2026

By Waziri Isa Adam When the Governing Council of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, searched for a Bursar capable of steering the finances of Nigeria’s largest University in an era of e-payment, transparency and accountability, it found a man who has done it all. At its 218th Special Meeting held onContinue Reading

By Waziri Isa Adam The Vice-chancellor of Federal University Lafia (FULafia), Professor Muhammad Isa Kida, has held his maiden media chat as 4th substantive Vice-Chancellor, soliciting the cooperation of journalists in his drive to move the university forward. The University, which was established on 9 February 2011 as one ofContinue Reading

Prof. Irene Tracey says Africa’s future is not in replicating Oxford, but in reimagining higher education for itself In a city that houses one of Africa’s most prestigious universities, the Vice-Chancellor of the world’s most famous university had an unexpected message: Don’t try to be us. Speaking at the HigherContinue Reading

A Reflection on Our Values By Professor Peter Olufemi Adeniyi There is nothing wrong with money. Every family needs money for food, shelter, education, healthcare and the ordinary necessities of life. Every responsible person should aspire to work, earn a decent living, provide for the family and, where possible, create something for the future. Prosperity itself is not the problem. The troubling question is what happens to a society when the pursuit of money begins to take precedence over honesty, human dignity, love of neighbour and even human life itself. This question increasingly troubles me when I reflect on Nigeria today. There was a time when one entered a shop, bought bread, a bottle of soft drink, packaged water, medicine or some other everyday product without first wondering whether it was genuine. Today, concerns about adulterated, substandard and counterfeit products have become a disturbing part of everyday life. Fake medicines are particularly frightening because the person buying them may already be sick and vulnerable. A medicine expected to save life can become an additional danger. The same concern extends to food, drinks and many other products. NAFDAC continues to issue public alerts concerning falsified, counterfeit, substandard and unregistered products. The problem, therefore, is neither imaginary nor one that society can afford to dismiss. But counterfeit products are only symptoms of something deeper. We must ask ourselves: What has happened to our values? How did we arrive at a point where another person’s health, livelihood or even life can sometimes be sacrificed for profit?  When Wealth Becomes the Measure of Success  Part of the problem, I believe, is the increasing tendency to measure success almost entirely in monetary terms. We celebrate the mansion, the expensive car, the lavish party and the conspicuous display of wealth. Too often, we do not ask the more important questions: How was this wealth created? What value did the person add to society? Whose lives were improved in the process? When a young person sees somebody suddenly become enormously wealthy and watches society honour that individual without questioning the source of the wealth, a dangerous lesson may be learned: It is not how you make money that matters; it is simply whether you have it.  This attitude can gradually corrupt an entire society. Money then ceases to be a means of living and becomes a measure of human worth. A person who has little may begin to feel insignificant, regardless of his honesty or contribution to society. A teacher educating generations of children, a farmer producing food, a nurse caring for patients or a craftsman earning an honest living may receive less admiration than somebody displaying unexplained wealth. That is an inversion of values. We must also recognise the economic environment in which this is happening. Millions of Nigerians face serious economic hardship. The National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index found that 133 million Nigerians—about 63 per cent of the population at the time—were multidimensionally poor. Poverty, unemployment and economic insecurity can create desperation. But poverty cannot become our explanation for everything. Many Nigerians of modest means remain remarkably honest, while some people involved in corruption, fraud and exploitation are already wealthy. Economic hardship may create temptation; it does not remove personal responsibility. When Society Becomes Accustomed to Wrongdoing  Perhaps an even greater danger arises when wrongdoing stops shocking us. When bribery becomes merely “something for the boys”; when cheating becomes cleverness; when examination malpractice becomes assistance; when public money becomes “our national cake”; and when people knowingly sell adulterated food or counterfeit medicine simply because there is money to be made, society gradually loses its moral compass. The consequences extend far beyond individual offences. Trust begins to disappear. The customer no longer trusts the trader. The patient questions the medicine. The citizen distrusts the public official. The employer distrusts the employee, and the employee suspects the employer. Eventually, everyone spends enormous energy protecting himself from everyone else. No nation can develop sustainably without trust. Laws, contracts, markets, banking, investment, medicine and even ordinary human relationships depend upon the expectation that people and institutions will generally do what they say they will do. When trust collapses, the cost is paid by everybody—including the honest. What Are We Teaching Our Children?  The restoration must therefore begin in the family. Parents naturally want their children to prosper. But we must be careful about the messages we communicate. Constantly comparing a child with someone who has bought a bigger house or a more expensive car may unintentionally teach that possessions determine personal worth. Instead, children should repeatedly hear: Earn honestly. Work hard. Live within your means. Do not take what belongs to another person. Never become rich by destroying somebody else’s life.  Parents must also have the courage to question unexplained prosperity. When a young person without any visible means of legitimate income suddenly arrives with extraordinary wealth, celebration should not be the family’s first response. Character must come before celebration. Our Communities Must Change What They Honour  The community also has enormous influence. Traditional institutions, community associations, professional organisations, alumni groups and social clubs should examine the criteria by which they confer recognition and titles. Wealth alone should never become the qualification for honour. Why should we not celebrate the teacher who served faithfully for thirty years? The honest civil servant who retired without stealing public money? The successful farmer? The nurse who served a rural community? The entrepreneur who created legitimate employment? The young graduate patiently building an honest business?Continue Reading

By Mahdi Waziri Isa More than 6,000 newly admitted postgraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, have taken the institution’s matriculation oath for the 2025/2026 academic session. The students took the oath on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, during a matriculation ceremony held at the Postgraduate College Auditorium, ABU, Samaru,Continue Reading

By Waziri Isa Gwantu The Governing Council of the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia), Nasarawa State, has approved a one-year extension of the tenure of the institution’s Registrar, Dr Nuradeen Abdu. The extension was approved at the Council’s 28th Regular Meeting held recently at the Old Senate Chamber of theContinue Reading

By Fatima Sajida Isa A total of 120 out-of-school girls have received certificates after four months of vocational skills training at Samaru College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. They received the certificates at a ceremony marking their graduation held at Samaru College of Agriculture on Wednesday, 16th September, 2026.Continue Reading