Bauchi State Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has finally assented to the bill renaming the Bauchi State University, Gadau, to Sa’adu Zungur University.
Announcing the approval in a press release made available to on Sunday, the state
Commissioner of Education, Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde, said naming the university after Zungur was a befitting recognition to one of the state’s most illustrous sons and the father of progressive politics in Northern Nigeria, 64 years after his death.
He said the bill was signed into law by the governor on Friday, August 5, 2022.
New Citizen reports that Malam Ahmed Mahmud Sa’adu Zungur was born on Tuesday, 24 November, 1914 in Bauchi metropolis and worked as a teacher before going into politics.
He was one of the founders, together with Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa and Malam Aminu Kano, of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), which metamorphosed into the political party that formed the Northern Regional Government at Independence.
Tilde noted that Zungur was “not a favourite of the establishment and did not live long to witness the independence he so much struggled for. He died after a protracted illness in 1958.”
He added: “To date, no one has openly lampooned the Native Authorities and the colonialists as did the versatile scholar, journalist, radical poet, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. He was never short of courage for the cause of justice.
“Even after his death, the establishment did not seem to forgive him. Not even a prominent street could be named after him apart from a primary school in Bauchi.
“It’s now over. This time, it is done. Alhamdu lillah. Thank you, Your Excellency.”
