Our VC, Prof Mahdi Adamu

This morning I am paying tribute to Professor Mahdi Adamu Ngaski, second Vice Chancellor of the University of Sokoto which was renamed Usmanu Danfodiyo University in 1988 during his eventful tenure. Our first Vice Chancellor Prof S.A.S. Galadanci’s tenure ended when we were graduating in 1982. I was at my NYSC station in Anambra State when I heard of Prof Mahdi Adamu’s appointment as Galadanci’s successor. We thought that Galadanci would be succeeded either by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Prof Chimere Ikokwu or the DVC Admin, Dr. Abubakar Aliyu Gwandu.

A close friend of mine who was very close to NPN politicians at the time told me what happened. He said Governor Garba Nadama announced at a State Exco meeting that President Shehu Shagari had just approved Mahdi as Unisok’s new VC. Cabinet members broke into celebration. I asked him why they rejoiced and he said in 1979 NPN had trouble penetrating Yauri Local Government. He said only three prominent Yauri sons, namely Alhaji Bala Tafida, Police Commissioner Hashimu Yauri and Mahdi stood by NPN. I did not hear this account from any other source so I do not know whether it was true.

Prof Mahdi Adamu, who I first saw in 1977 when he spoke at my secondary school’s graduation day, now gave me my first job. Nine days after I finished my NYSC in 1983, I attended an interview at Unisok. Mahdi chaired the interview panel. With him were the Dean of Science Prof Asante, the Head of Biological Sciences Prof S.H.Z. Naqvi and the Registrar, Henry Afolabi. A few days later I received an appointment letter as Graduate Assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences. Twenty of us who were employed as GAs that year got a rather rude welcome. We went together to see the DVC Academic Prof D.I.K. Osori, over our accommodation. Mahdi brought Osori from ABU to become DVC while his wife was Deputy Registrar. His tough guy image was already the talk of campus. Osori summarily drove us away, saying GAs should not disturb him.

Things were fairly smooth at Unisok until 1985 when Mahdi instituted the “Islamisation program.” Under it, he rewrote the curricular of all humanities departments to infuse a strong Islamic bent. He also recruited a large number of Islamic Studies graduates and made them GAs in every humanities department. Unisok’s liberal and radical lecturers resisted this policy. Islamisation program coincided with the formation of a group in the university called Muslim Forum. We therefore floated a group called Association of Concerned Academics [ACA] which became the main opposition party. Our leaders were Dr. Haruna Sanusi, Dr. Hakeem BabaAhmed and Dr. Shehu Lawal.

Unisok staff became sharply divided along ideological lines. During the local ASUU election of January 1987, Muslim Forum and ACA each presented a slate of candidates. ACA won 12 of the 13 posts. Islamisation policy also emboldened conservative groups on campus. Congregation meetings were engulfed in crises when the Muslim Forum, backed by Mahdi, stopped the creation of a University Staff Club, saying alcohol will be sold there. In 1986 MSS members attacked Ondo State Students’ cultural night. The matter came up in November 1986 when Justice Mustapha Akanbi’s panel on the Ango Must Go riots visited Sokoto. ACA members were very happy when Akanbi publicly dressed down the VC and said he mishandled that episode.

Student mullahs also attacked me in March 1986 during a lecture for Sokoto State Students. Mahdi responded sternly to that one. He set up an investigation panel chaired by Professor Gwandu. Luckily for me I read from a prepared text which I surrendered to the panel. The panel exonerated me and said I said nothing at the lecture that was provocative. Gwandu’s panel however said it was my “previous record” that invited the attack. Three students were rusticated as a result of that incident.

Prof Mahdi suffered two personal misfortunes. During a Council members’ visit in 1984, rusticated former students’ union president Adamu Bauchi attacked Mahdi with a gun. The Pro Chancellor Justice Allagoa wrestled the attacker to the ground. In mid-1985 a snake bit Mahdi as he worked late in his living room. He was rushed to the teaching hospital but it had no anti-snake venom. He was then taken to Talata Mafara where the Italian engineers of Impresit Bakolori had stocked anti-venom.

Days after he returned to work, I ran into Mahdi in the car park and he invited me to his house. I found him sitting in his living room with his leg on the centre table. That was when I saw how much damage the snake bite made. Even after a month the leg was a horrible sight. The Sultan’s palace sent a local snake charmer, Sarkin Gardi, who caught the cobra that bit Mahdi. The university then employed Sarkin Gardi and attached him to our department. We attached students to him as he went round the campus catching snakes.

At that meeting in his house, Mahdi told me that my head of department, Prof Abdul Hamid, reported to him that I was not doing my teaching job. The VC however said he quietly sent for the departmental teaching roster and found that I had the heaviest workload of all the lecturers. I was speechless; I was shocked that Prof Hamid, my mentor for many years, told a lie against me due to a quarrel we had in the department. I was also very surprised that Mahdi, who I imagined would jump at such information to deal with me, conducted a personal investigation that cleared me without my even knowing about it.

During Mahdi’s recuperation from the snake bite, the DVC Academic Prof Osori acted as VC while his wife Mrs Larai Osori was the Acting Registrar, leading to allegations of high handedness. The day Mahdi resumed duty, he replaced Mrs Osori with Mrs Ayeni as Acting Registrar. Mrs Osori soon returned to ABU. Otherwise the university functioned quite efficiently under Mahdi. He supervised PhD candidates; made Faculty and Departmental seminars mandatory and he actively encouraged staff members to undertake research.

When I had a car accident in 1986, Mahdi sent me to Dala Orthopaedic Hospital in Kano and the university paid N2,000 for my treatment. In 1987 the VC told me to go to Lagos to find a supervisor for my M Sc in Fisheries research project. I wrote an application for N300 and dropped it in his office on Monday. On Thursday I went to his office to follow up. His secretary told me that no paper ever stayed overnight on Mahdi’s desk, that he sent my letter to the Registrar same day. I went to see Mrs Ayeni and she told me that she sent it to the Bursary the same day. When I got to the Bursary, the cheque was ready.

In December 1986, just out of Dala Orthopaedic, I went with Prof G.V. Ardo to Mahdi’s house to condole with him on the death of Prof Osori in a car crash. Mahdi shocked us with his conservative statements. He said everyone will die even if you are as rich as Kundila. I asked him how rich Kundila was and he said, “Kundila didn’t even know the number of donkeys he had!” Mahdi was the authority on Hausa economic history. I later figured out why Mahdi seemed to like me despite my active role in the campus opposition. My father was the House Master at Sokoto Provincial School in the 1950s while Mahdi was the House Captain.

In 2004 I met Prof Mahdi Adamu at Sokoto’s Giginya Hotel. He said, “Ah, Mahmud! Ance ka zama kamili [they say you are a good person now].” That means I was not a good person before. I profusely apologised for all the trouble we gave him and he said, “I must forgive you! Others also forgave us for what we did when we were young!” May Allah also forgive him and reward him with Aljannah.