On Saturday, 25 April 2026, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu bowed out of service at Bayero University, Kano, upon attaining the mandatory retirement age of seventy years. The symbolism of that date is not lost on anyone. The retirement fell on a Saturday, and he retired at seventy.
In mystical numerology, every ten is reduced to one; each decade becomes a year, and seventy years become seven years. In turn, seven years become seven days. The Holy Bible records that God, the Creator of the universe, rested on the seventh day, a Saturday. So did Professor Adamu. This is not coincidence. It was neither planned nor wished for. The stars merely realigned for a man whose life reflects a divine spark. He lived by his name, servant of Allah, and Allah honoured him with rest on His day of rest.
Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu is a professor’s professor. His entire life is a classroom. In a world where preachers mount the rostrum to deliver sermons they cannot live by, he upholds the highest standards he set for himself. He also extends grace to others when they try and fail to meet those standards.
To him, the world is a field of experiments and mistakes. His only rule is that failure must not be driven by impunity, as impunity is an affront to justice.
Anything said about a great man is an understatement. In Professor Adamu’s case, what my mind knows and my heart feels cannot be fully conveyed in any language I speak. I am left with approximations. In that light, he is my boss, father, mentor, teacher, friend, guiding light, and more than words can capture. Above all, he is a teacher. He taught me not only how to live, but how to live as a human being—with love, compassion, empathy, understanding, wisdom, respect, and contentment.
I first met Professor Adamu ten years ago when he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). In that role, he demystified public office. I was a close witness to his achievements.
My account is therefore a testimony of lived experience. For example, I witnessed his effortless resolution of a major problem in political philosophy: how to reconcile idealist and realist approaches in public life. The idealist view holds that it is just to follow the just, while the realist view insists it is necessary to follow the powerful. The weakness of both is clear: justice without power is impotent, and power without justice is tyrannical.
The question then is: how do we make the just powerful, or the powerful just? I swear by the heavens, I witnessed the resolution of this dilemma in the person of Abdalla Uba Adamu during his tenure as NOUN VC. If I were to summarise his tenure, it would be: power in the service of justice.
As a leader, he followed a guiding principle: only the known best action is worth performing. He dispensed justice, promoted scholarship, demonstrated kindness, protected the weak, upheld equity, and maintained standards. He was so approachable that staff across all levels could speak to him directly and freely.
Beyond his human approach to leadership, he transformed NOUN in ways few imagined. The infrastructure he initiated remains highly visible, and the reforms he introduced continue to serve as the backbone of the university’s operations.
Most importantly, he achieved all this and left NOUN with his integrity intact—zero scandal, zero corruption allegation. He retires in peace and fulfilment.
Congratulations, Sir, on your retirement and happy 70th birthday.
Dr Eric Chinedu Omazu is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, NOUN. He served as Special Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor during Professor Adamu’s tenure as VC, NOUN.
