A former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Professor Abdullahi Mahadi died on Friday night at the age of 77. Prof Mahadi, a renowned historian and an accomplished educationist died at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe, where he was receiving treatment.
He was the ninth Vice-Chancellor of ABU, Zaria and also the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Gombe State University (GSU). He was also the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the yet-to-take-off, Gombe State University of Science and Technology, Kumo in Akko Local Government Area of the state.
His death was announced by a member of his family, who posted, “Innalillahi wa Inna’ilaihi Raji’un. It is with a heavy heart I announce to you that Prof. Abdullahi Mahadi has passed away last night at the FTH, Gombe. The funeral prayer will take place today (Saturday) by 4 pm at the Emir’s Palace Gombe.”
Professor Mahadi was born on December 31, 1945, in Kiva-Warabe in the Gwoza Local Government Area of the present Borno State. Before he was enrolled in primary school in 1953, a young Mahadi was a shepherd, involved in herding scores of sheep and goats in the countryside of his village.
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He schooled at Junior Primary School, Warabe between 1953 and 1954; Central Primary School, Gwoza, from 1954 -1957; Government Craft School, Maiduguri, from 1958 to 1960. He obtained his secondary school certificate from the Government Teachers College, Mubi, Adamawa state in 1966.
Mahadi proceeded to the Advanced Teachers College (ATC), Zaria in 1968 and obtained the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in 1971. He then advanced to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1975.
He enrolled for his Master of Arts degree programme at ABU, subsequently, he bagged his PhD, in 1979, and finally obtained his terminal degree in History in 1982.
Prof. Mahadi started his working career in 1976 as a graduate assistant (History) at the ABU, Zaria, 1976, and rose through the ranks. From a graduate assistant in 1976; he became an assistant lecturer in 1977; then he was elevated to the position of Lecturer I in 1979. In 1981, he attained the post of Lecturer II. Moreso, he became a Senior Lecturer in 1984; Reader in 1988; and a Professor of History in 1991.
He taught at Universities in Toronto Canada, on the penetration of Islam into West Africa; the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States, on overview of Nigerian History and the University of Goa in India on Nigerian history.
Also, from 1977 to 1998, Mahadi occasionally taught at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, Nigeria. He was also a lecturer at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS) in Kuru, Jos, Plateau State between 1997 and 1998. Professor Mahadi has supervised and examined over 90 candidates for both Master’s and PhD.
He reached the pinnacle of his career in 1998, when he was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of the ABU, Zaria, reputed to be the largest university in black/sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2004, then-Governor Muhammad Danjuma Goje of Gombe State appointed Prof. Mahadi as the pioneer vice-chancellor of the newly established Gombe State University where he spent a decade nurturing the institution into a great citadel of learning.
Similarly, in 2018, former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo again appointed Prof. Mahadi as the pioneer vice-chancellor of the Gombe State University of Science and Technology, Kumo. However, there was a change of government in the state before the university could begin activities.
After his tenure as vice chancellor at GSU, Mahadi established an International Institute of Islamic Research and Development which he solely funded.
He is also the founder of the ‘Abdullahi Mahadi Foundation,’ a non-profit making organization that aims at fighting desertification and providing assistance to the indigent and the physically-challenged students for their educational pursuits.
The foundation which has planted thousands of trees earned him an award from the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in 2017 by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on, “The Environmental Management and Protection in the Islamic World”. The award is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s version of the Nobel Prize given for outstanding performance in various spheres of human endeavour.
The late erudite scholar has through the foundation offered scholarships to more than 300 young men and women in various disciplines across several universities. Also, he established and funded an Islamic school about 20 years ago, in his hometown, with various branches across Gwoza LGA of Borno state.
He authored over 47 books and journals and delivered more than 70 public lectures across Nigeria. The late professor of history was a recipient of the national honour of Commander of the Order of Niger (CON).
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