30th January, 2024
By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano
Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, on Monday, commissioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) twin structure project, christened Centre of Excellence, estimated to have cost about N15 billion, at Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
The Vice President was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Dr Tope Fasua.
Vice President Shettima expressed gratitude to the CBN for the initiative, adding that, “cognizance must be made of these kind of interventions that add to the positive metamorphosis of our nation, and especially our educational sector.”
According to him: “Nigeria’s economy – just as every other economy on earth – had passed through dire straits in the last 17 years since the onset of the global financial crisis that saw the demise of large financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and hundreds of others between 2008 and 2012. This era also set Nigeria’s banking sector back considerably even though we managed to avert the worst consequences.
“We could however not avert two recessions – one in the year 2016 precipitated by a drastic fall in the price of Crude oil, and another global one caused by unprecedented business and social shutdowns in the best-forgotten COVID-19 era.”
He further stated that: ” Central Bank of Nigeria’s Centres of Excellence is nationally conceived to house world-class postgraduate schools focused on business and finance. What is more fitting than one of these being sited in the great City of Kano, which has traditionally been known to be a centre of business, trade, commerce and finance over centuries.
“The buildings look well-appointed and so longs as finance remains relevant and critical to the development of nations, so long will these projects be relevant. I also understand the eagerness of the VC and management of the university to start utilizing these facilities and to prevent dilapidation due to unuse.”
The Vice President maintained that: “Some of Africa’s largest markets are in the City of Kano. Dawanau market is reputed to turn over an average of N5 Billion on a daily basis in commodity trade and serves West Africa as a whole. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement has already kicked off and Nigeria needs to fill her own space therein. Some of Nigeria’s remaining thriving industries are resident in Kano still. Kano is not only about commodity trade, even though this city houses perhaps the highest density of warehouses in Nigeria.
“It is therefore hoped, that the activation of this magnificent Centre of Excellence will add considerable value to the already established status of Kano State, Northwest Nigeria, and Nigeria as a whole. I am hopeful, that through the research work that will take place in this centre, the horizon of commerce, banking, finance, and trade will be expanded and that Nigeria can begin to consolidate her position as a hub for value-addition, industrialization, and even the harnessing of the new vista of artificial intelligence, machine learning, nanotechnology, and other arcane innovations that are changing our lives positively the world over.
“The world of finance itself is rapidly evolving. Financial technology companies, otherwise called FINTECHs, have redefined the space even in Nigeria, in terms of payment systems, savings mobilization, nano and microfinancing, and transactional banking. On the global scene, Islamic Finance has hit a threshold of $2 trillion with prospects to attain $10 trillion and become a dominant force in infrastructure financing in a short time, even as financing from China has receded due to slower economic growth. I
“In the West, Private Equity investors, Venture Capitalists, Impact Investors, Hedge Funds, and other corporate players continue to innovate their product offerings for the world. BUK’s Centre of Excellence will do well to study the rapid developments in these spaces, towards advising Nigeria and Africa on the best financing choices and the most sustainable options for our financial sector at large.”
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, hinted that the idea of having the two gigantic edifices started way back in 2011.
He further stated that the actual implementation started on April 5, 2012, adding that, ” these two structures were approved by the then CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
” They were approved in the six geo-political zones. These two structures represent what we have in BUK.”
Prof. Sagir further stated that the two structures were completed in November 2020, “but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other things that came up after that, the handing over of these projects was not possible until September 21, 2023.
“We gathered here today to get these two important projects commissioned by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
” To my right, we have a building that accommodates departments and plenary; and to my left, we have an accommodation facility that contains 190 rooms, with state-of-the-art facilities in the structure.
“These two buildings are very important to the university because an academic environment like this is supposed to have something like this which will certainly improve the quality of teaching and learning in the university.
” It will reduce the burden of shuttling around from hotels to the academic environment, for academic activities. We are grateful to CBN for handing over these two important buildings to the university. We are grateful to CBN for other interventions.”