Kano varsity cancels Niger field trip over insecurity

The management of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State, has cancelled a planned students’ field trip to New Bussa in Niger State following growing security concerns raised by parents and stakeholders.

The university said the decision was taken by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Musa Yakasai, after reviewing reports surrounding the security situation in the area proposed for the eight-week mandatory field exercise for Level 400 Fisheries students.

In a statement on Thursday by its Deputy Registrar, Information and Public Affairs, Abdullahi Datti Abdullahi, the institution clarified that the vice chancellor had rejected the trip long before public concerns intensified.

“When the idea of going to New Bussa in Niger State came up, the Vice Chancellor, who was already aware of the security situations in the area, had long ago rejected the trip,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the vice chancellor subsequently directed the Department of Fisheries to source for a safer alternative location for the exercise, leading to the selection of Tiga Dam in Kano State.

“The students are now going to Tiga Dam in Kano for the mandatory exercise,” the statement added.

The university stressed that students’ safety and welfare remain top priorities of the management both within and outside the campus environment.

“The university management never jokes with students’ safety and welfare within and off campus,” Abdullahi stated, while assuring parents that there was no plan to take students to any unsafe location.

He urged parents and guardians to remain calm, insisting that “there is no plan to take our students to New Bussa or any other unsecured areas for any activity.”

The clarification followed concerns and opposition reportedly expressed by parents over the proposed trip involving more than 30 students to Niger State, an area some families considered unsafe due to the current security challenges bedeviling the state.