Following what many interpreted as high level politics and intriques heralding the struggle to succeed the incumbent Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, whose tenure expires April, 2019, the Vice Chancellor denied his two year deputy (in charge of Administration) Prof. Kabiru Bala, opportunity to contest to serve out his traditional 2 – year second term, by dropping him without prior notice, and instead pairing the duo of Professor Adamu Ahmed, the institution’s Director of Advancement and the Dean of School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. S. Z. Abubakar, who slugged it out in the university’s senate for the DVC (Admin) position.
The strange and unprecedented scenario which took many members of the university’s senate, 80 percent of whom are Professors, by surprise, initially left them confused and later generated serious and heated debates, was later climaxed by election which saw Professor S. Z. emerging as Professor Bala’s successor by scoring total votes of 281 against his opponent who scored 245 votes.
It would be recalled that two years ago, the Vice Chancellor paired Prof. Kabiru Bala with Prof. S. Z. to contest the DVC position which saw Bala beat S. Z. with no small margin, a development S. Z. described, then, as VC’s deliberate attempt to embarrass him, because as his brother, he ought to have informed him early enough that he was going to nominate and pair him with Kabiru Bala to contest the DVC Position.
Commenting on the election, a Professor who preferred to be anonymous told Education Monitor that majority of the Senate members were in the senate on the day of the election to hear the Vice Chancellor either seek for their mandate to roll-over Professor Bala’s second term as his deputy or at worst pair him with another Professor to slug it out with him in a free and fair contest on the floor of the senate, but to their surprise, the Vice Chancellor decided otherwise by going against the established tradition and convention, by dropping Professor Bala and pairing his former opponent with the Director of University Advancement.
The Professor however opined that “this abnormal, unprecedented and regrettable denial of Professor Kabiru Bala second term opportunity to serve the university as Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, as a result of needless intriques, backstabbing and blackmail by desperate lobbyists, or what I see as more of deliberate betrayal by the Vice Chancellor, who Professor Bala impressively and sincerely served in his 2-year first term, with all sense of dedication, humility, respect and caution; should not discourage him from aspiring to lead the university, because he remains one of the very few pragmatic, discerning, hardworking, energetic and visionary scholars and intellectuals in the university today and who is serenely passionate and enthusiastic in giving the university a right and functional sense of Academic and Administrative focus”.
Professor S. Z. who hails from the same home state of kano with the Vice Chancellor, had since assumed office in a grand style where he had commenced active engagements and functions as Professor Ibrahim Garba’s second in command.
Before his emergence as the new Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. S. Z. who was the immidiate past Dean of the University’s School of Postgraduate Studies, had held several positions including Director of National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS). He was also one time Vice Chancellor of scrapped Alvan Ikoku University of Education.