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The Registry |
Historical Development
Historical Development
With the incorporation of the Ahmadu Bello College (renamed Abdullahi Bayero College) in October 1962 under Ahmadu Bello University, the nucleus of Bayero University was formed, initially as a non-residential campus. The Provost’s Office was housed at the old Central Hotel building along the Airport Road.
The College moved to Dorayi, the present old campus, and the administration was housed in the Library building in 1968, a year before the building was formally opened by the British High Commissioner, His Excellency Sir David Hunt, in April 1969. The force behind the choice of Dorayi for the College as against the less suitable Zaria Road site was the Provost himself, Professor Abdullah El-Tayib, who was supported in this by Dr. Austin Peters, the then Medical Director. Dr. Peters was pushed by the congestion cause at the hospital by casualties of the civil war to expedite the setting up of a clinic on the campus.
It was in the Library building on Dorayi Campus that the Registry commenced as a department distinct from the Provost’s Office. In January 1980, the Registry Department along with the Vice-Chancellor’s Office and the Bursary moved to the newly completed temporary administrative block. This is where the office matured and progressed up to its relocation to the present core building on the new campus in 1989.
The first Administrative Officer to assist the Provost in the administration of the College at the Airport Road was Mr. Allam, a Sudanese national whose appointment was related to the fact that many lecturers of the College were on secondment from Khartoum. In July 1966, Mr. Allam was succeeded by Alhaji Nuhu Bayero, a Prince from the Zaria royal family, who earned the respect of people on the campus for inculcating discipline.
Alhaji Nuhu Bayero was the first to establish a distinct administrative section with files opened under reference ‘ADM’. He left to teach at the Institute of Administration’s Department of Local Government in October 1969. By then, Mr. M. K. Garnvwa who had in 1968 been transferred from Zaria as Assistant Registrar was left (as the most senior officer after the Provost) to establish the Student Affairs Division in the Provost’s Office.
In 1970, Alhaji Uwaisul Karni was appointed as an Administrative Officer to fill Alhaji Nuhu’s place in general administration. Mr. A. O. Andi was transferred from Zaria as Administrative Officer II to replace Mr. Garnvwa who left in October 1972 to join the then North Eastern State Civil Service. While Alhaji Uwaisul was responsible for staff matters, Mr. Andi was responsible for student affairs. Mr. Andi returned to Zaria in September 1973 and Mr. J. I. Atsor who had been posted from Zaria to join him in July 1972 took over the responsibility for student affairs. Mr. Atsor served in this capacity until he resigned to go for further studies in November 1975. Two months before his departure, Mrs. E. R. L. Idikwu had arrived from Zaria to constitute the Establishment Section.
October 1975 came with a new status for the College, the upgrading to University College status (initially) under the supervision of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria until its own Provisional Council commenced functioning. The Provost’s (now Principal’s) office arranged for the transfer of Alhaji Muhammad Awwal Ibrahim and Mallam Muhammad Mijinyawa (both of whom had commenced their career as Assistant Lecturers in the Arabic and English Department in 1967) to commence preparation for the take off of the Registry Department of the University College.
Alhaji Awwal created the Academic Office in December 1975. The Registry Department thus became functional with this skeletal staff. Alhaji Awwal had in January 1976 transferred to the Centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies in Zaria as Executive Secretary. He had also broadened his administrative experience when he got elected as Secretary to the Congregation. In March 1976 he was back in Kano to assume appointment as Acting Registrar to head the budding Registry Department.
In July 1976, the Academic Secretary of Ahmadu Bello University, Y. A. Ibrahim arrived to assume duty as the substantive Registrar on transfer of service with effect from 1st August, 1976 following the request of the authorities of the University College.
Before Alhaji Awwal left on secondment to the Niger State Government as Permanent Secretary on 1st August, 1976 Mallam Y. A. Ibrahim worked briefly with him to lay out the major divisions of the Registry, namely, Academic Office, Student Affairs Office, Establishment Office, Development Office, Junior Staff Office, Housing and Passages, Publications. Efforts were made to increase the staffing situation and expand the various divisions. The Junior Staff Office at some time got merged with the Establishment Division but the problem of lack of effective supervision at middle level led to subsequent separation. But for the same problem, the Housing and Passages would have merged with the Establishment Office. Council affairs were handled directly by the Registrar drawing upon the assistance of other registry staff from time to time.
Mallam Y. A. Ibrahim retired as Registrar in November 1995 and was succeeded by Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulhamid who served from November 1995 to May 1998. In July 1998, Alhaji Faruk Mohammed Yanganau was appointed by the Governing Council as the third substantive Registrar and Secretary to Council of the University for a period of five years. His tenure was renewed in 2003 for another five years.
At this stage, it is necessary to examine the cardinal principles and philosophy of the institution under which the Administration has been expected to operate.
The founding fathers of the institution proclaimed that the University should “be built on those beliefs, values and traditions that the society holds most sacred. The University should strive to be a symbol of the spirit of its community, the guardian of its morals, the formulator of its hopes, be they spiritual or material. It should monitor the inevitable changes that come with time and, in assimilating and disseminating universal truths, it should safeguard those essential values and nuances that give the society its identity.”
In the performance of this duties, the Registrar was guided by the spirit of the Law and the cardinal principles and philosophy of the University in his belief that if the University is to be truly the guiding light of the society then these principles and philosophy must not remain merely a formality but should be translated into action in the interest of welfare of the University community, the immediate community, the society as a whole, and the reputation of the institution. It was this that generally governed the growth of the Registry Department and the policies evolved over the years are considered here.
Growth and Expansions
By 1990, the Registry Department was fully organized into seven major divisions, namely, the Registrar’s Office; the Student Affairs Division; the Establishment Division; the Junior Staff Office; the Development Division; the Security Office; and the Academic Office; while support staff posted to various academic units come under the direct supervision of the heads of those units concerned for the day to day running of the department but have direct responsibility to the Registrar. The heads of the main divisions were designated Secretaries according to the names of the divisions they were heading. They represented the Registrar on various appropriate committees.
In October 1989, the Student Affairs and Security Divisions were removed from the Office of the Registrar to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor.
By 2004, an earlier reorganization in the Registry Department narrowed the divisions under the Registry Department to four, namely, Academic Division, Establishment Division, Housing Division, and Publications and Documentation Division. The Junior Staff Office became a unit under the Establishment Division while the Passages Office and the Information Unit of the Information and Publications Division were transferred to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor to form the nucleus of the Information, Public Relations, Passages and Protocol Unit. Similarly, in another reorganization, four units were established under the Office of the Registrar, namely, Council Affairs, Legal Matters, Staff Training, and Pension.