Kano Varsity Students Protest VC's Removal

Kano — Students of Kano State University of Technology (KUT) Wudil yesterday protested what they described as premature removal of the institution's Vice Chancellor. The students of the tertiary institution blocked portion of the Kano-Wudil road, preventing vehicles from entering or leaving the state for hours and causing massive traffic build up. Hundreds of passengers traveling to the north eastern part of the country for today's sallah festival were held up for hours, according to eyewitnesses. The protest, which was said to be peaceful, was sparked after the announcement of appointment of new vice chancellor for the state-owned institution. Daily Trust gathered that the decision to replace the university's head was taken at the state executive council meeting on Wednesday, where the name of Professor UG Dambatta was approved as replacement. The students told Daily Trust that the institution fared well and recorded massive infrastructure improvement during the tenure of the outgoing VC, Professor Ibrahim Garba Riruwai. They argued that he was not allowed to fully serve his tenure, which was to lapse in the next one year. "I used to be ashamed whenever I was having a visitor on campus. But within just three years after Baba's (Professor Garba) appointment, we are having an institution that gives us pride to host anybody," said KUT's Student Union Government (SUG) president, Mohammed Yusuf Mohammed. "If it is in the interest of educating us that they are removing him, we will call on government to rescind the decision because it will be difficult for them to get a better replacement for him," he added. Contacted, Kano State Com-missioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa said the state executive council approved the change based on the recommendation by a visitation panel to the university headed by AB Mahmud SAN. The commissioner also noted that since it was Governor Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso who established the university in 2000, he would not do anything that can truncate its development. Source www.allafrica.com