Former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Professor Suleiman Bogoro, has urged the National Assembly to halt proposed legislation seeking to convert Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, from a specialised university of technology into a conventional institution.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Professor Bogoro an alumnus of ATBU described the move as “ill-informed and unnecessary,” warning that it would derail the university’s original mandate of driving science, technology and innovation, which are central to global competitiveness.
“When I got the news, I said people have different levels of understanding of the purpose for establishing my university. Permit me to call it my university,” he said.
Bogoro recalled that ATBU was established in 1980 by the Shehu Shagari administration as one of Nigeria’s first three federal universities of technology alongside those in Akure and Owerri with the objective of promoting technological education across the country.
“It would be a big mistake that amounts to missing the target. In the 21st century, competitiveness is rooted in STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,” he added.
He warned that altering ATBU’s specialised status could set back decades of progress in technical education and research, noting that “engineering at ATBU was rated the best in Nigeria for over 10 years.”
Bogoro urged lawmakers to strengthen, rather than weaken, the country’s specialised institutions.
“We cannot be seen to drift into areas that portray ATBU, Bauchi State or Northern Nigeria as not knowing our priorities,” he said.
The former TETFund boss lamented that Northern Nigeria already lags behind other regions in scientific and technological advancement, stressing that removing ATBU’s technology focus would deepen existing gaps.
“Northern Nigeria has had the disadvantage of trying to catch up with the rest of the country. We cannot and should not change the status of ATBU,” he insisted.
Bogoro noted that ATBU and the Federal University of Technology, Minna, remain the two leading technological universities in Northern Nigeria, consistently securing competitive research and innovation grants locally and internationally.
He recalled an anecdote from his doctoral studies: “When I was rounding up my PhD in Cambridge in the mid-90s, a friend from Shell told me that in Nigeria, the best computer science graduates were from ATBU.”
Bogoro further pointed out that Bauchi State already hosts Sa’adu Zungur University, a conventional institution that caters for the social sciences and humanities, adding that “there is no need to duplicate efforts or dilute focus.”
“If we weaken our science and technology base, we weaken our future. That is not what Northern Nigeria needs,” he warned.
PR: Maryam Dauda
