Bauchi Forum rejects planned closure of some faculties, departments at ATBU, urges govt intervention

By Samuel Luka,
Bauchi

A group under the platform of Bauchi State Citizens Forum has condemned alleged plans by the present leadership of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi to close some faculties, departments and programmes among others.

Addressing a press conference on Monday at the NUJ secretariat Bauchi, Comrade Dr. Abdullahi Yalwa, flanked by Jibrin Sa’id Jibrin-Esq and other members, criticized what it described as “other wholly bad decisions and policy direction of the present management of the university with its attendant negative effect on the drive to attain higher level of educational attainment by as many fellow citizens within and outside the state as possible.

In the text of speech tagged “ATBU, Bauchi, Bauchi State and Matters Arising: Our Stand”, Comrade Yalwa pointed out that the forum is a non-partisan, non-ethnic and non-religious conglomerate of Bauchi state based progressive groups, associations and organisations with the common goal of moving the state forward forever.

“We are concerned and alarmed that the series of regressive, backward and clearly detrimental steps being taken in this regard by the leadership of the university has reached such an extent that, the governing council has already communicated same to ASUU and even SUG, ATBU chapter during a meeting held last week”, Comrade Yalwa stated.

While condemning the decision as unacceptable, Comrade Yalwa described it as a direct attack on the developmental aspirations of the people of Bauchi state and beyond.

“So we are saying NO to it. The fact that of all the states in the northeast, only our own Bauchi state is without a federal conventional university speaks volumes of how ill-conceived, poorly thought out and intellectually weak this idea is”, he said.

“This certainly is not the way to go, and as we have noted already, the conversation and indeed struggle to move Bauchi State and education backward.

According to him, “it is glaring that, the thinking of the ATBU leadership is to have such faculties like management sciences closed, thereby denying thousands of prospective students a sizeable number of whom are from Bauchi State the opportunity to attain university education”.

“This is just one of the many gravious negative consequences of this plan, hence we are compelled by the necessity of the matter to start this conversation with a view to bringing to the front burner of national discourse for the attention and action by all concerned”, the forum said.

Comrade Yalwa said that the forum having membership that cut across various calling, who are committed to the progress of Bauchi state and the education sector generally, are privileged to be involved in the efforts being made by a cross section of stakeholders, notably Senator Shehu Buba Umar of Bauchi South Senatorial District to transform ATBU into a conventional university through the legislative process of amending its enabling law.

He noted that, when transformed, the ATBU will attain diversification, attracting more development, recognition and success and impact on the socio-economic development of Bauchi state as the host community in several ways.

The forum expressed worries that the leadership of the university is introducing measures that frontally attack this laudable effort which Senator Buba and other stakeholders are working on.

“It is our collective opinion that, shrinking, choking and reducing the already existing space in the university is one of the greatest disservice, sabotage and assault on the educational drive of our people, so we are saying no to it and shall go to any length within the law to ensure its reversal”, Comrade Yalwa stated.

“We are also aware that, apart from closing such faculties like management sciences, the present administration in the university appears not to be keen in facilitating resource verification for the university’s distance learning Centre and the nearly 50-degree courses approved by the NUC during the tenure of the immediate past VC”, he said.

He described the action as not only anti-developmental of the host community but also a negation of the best practices obtainable across the globe, calling on the Bauchi state government, traditional institutions, senior citizens, among other stakeholders to join the efforts towards addressing the problem.

The forum however, commended the governing council chairman of the university, Air commodore Emmanuel Jakada for his maturity and exceptional ability to see reasons and wisdom in its stand as evidenced in his last decision.