Complex
By Aminu Garko
Kano, Vice President Kassam Shettima on Monday inaugurated Centre of Excellence building complex worth N15 billion in the Bayero University Kano (BUK).
The edifice included; 109-room accommodation with state-of-the-art facilities, departmental blocks and plenary section.
Shettima while performing the ceremony said the center was constructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ease accommodation challenges faced at the University’s new site at Gwarzo Road Kano.
He reaffirmed the determination of the federal government to achieve all sector development of the nation through the provision of qualitative education in Nigeria.
Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Tope fashua, Shettima said BUK established since 1975 has grown to become one of the centres of academic excellence in Nigeria and beyond.
“The continuous advancement of BUK is reminiscent of the legacy of the great city of Kano itself which is known among the natives as“Tumbin Giwa’’ meaning the belly of an elephant, where any and everything could be found, and where everybody finds their place and purchase”, he said.
The VP urged the people to be grateful to the CBN for the gesture, saying “this kind of project should be appreciated because of its effects on the development of education’’.
He said the nation had passed through dire stress in the last 17 years since the onset of the global financial crisis that saw the demise of large financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and hundreds of others between 2008 and 2012.
“This era also set Nigeria’s banking sector back considerably even though we managed to avert the worst consequences”, he said.
Shettima said the centre was nationally conceived to house world-class postgraduate schools focusing on business and finance.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Sagir Abbas, said the two gigantic edifices would play a vital role in enhancing academic excellence in the university.
Abbas said that the two structures were completed in November 2020, “but because of COVID-19 pandemic, and many other factors the handing over was delayed until September 21, 2023.
“These two buildings are very important because it will reduce the burden of both hostel and class room accommodation in the university and we are grateful to CBN for handing over these two important buildings to us’’, he said.
