The university’s renaming after the late diplomat and elder statesman was a response to Senator Barau’s request. He had sponsored a bill in the Senate to that effect.
On Monday, the President announced the renaming of the institution to Maitama Sule Federal University of Education in honour of one of the foremost politicians from the northern part of the country.
However, Senator Barau, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Ismail Mudashir, thanked President Tinubu for granting the request of the generality of the people of Kano State through him by renaming the university after the late northern icon, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule.
He said” *I wish to express our profound appreciation to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for approving the request of the generality of the people of Kano State through me by renaming the Federal University of Education, Kano, to Maitama Sule University of Education, Kano.
According to him” Maitama Sule, the Danmasanin Kano, was a diplomat, politician, and elder statesman who died in 2017 at 88. He contributed immensely to our country’s socio-political development,” he said.
He then recalled that ” In November last year, the Kano State Government reversed the renaming of Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano, a state-owned institution, to its former name, Northwest University Kano.
To immortalise the late elder statesman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, during his tenure as Governor of Kano State, he renamed Northwest University to Yusuf Maitama Sule University.
The NNPP-led Kano State Government’s decision to reverse the renaming of the state-owned university caused uproar and controversy in Kano State.
” I sponsored a bill to rename the Federal University of Education, Kano, after the late Danmasanin Kano following the reversal of the renaming of the North West University Kano after our late elder statesman.
“As Mr President stated, immortalising Danmasanin Kano’s legacy will inspire our younger generations to uphold the integrity, patriotism, character, and nationalism he stood for during his lifetime,” he said.
The late Maitama Sule served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, where he was Chairman of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.
He also served as Chief Whip of the Federal House of Representatives (1954–1959), Leader of Nigeria’s Delegation to the Conference of Independent States (1960), First Federal Commissioner of Public Complaints (1976), and Minister of Mines and Power.