Abuja, Nigeria: Politician and activist Najatu Muhammad has celebrated Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, at 63, urging the institution to embrace cutting-edge research and technology centres moving forward.
Muhammad, an alumna of the university, celebrated her alma mater in a statement made available to reporters on Thursday in Abuja.
She lauded the university for standing, for more than six decades, as a beacon of knowledge and service to the nation and beyond, meaningfully impacting society.
The alumna noted that the institution had fulfilled its vision of producing generations of scholars, national leaders, and professionals who had left their mark on every sector of our national life.
According to her, the university has expanded its academic programmes and established new partnerships, among other notable milestones.
“Moving forward, the University must embrace cutting-edge research and technology centres,” Muhammad, who was the first female students’ union president in the university, said.
Muhamad said that the anniversary was not just a celebration of years, but also a celebration of people, including the professors, who dedicate their lives to shaping young minds, and students, who bring energy, creativity, and hope.
She also cited the alums whose achievements bring glory to the school, as well as the administrators and staff whose tireless service keeps the university running smoothly every day.
“Today, we celebrate our past; however, we must also look boldly to the future.
“The world is changing rapidly; technology, climate, politics, and society are evolving in ways that our founders could hardly have imagined.
“To remain a leading university, it must not only keep pace but lead the way,” she said.
Muhammad said that the world was entering into an age of convergence, where the most transformative breakthroughs would happen not within disciplines, but at the dynamic intersections between them.
She emphasised that alums must provide more support to the university in this regard. At the same time, the institution should continue to work diligently and evolve through a continuous process of curriculum redesign to meet the rapidly changing world.
According to her, the university must evolve and break down barriers, not just in theory, but also in practice.
She urged the students at the university to be curious, bold and dare to take classes in fields they knew nothing about, being the first generation of the convergent age.
“Your unique perspective might be the key to a problem that has been vexing us for decades, both as a nation and as a continent,” she said.