Vice President Kashim Shettima has commissioned a multi-billion naira Centre of Excellence building at the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) New Site.
The structure, which houses a postgraduate school, was constructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in furtherance of its cooperate social responsibility policy.
There are two five-storey buildings in the complex, with one consisting of 190 well-furnished single hotel rooms, and the other housing two modern theatres, classrooms, and offices of the Banking and Finance Faculty, estimated to have cost N15 billion.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Shettima described the facility as rightly located, considering Kano’s position as a renowned commercial center in Nigeria.
The Vice President, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr. Tope Fasua, stressed the need for the university to maintain the facility.
"Central Bank of Nigeria’s Centres of Excellence is nationally conceived to house world-class postgraduate schools focused on business and finance," he said.
"What is more fitting than one of these being sited in the great City of Kano, which has traditionally been known to be a center of business, trade, commerce, and finance over centuries?
“The buildings look well-appointed and so long 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 Vice Chancellor and the management of the university to start utilizing these facilities and to prevent dilapidation due to unuse.
“Some of Africa’s largest markets are in the City of Kano. The Dawanau Market is reputed to turn over an average of N5 billion daily 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 center, 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,” he added.
The Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, expressed appreciation for such an edifice to have been placed at the University.
According to him, the facilities will boost research, as well as the economic development of the country.
Prof. Abbas further said “These two facilities will go a long way in assisting the university, Kano, and Nigeria because the two buildings are meant for finance, economics, and other social sciences.
“It is going to boost research, it is going to boost the economy of Nigeria. We are going to put them to use so that they contribute to national development.
“We are not privy to the cost implication of the facility because when we requested for the facility we were just requested to show the site and that was done. We have not seen how much it cost but we have taken the value.
“After the two edifices have been handed over to us, we have taken the value of the two facilities and the two will now cost more than N15 billion”.
