Chairman of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote, has made yet another critical intervention in the educational sector when he donated fully equipped 2,160 bed space hostel complex to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, at the weekend.
The students’ halls of residence comprising of 10 blocks of 360 rooms built at the cost of N1.2 billion is coming after similar gestures to Bayero University, Kano, and University of Ibadan, where the business mogul donated multi-billion naira business school complexes, respectively, as part of his contribution to the educational development in the country.
The new students’ hall of residence was commissioned to commemorate the 41st convocation of the University during which the university authorities reciprocated the act of philanthropy by conferring on him and the renowned labour leader, Hassan Sumonu, honorary Doctorate Degree. Also 15,787 graduating students were also awarded various degrees.
The President of Dangote Group on the occasion explained that he was moved to build the structure having realised that the student population at the universities have recorded significant increase without a corresponding growth in terms of infrastructure lamenting that the situation has remained a subsisting and growing major challenge as Nigerian public universities continue to grapple with underfunding.
“Thus, I will like to use this opportunity to enjoin the Federal Government to consider allocating special funds to the universities to enable them to improve on research and upgrade their infrastructure. Such special intervention has become imperative given the perennial funding challenges facing our universities”, he stated.
Dangote posited that the Federal Government alone could not shoulder the entire burden of funding tertiary education due to competing needs of other sectors that also demand priority attention. This is where Public Private Partnership (PPP) can and should come in to fill the gap.
He then enjoined the private sector to adopt a new approach towards supporting the federal government in tackling the funding deficit in the higher institutions of learning.
He said: “I strongly believe the private sector must go beyond just the payment of the 2% Education levy and be ready to join hands with the State and Federal Governments in expanded funding for tertiary education in Nigeria. This will ensure that our institutions of higher learning are positioned to produce graduates who can transform this nation.
“If there are two things that I am passionate about, they are education and entrepreneurship. I believe they go hand in hand. Some years ago, as Chairman of the National Committee on Job Creation, my committee strived to fashion out strategies for integrating entrepreneurship into our national educational curriculum, in line with what obtains in the Western world.
While commending him, Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State, who officially opened the hostel, said Dangote’s philanthropic spirit should be emulated by others who have been blessed by God.
The governor, who is an alumnus of the University, said both government and the private sector could partner to lift the educational sector in Nigeria pointing out that if not for the efforts of the university management, the institution was already dying.
Vice Chancellor, Ibrahim Garba, who was very excited at the magnitude of the structures, said the University is the largest in West Africa and described the Aliko Dangote hostel project as a “big relief,” saying lack of adequate accommodation is one of the nightmares of the university.
