best way to impact society.
In this struggle, he becomes the first coordinator of the institute of Qur’anic Studies in Funtua. The institution is affiliated with the Institute of Education, A.B.U Zaria. This makes him the first person to establish an institution of learning in the whole Katsina State that is affiliated to A.B.U Zaria.
Again, he pioneered Abdullahi Aminchi College of Advanced Studies in 2012 with a budget of less than three hundred thousand naira. The school has now graduated over three thousand students, with many furthering their education to degrees and master degrees. In addition, he has co-founded other diploma programs such as Justice Mamman Nasir College of Legal Studies and a diploma program in Cherish Dual Mode University.
I marvel a lot at his commitments and achievements in education. It’s believed that giving education to people is equal to giving them hope for living a better life. However, in a selfish society, such as the one we live in today, people like this are blessed with the courage to work hard to see that education becomes the reason people succeed. Understanding this, Dr Ibrahim has been going to the length of sponsoring the people that lack the resources to get an education. In fact, he has sponsored a large part of my undergraduate education, to which I am forever grateful.
In my interactions with him, I have realised that living one’s life with purpose is the surest way to greatness. And it is for this purpose one can make extraordinary impacts in the society in which he lives. Observing him, I have also come to understand that altruism keeps a society’s wheels of development in motion and that once we learn that our salvation from the threats of failure depends solely on the salvation of the other members of the society. Therefore, we have to build a solid foundation that would allow us to live in peace and harmony.
He has good ways of motivating people to take responsibility for their lives and look at the world from different angles. While he believes that every graduate can succeed through decent education, he motivates people to pursue entrepreneurship. My last encounter with him has changed the way I see the world in many ways by simply asking me what struggle to make my ends meet I am into. The question had instantly sent ripples in my mind, and I began to reflect deeply on what purpose my existence in the family of eleven children suppose to serve.
Our society struggles to find its bearing in this disrupted economy and social order. And what’s left for us if we are genuinely aiming to restore the sense that our society used to have? It is to work hard and effectively to ensure that we open doors of opportunity to the younger ones to get a good education which will give the other parts of the society the chance to work accordingly for brighter social health. Dr Ibrahim Hassan is a model for teachers to work with this purpose.
Umar Haruna Tami writes from Funtua, Katsina State, and can be reached through umartami1996@gmail.com.