Al-Qalam University Katsina

Al-Qalam University holds its 2nd combined convocation

By Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani

Barring any last-minute changes, Al-Qalam University will hold its 2nd Combined Convocation on Nov. 25, 2023. The day is what everyone associated with the university eagerly looks forward to seeing. 

Al-Qalam University, Katsina (AUK), hitherto known as Katsina University, Katsina (KUK), is located in Dutsinma Road, Katsina State, and known for the academic aspiration of those who seek knowledge deeply rooted in sound morals. Al-Qalam University was established in 2005 as Nigeria’s first private Islamic university.

The university has gone from strength to strength since its establishment 18 years ago. It presently runs six schools/colleges, which offer assortments of options for the students: The College of Social and Management Sciences, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Education, College of Humanities, College of Post Graduate Studies, and School of Basic and Remedial Studies. It awards 22 undergraduate degrees (among which five courses offer both full-time and part-time programs), 11 master’s programs, and nine PhD programmes, all accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in line with the laws governing university education in Nigeria. 

Recently, some new courses were accredited by the NUC, which brings the total number of programmes to 36 for the 2023/2024 academic session. Despite being a non-profit institution and the difficult economic situation in Nigeria today, the university continues to flourish. However, this is not far-fetched as it is run by an exemplary governing council and administratively headed by an astute academic, economic luminary, and open-minded scholar, Professor Nasiru Musa Yauri, who has not only built on what his predecessors had achieved but also devised different means to take the university forward. He is equally supported by the hard-working team across the various faculties and colleges to actualise the founders’ dreams of the first Islamic University in Nigeria. 

The Programme of the 2nd Combined Convocation is quite extensive. Therefore, I will highlight some of the events for want of space.  The Vice  Chancellor of Al-Qalam University, Professor Nasiru Musa Yauri, disclosed some of the events scheduled for the imminent second combined convocation while briefing journalists in Katsina on Nov. 19, 2023.  

According to the information, 139 postgraduates will be conferred with different honours during the convocation ceremony, including seven Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D), 125 Masters, and seven postgraduate diplomas (PGD). 

“We are going to honour and celebrate graduates from the 2016 to 2023 sessions, which means on Nov. 25, we are going to confer degrees on graduates for eight sessions. 

“This is to say specifically that we are preparing to ensure that graduates of this 2022/2023 session are also going to be celebrated at the convocation ceremony,” the VC said. 

Apart from this, there is also a Qur’an recitation contest for all interested university students to participate.  This is one of the major events scheduled for the convocation. Winners of the Qur’anic recitation competition, both the female and the male categories, will receive N1 million each. 

A pre-vocation lecture will be delivered on Nov. 24, 2023, by a distinguished scholar, Dr Usman Muhammad Bugaje, on the topic: “The out-of-school-children and the  Conscience of the Nation: A Discourse on the Genesis, Prognosis and Solutions of the Almajirci Phenomenon.” 

A novelty football match between Al-University students (AUK All stars) and its alumni (AUK Legends) is part of the programme, emphasising that all domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor are given priority. 

To cap it all, four eminent personalities who have made a tremendous difference in various fields of human endeavour will be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees: including the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman; Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Hussaini Adamu; Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura, and Alhaji Abdulsamad Isiyaka Rabiu. 

Al-Qalam University Katsina is where it is today because of the leadership, who have remained steadfast to the ideals of the founding fathers and have employed transparent methods. The Vice-Chancellor, for example, is accessible, and every Thursday has been set aside for any student with a suggestion or problem to meet the Vice-Chancellor and iron out the issue amicably. This is good leadership and highly remarkable.

I am not writing this piece to pretend we have a flawless system. There is no system without flaws. All systems have their shortcomings in one way or the other. This may not be apparent without meticulous observation. But this we understand as we explore the system or rather utilise the services of the system. Hence, I do not claim a perfect system exists here or advance anything error-free for the public. 

To buttress my points, I was personally affected by one of such fallibilities when I was wrongly accused of committing an offence I didn’t and have always stood against. Herein, Al-Qalam University, especially its College of Education, exercised due diligence by using all the legal instruments to get to the root of the matter and ensure justice was done. In my opinion, the greatness of any system or institution should be measured not by the duration it exists but by how effectively its services are rendered to those in need. This proves where the institution belongs. 

Prof. Nasiru Musa Yauri’s giant strides are evident, from academics and sports to other equally important sectors of this citadel of learning. With time, Insha Allah, this institution can reach the heights its illustrious founding fathers envisioned when they established this university in 2005. May Allah (SWT) help Al-Qalam University to reach its rightful destination for the benefit of Nigeria. 

Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani is a student of Al-Qalam University Katsina.

Dr Ibrahim Hassan: Tribute to an altruist ideologue

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.