THE NEW INEC BOSS: A WELL DESERVED APPOINTMENT
I have personally developed interest in the personality of the recently appointed INEC Boss, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, FHSN; I have the privileged of meeting him sometimes in 2012. It is my opinion that of all the appointments of President Buhari, so far, this one remains unique.
After referring to some available records, I present to you, in brief, citation on the biography of this noble gentleman, an achiever and a scholar per excellence:
Ladies and gentlemen, it my great pleasure to bring to your notice someone who has the double honour of setting an unbroken record for himself and for the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). Professor, Yakubu graduated from UDUS thirty years ago and remains the first and so far the only alumnus of the University to have obtained a First Class Honours degree in History. Through his achievement, UDUS has also set an unbroken record for being the first and so far the only University in Northern Nigeria, and one of the few in Nigeria, to produce a 1st Class Honours degree in History.
Professor Yakubu was born in Bauchi, where he had his early education. He was admitted into the UDUS in 1980 after graduating from Teachers College, Toro (Bauchi State), where he emerged as the Overall Best Graduating Student in academic performance. As an undergraduate student, he served as a Secretary General of the Students’ Union and member of the Students, Representative Assemble (SRA). However, in spite of his activism in the Students’ Union, he won the Federal Government Merit Award for the best student in the Faculty of Arts for three consecutive years. In addition, he won the best graduating student award in History sponsored by the revered late Waziri Junaidu of Sokoto, the Waziri of Sokoto Caliphate.
After his one year mandatory National Youth Service in Plateau State, the University of Jos offered him a job as Graduate Assistant in 1986. In the same year, he was admitted into one of the best universities in the world, the famous University of Cambridge, UK, for a Master of Philosophy degree in international relations. Upon successful completion of the programme, he was admitted into yet another world class institution, the University of Oxford, England where he graduated with a doctor of Philosophy degree in History at the early age of 29 years in 1991.
At both Cambridge and Oxford, he received a number of awards. In addition to the Bauchi State Government Scholarship, the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Charles (the Prince of Wales) offered him their competitive scholarship to study at the Cambridge. At Oxford, he was a three-time winner of the Overseas Research Student (ORS) Award by the Committee of Vice Chancellors of UK Universities. Other awards to his credit include the Beit Fund Grant in Commonwealth History as well as the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship by the London-based Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Just like his inspiring educational background, his public service career is equally remarkable. He rose from a Graduate Assistant to Lecturer I at the University of Jos from 1986—1992. From there, he transferred his services to the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, the only military University in West Africa, as a Senior Lecturer where he served as Head of Department of History, Dean of Faculty of Arts & Social Science, Director of Academic Planning, pioneer Dean of Postgraduate School and Chairman of the Management of Staff School. As a Senior Lecturer and later Professor of History, he served as External Examiner and Professorial Assessor for University of Maiduguri, Bayero University Kano, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, University of Jos, University of Abuja and his Alma mata University, UDUS. In fact he is the first alumnus to serve as External Examiner (undergraduate and postgraduate) in his former Department.
As an academic, Professor Mahmood Yakubu did not only teach history but also researched and wrote it. He is a prolific writer which soon earned him the chair of History, as a Professor with the Nigerian Defence Academy. He authored many books and co-edited several others; this is apart from his numerous contributions to learned journals. He has deep concern for humanity. It was in this way that he single handedly rescued from oblivion one of the finest human beings ever produced in this country; the late Saadu Zungur, a nationalist, a visionary and a revolutionary. The late Saadu Zungur was concerned with how to free people, especially in the northern part of Nigeria from the forces that have kept them in bondage for years; forces of poverty, ignorance, traditionalism, dogmatism and of course then, British colonialism.
Professor Yakubu took an active part as Chairman or Member of many Federal Committees on the revitalization of tertiary education in Nigeria. Most recently, he was Chairman of the Presidential Technical Committee for the Consolidation of Federal Tertiary Institutions (2007), Member of the Presidential Task Team on Education (2011), Member of the Implementation Committee for the establishment of Nine New Federal Universities (2011), Member Presidential Committee on First Class Scholarship (2012) and Chairman Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities (2012). He equally served as the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and had really transformed and restored the Fund to its conception for transformative intervention. Many new and far reaching innovations were introduced during his stewardship.
Ladies and gentlemen, ours (the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto) is proud to be associated with PROFESSOR MAHMOOD YAKUBU intellectual records and public service achievement. In fact, it was for these reasons that the Council and Senate of the University conferred on him one of its highstest honors, the Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) in 2012 along with many other distinguished nationalities. He was the first alumnus of the University to receive this honor.
Professor Yakubu is a scholar per excellence, a role model and a good ambassador of UDUS. It is my humble opinion that our dear country will benefit tremendously from this noble personality.
I rest my pen.
Written by: Usman A. Ngaski
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