By JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Kaduna State Chapter, has taken a swipe at Punch Newspaper over its criticism of the proposed Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Southern Kaduna.
In a strongly-worded statement made available on Thursday January 9, 2025, the forum’s chairman, Luka Binniyat, expressed disappointment over Punch’s editorial, which described the proposed university as a “Greek gift”.
Binniyat argued that Punch’s criticism was unfair, considering Southern Kaduna’s historical marginalization in terms of federal institutions.
He noted that Zaria town alone has 16 federal tertiary institutions, while Southern Kaduna, with a population of over five million people, has none.
The forum chairman also revealed that the proposed university already has a well-developed physical structure, courtesy of a privately built institution that was forfeited to the federal government.
“We suspect that Punch’s editorial is aimed at discouraging the federal government from establishing the university in Kachia,” Binniyat said.
Read the full statement below:
THE MIDDLE BELT FORUM (MBF), KADUNA STATE CHAPTER.
Press Statement For Immediate Release (9th January, 2025)
Punch Newspaper is one of the top most national dailies which has created enormous integrity for itself over the decades. It has attained this rare fit through its courageous, uncompromising and very professional reportage for which the Middle Belt and especially Southern Kaduna (SK) have greatly benefited from over the years.
The Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna State Branch, is therefore taken aback by Punch’s rather acerbic criticism of news of the approval of the establishment of a Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Kachia LGA, in Southern Kaduna, which falls under the Middle Belt.
In its Editorial of 7th January, 2025, the Editorial Board of Punch threw a heavy punch at the Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assenting to create the first university ever in Southern Kaduna, dismissing it as “political” and a “greek gift.”
https://punchng.com/new-federal-varsity-a-misnomer/
Well we have no issues whatsoever with the observations and facts churned out by the Editorial Board of Punch regarding the
poor fundings Federal Universities and other associated matters raised in the Editorial, we feel that had the Editors of Punch been armed with the shocking marginalization that SK has suffered in allocation of federal institutions in Kaduna state, they would.have written its Editorial from a rather sympathetic perspective. They would not have set out in that Editorial to discourage the Federal Government from concluding a development that has stirred so much joy and emotions among the people of SK and indeed all residents members of the Middle Belt in Kaduna State.
We say this for the following reasons:
*A* Reps Speaker, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, who represents Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna state, secured the approval and funds for the establishment and immediate construction of FOUR! (4) new tertiary institutions in Zaria town, including a UNIVERSITY!
*B* . At the flag off of the construction of one of the schools in Zaria, on the 15th December, 2024, Abbas announced to the media that the sum of N80 billion had been approved for the construction of the schools.
The brand new Federal tertiary institutions for Zaria town alone are
a. Federal College of Nursing and Midwifery
b. Federal College of Education
c. Federal Open University
d. Federal College of Legal Studies.
*C*) The Editors of the Punch ought to be aware that Zaria town is unarguably the only town in the entire Nigeria that has the highest numbers of federal institutions as listed below:
1) Ahmadu Bello University (ABU)
2) Federal College of Education (FCoE)
3) Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology
4) Nigerian Leather Research Institute
5) Nigeria College of Aviation Technology
6) Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC)
7)Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR).
8) National Research Institute for Chemical Technology
9)National Animal Production Research Institute
10) National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services.
11) Nigerian Army School of Military Police
12) Nigeria Army School of Legal Services, Basawa Zaria.
That invariably means that there are now 16 Federal tertiary schools in just one town – Zaria which straddles two LGAs North of Kaduna state.
*D*) For the information of the Editorial Board of Punch, the term “Southern Kaduna (SK)” is a Geo-socio/cultural zone made up of no less than 60 ethnic nationalities. It is not a Geo-political zone like “Kaduna South Senatorial Zone” that is subsumed under SK.
SK is made up of 12 LGAs out of the 23 LGAs of Kaduna state. Kaduna South Senatorial Zone is made up of 8 LGAs.
*E* ) Kaduna state has an approximate land mass of 46,000 sq.km. Out of this, Southern Kaduna has an estimated 26,000 sq.km. In fact, SK is bigger than Kano State (20,000 sq.km) which has 44 LGAs. Yet SK has no single University.
*F* ) Going by the National Population Commission (NPC) 2006 Census figures, Kaduna state had a population of 6,113,503 of which 51.2% came from the 12 LGAs of Southern Kaduna. Today, SK is estimated to have a population of about 5.2 million people of the 10.2 million population of Kaduna state in 2024.
*G* ) It may also interest Punch to note that most of the indigenous skilled and educated workforce of Kaduna state comes from SK.
*H* ) Will it then not be shocking to the Editors of the Punch that the only Federal Institution of Higher Learning in Southern Kaduna is a decrepit Federal School of Statistics, Manchok, Kaura LGA in Southern Kaduna. The highest certificate issued there is a Higher National Diploma (HND).
*Our Query to the Punch Editorial*
1) Why didn’t the Editors of Punch write its Editorial condemning the creation of new Federal universities when Zaria town, which is already saturated with 11 Federal Tertiary Schools, got additional Four new ones at a go?
2) As aptly pointed out by the Editors of Punch: “During his tenure (2010-2015), Jonathan established 12 universities. His successor (Buhari) established about 10 tertiary schools. Each arm of the military and the police now have a university.”
Shouldn’t it have bothered the Editors of the Punch that Southern Kaduna, with its landmass and population didn’t get any of these universities at that time? Should we not therefore be happy with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu over this gesture?
3) Again, unlike Speaker Abbas who has secured N80 billion funding for Zaria’s new schools, the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia already has a well-developed physical structure. It was a privately built institution called Nok University, complete faculties, departments, Admin blocks and every basic needed infrastructure in a university. It had in place a school administration and a Board.
Nok University, owned a son of the Middle Belt, was on the verge of taking off after admitting its first batch of students in 2022, when the EFCC closed it down. The EFCC later declared its forfeiture to the Federal Government, claiming it was built from proceeds of corruption. Whatever the reason, we are grateful that there was a structure on ground.
Therefore, the only University in Southern Kaduna, unlike the other new ones, is not costing the Federal Government any much to build. Why then should the Editorial Board of the Punch pick on it?
*Our Fears*
We are at pains to say that we suspect that the motive behind the Punch Editorial is to discourage the Federal Government from seeing the takeoff of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
The Middle Belt and indeed, SK has powerful foes that can go to any extent to ensure that we that we are tied to one place.
If not so, is the Editorial Board of the Punch not aware that a university is not merely a place of learning? That a university is an economy and a development hub of its own with accompanied value chains that could dramatically spark unprecedented prosperity to its area of location and environs?
This suspicion can only be lifted by another Editorial given the hindsight that we have provided. And if that is done, we shall be very appreciative.
Signed: Luka Binniyat
(Chairman, Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna State Chapter) 9th December, 2025.
