Foreign lecturers recruited despite security concerns

By Tunde Fatunde. The executive governor of Yobe state in north-east Nigeria, who is also a visitor at Bukar Abba Ibrahim University, has approved the employment of 35 professors from India and the Philippines. They were recruited ostensibly to teach and research desert encroachment, which is threatening the environment in parts of the state. Although the state is committed to building a 21st century university, it has been unable to recruit any competent Nigerians due to security fears and ideological challenges posed by Boko Haram, an Islamic sect opposing so-called ‘Western’ education, including academic programmes in the state-owned university. More...