Twelve years after its establishment, the Maryam Abacha American University of Niger (MAAUN), in Maradi, Niger Republic, has produced five Provosts of Nursing Colleges in Borno, Yobe, and Bauchi States.
Dr. Hadiza Sabo, a graduate of Nursing from the university, is the current Provost of Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery in Damaturu, Yobe State.
Similarly, Dr. Hadiza Yahya is serving as Provost at the College of Nursing Sciences in Maiduguri, Borno State, while Dr. Rakiya Saleh is the Provost of the College of Nursing Sciences in Bauchi, Bauchi State. The trio of Rakiya and the two aforementioned Hadizas all obtained their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from MAAUN.
In addition, Kiloh Nifor, who is also the Provost of the College of Nursing Sciences in Jalingo, Taraba State, and Dr. Yusuf Bello, the Provost of the Kaduna State College of Nursing Sciences, are also alumni of the university.
MAAUN, founded in 2013, is owned by Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, a philanthropist and scholar of French Linguistics.
Politics Digest also reports that the Faculty of Law at the premier institution, established in 2015, has produced over 400 law graduates, with more than a hundred already called to the Nigerian Bar.
In addition, over 1,000 Medical Laboratory Scientists produced by MAAUN are presently working in Nigeria, while no fewer than 700 are practicing abroad.
It is noteworthy that the institution was the first to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in the Niger Republic, attracting thousands of nursing officers from various countries for university education.
“The Nursing Degree programme greatly increased the number of nursing graduates in Nigeria. The university started offering Nursing in 2012 and has so far graduated over 2,000 students who are now rendering their services at different hospitals in Nigeria and abroad,” said the university’s President, Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo.
Barrister Umar Isa Sulaiman, a law lecturer at MAAUN, informed Politics Digest that their Faculty of Law commenced academic activities in 2013. He said, “Our graduates are working in different government agencies and parastatals. Some are Sharia Court Judges, Magistrates, and some are working in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“Also, a large number of our graduates are in private practice. We meet and appear before different courts, and I can categorically tell you that they are doing wonderfully well as advocates.”
Furthermore, the Prof. Adamu Gwarzo-owned university has been positively impacting the lives of many Nigerians.
A MAAUN Nursing graduate, Hamisu Iliyasu from Sokoto State, shared how his alma mater produced many Directors and Heads of Nursing Colleges in Nigeria.
“You know, universities in the North don’t offer Nursing; you either go to the South, or you end up retiring at Level 14 as a civil servant. But our prestigious Maryam Abacha American University came to the rescue of so many of us, and we are grateful,” he said.
According to Dr. Kabiru Mahmud, a staff member of the Medical Laboratory Sciences Department of MAAUN, “Our great and pace-setting university has helped increase the number of Medical Laboratory Scientists, not only in Northern Nigeria but in the country at large. We have students from across the country.
“Some came from Lagos, Benin, and Ibadan. I can categorically tell you that Maryam Abacha American University of Niger has the highest number of young Medical Laboratory Scientists in Nigeria.
“Before now, one could hardly find someone with a degree in this field, only a Diploma. But MAAUN came and provided opportunities to many undergraduates. Go to Federal Medical Centres across the country, and you will find it difficult to count the number of staff who are our products.”
Checks by this newspaper revealed that some MAAUN alumni are currently working at the National Hospital in Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) in Kano State.
The university, according to findings, has the highest number of nurses working in Canada, the USA, and other foreign countries from West Africa.
