UNIMAID has digital capacity for global interactions – Osinbajo

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has disclosed that the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has acquired the digital capability to allow its students to interact and take lessons from anywhere in the world.

Osinbajo said this on Thursday at the formal handover of the Muhammadu Indimi International Learning Center and International Conference Center to the UNIMAID leadership in Maiduguri.

The facility that was built and donated to university philanthropist Muhammadu Indimi was inaugurated in Buhari in December 2021.

The vice president praised Indimi for the gesture, adding that, over the years, the institution has made progress in developing human capacity in the country.

“UNIMAID has trained many great Nigerians, including the current President of the Senate, the CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. group and ours, Professor Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno.

“ For UNIMAID to keep up with the rapid pace of development in the world, it needs more investment; that investment cannot come only from the government.

“The vision of the future and the innovation to imagine; conceiving and building a hub that allows Maiduguri students to interact and take lessons from Shanghai, Houston or Paris is exactly what is needed for this institution to keep pace with and in some ways lead the ongoing educational innovation we are experiencing.

“This hub will also allow students to enroll in UNIMAID from Abuja, Lagos or even Johannesburg, expanding the University’s enrollment base and providing more options for students to learn and interact.”

Osinbajo said that the Federal Government will also continue to invest in universities.

According to him, UNIMAID is in phase 2 of the Energizing Education Program financed through the Rural Electrification Agency.

“The Federal Government through REA, in partnership with the World Bank, is in advanced stages of establishing a 12MW Hybrid Solar Power Plant to power UNIMAID and its Teaching Hospital.

“The project will also include a training center and builds on similar projects that have already been completed at Bayero Kano University (BUK), Makurdi Federal University of Agriculture (FUAM), Usman Danfodio Sokoto University (UDUS) and the Alex Federal Ekwueme. Ndufu-Alike University (FUNAI).

“Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that through the approved Economic Sustainability Plan, NNPC, REA and Yola DISCO are partnering with my office and the Borno Governor’s Office to implement 30MW of solar power in critical areas of Maiduguri.

“There will be six solar plants of 5MW each to increase the supply of the network and protect against energy sabotage.

“Let me also say that the efforts of the federal government and private individuals can only be truly useful when the state government is serious about development.”

He said that Zulum had demonstrated the benefits inherent in partnering the government with the private sector,

Osinbajo said the governor had built several mega-schools, massive shopping malls, more than 8,000 housing units, and the first overpass in Borno.

The Vice President said that it was moving and commendable that all of Zulum’s achievements were at such a low cost.

According to the vice president, education is the spark behind each girl and boy to maximize their individual potential.

He said that Indimi’s work through his foundation has continued to focus on education as a core area.

“Let me again commend and congratulate Indimi on the completion of this historic project and the successful delivery of the International Learning Center,” he said.

In his speech, Zulum said he was particularly pleased with the vice president’s presence as the projects were another milestone in the state.

The governor said that Indimi’s humanitarian and philanthropic efforts have had a great impact on the lives of the people of the state.

In her remarks, Indimi thanked the vice president for honoring the occasion.

She said her gesture was born out of her passion for education and empowerment.

Earlier in his speech, UNIMAID Vice-Chancellor Prof. Aliyu Shugaba expressed the deep gratitude of the Borno people and government to Indimi.

He said Indimi’s gesture was the first of its kind in Nigeria.

The event attracted members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, state officials, traditional rulers, among others.