• Asks Old Boys Associations nationwide to protect their alma matter

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

Senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, on Wednesday applauded Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani for taking decisive action in revoking lands belonging to public schools that were previously allocated to private individuals under the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The revoked lands, which form part of the premises of the historic girls’ secondary school, Queen Amina College, had sparked public outrage following revelations that they had been parceled out for private development, a move many saw as emblematic of the systemic encroachment on public school properties in Kaduna.

Shehu Sani in his Facebook post on Wednesday condemned the widespread practice of converting public school lands into private estates, shopping complexes, and luxury residences, a trend he attributes to political favoritism and disregard for public welfare.

He emphasized that many of these institutions, including Queen Amina College, were built during the colonial era or by revered northern leaders like the late Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto), Balarabe Musa, and Col. Dangiwa Umar.

“These were institutions built for the children of the poor. Reducing them to blocks of classrooms without staff quarters or basic facilities, while auctioning off their lands to the wealthy, is an affront to the legacies of our founding fathers,” Sani lamented.

He called on alumni associations across Nigeria to rise up and protect their former schools from further land grabs and political encroachments.

“Old Boys and Old Girls Associations must take responsibility and resist any attempt to cave out their schools’ land for political patronage,” he said.

Sani praised Governor Uba Sani’s move as “a commendable and corrective step” and urged the state government to go further by reviewing all previous land allocations involving public educational institutions.

“There is enough land in Kaduna to build palaces, they don’t have to take over schools,” he added.

The unedited post read, “In Kaduna State,most of the lands belonging to public schools attended by children of the poor have been caved out and shared to individuals to build their mansions.These were schools that were either built by the colonial masters or by the late Sardauna of Sokoto Ahmadu Bello.Most of these schools have been reduced to blocks of classrooms with no enough conducive learning environments.

“Schools like Technical College Malali established by Sardauna, GGSS Kawo,Government College Kaduna,Sardauna Memorial College,Rimi College,Kaduna Teachers College and many more have their teachers quarters or staff quarters ridiculously auctioned to rich people who have the means to go elsewhere and build their mansions.

“It’s unconscionable and sad to see wealthy people whose children are in expensive private schools now taking over lands belonging to public schools for themselves and their children.In some cases they even build shopping malls on lands designated for public schools.

“Many Staff Quarters and public schools lands in Kaduna were also shared to politicians as political favours or compensation for political loyalties.There was the case of a whole L.E.A primary school inside kaduna auctioned to a Businessman to build his showroom.Most Principals,Headmasters and Teachers in Kaduna live very far away from their schools because their official quarters have been allocated or generously given to one political loyalist.

“Most of the lands belonging to the schools built by the colonialists,Sardauna,Balarabe Musa or Col Dangiwa Umar that produced some of the best men and women in Nigeria are now balkanised.Even Barewa College zaria old boys have been in Court with a Business man who claimed that part of the school land was sold to him.

“Many Principals,Teachers and Headmasters were evicted from their official quarters on the grounds that they were unable to pay a huge sum to purchase their houses using such ‘jargon phrase’ as “the right of first refusal”.They know that a Teacher doesn’t have millions to purchase his quaters and as such he has to evacuate or be ejected

“Old Boys and Old Girls Associations nationwide must wake up to their responsibilities and resist any attempt to cave out their old schools and share its land for political patronage.I’m glad that the Case of Queen Amina college has sparked an outrage that precipitated the action of the Kaduna state Government.This is in line with all my statements and positions on this matter over the years.

“The action taken by the Kaduna State Government in revoking the allocation of Queen Amina’s college lands is commendable.The Government should move further to recover others.There is enough land to build palaces,they don’t have to takeover Government schools”.