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Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has pledged to reward the best female graduating students of the Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State, with N100,000 in thirteen programmes annually in honour of late Marafan Sokoto, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi.
Governor Bagudu, who stated this during the maiden convocation ceremony of the Federal University and Special Award of posthumous to late Shinkafi, his wife’s father, in Gusau at the weekend, explained that the reward was meant to encourage female education especially those with the best GPA at the completion of their Under Graduate and BSC Degrees in Accounting, Micro Biology, English Language, Geology, Islamic Studies and Arabic.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Alhaji Yahyah Sarki, who confirmed this in a statement issued on Sunday and made available to Daily Sun in Birnin Kebbi, quoted the Governor to have said that the best graduating students in BSC Geology, Political Science, Biology Chemistry, BA Arabic and Islamic Studies, as well as BA in International Studies, would also get N100,000 each in honour of the late Umar Shinkafi.
According to him, “the Kebbi State Governor, His Excellency Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has described the posthumous award given to late Marafan Sokoto, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, by the Federal University, Gusau in Zamfara State as well deserved in recognition of his immense contribution to national development.
“Bagudu, while congratulating the university for holding its first convocation said the honour given to late Shinkafi was quite thoughtful in view of his long contribution not only to the development of education in Zamfara State but Nigeria as a whole.
“He pledged that Kebbi State government would sponsor a project at the institution in honour and memory of late Shinkafi to further enhance the learning of students in the university.
“Governor Bagudu also announced his commitment and that of his wife, Her Excellency, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, to promote female education in the university by given N100,000 prices annually to female students with the best GPA at the completion of their UG and BSC Degrees in Accounting, Micro Biology, English Language, Geology, Islamic Studies and Arabic.”
The statement noted that the gesture would serve as a mark of respect and honour to the late Marafan Sokoto.
“Bagudu also told the elated university community that his wife, Her excellency, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, as one of the leading advocate for cancer eradication and Director, Union for the International Cancer Control, would collaborate with the university in that direction.
In her remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Balkisu Aliyu Shinkafi, described the gesture of the governor, Senator Bagudu, his wife, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, and the entire late Shinkafi family as a huge investment to the university community.
She thanked the Governor for all he promised to do for the institution and assured that the late Marafan Sokoto would remain indelible in their hearts as a father who gave his best to develop and promote education in the state.
It would be recalled that the late Marafan Sokoto, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, was a former Federal Commissioner Internal Affairs in 1975 and Nigeria’s intelligence Chief, Director General of Nigerian Security Organization (NSO) in 1979. The late Marafan Sokoto was also a presidential aspirant of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). He died on the 6th of July 2016 at the age of 79 years old.
