Shettima inaugurates N15bn BUK Centre of Excellence

Vice President Kassim Shettima on Monday inaugurated the Centre of Excellence complex worth N15 billion at the Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The edifice includes 109-room accommodation with state-of-the-art facilities, departmental blocks and a plenary section.

Shettima, while performing the ceremony, said the centre was constructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ease accommodation challenges faced at the university’s new site on Gwarzo Road Kano.

He stressed 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, had 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.

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.

“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 vital roles in enhancing academic excellence in the university.

Abbas said the structures were completed in Nov. 2020, “but because of COVID-19 pandemic and many other factors, the handing over was delayed until Sept. 21, 2023.

“These two buildings are very important because they will reduce the burden of both hostel and class room accommodation in the university and we are grateful to CBN for handing them over to us.’’