IOU Gambia visits MAAUN founder, seeks activation of partnership

The International Open University, IOU, Gambia, has paid a courtesy visit to the Founder of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, MAAUN, Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, as part of efforts to strengthen academic relations and deepen collaboration between the two institutions.

The delegation was led by the Vice-Chancellor of IOU, Prof. Makie Taal, and comprised senior representatives of the university.

The delegation was received by Prof. Gwarzo and members of the MAAUN management team, including the President of MAAUN Maradi, Republic of Niger, Prof. Ibrahim Lawal; Acting President of MAAUN Kano, Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Haruna; and Vice President, Administration, Dr Habib Awais Abubakar, among others.

The visit provided an opportunity for both institutions to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening their relationship and to discuss the activation and implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) previously signed between IOU and MAAUN.

During the visit, the IOU delegation highlighted the university’s commitment to providing accessible, quality and values-driven higher education to students across the world.

The delegation also expressed its interest in deepening collaboration with MAAUN through programmes and initiatives that would promote academic development and create greater opportunities for students and staff of both institutions.

Responding, Prof. Gwarzo welcomed the IOU delegation and reaffirmed MAAUN’s readiness to strengthen its partnership with the Gambian university and translate the existing MoU into concrete and mutually beneficial programmes.

He stressed the importance of partnerships among African universities in promoting academic development, knowledge sharing, research and innovation across the continent.

According to him, MAAUN is particularly interested in partnerships capable of creating meaningful opportunities for students and staff, strengthening academic capacity and contributing to the advancement of the African education system.

Prof. Gwarzo assured the delegation that MAAUN would work closely with IOU to identify areas of the existing MoU that could be activated immediately.

He emphasised that the value of institutional partnerships lies not only in the signing of agreements but in their effective implementation and the tangible benefits they provide to the institutions and their stakeholders.

The MAAUN Founder expressed optimism that the renewed engagement with IOU would result in stronger academic cooperation, including faculty and student exchange programmes, joint research initiatives, knowledge-sharing activities and other mutually beneficial projects.

He said such collaborations would further strengthen the capacity of both institutions to contribute to the development of higher education and human capital across Africa.