My name is Professor Shehu Salihu Muhammad, the Vice Chancellor Umar Yar'adua University, Katsina. I was born in Mahuta, under Dandume Local Government Area of the state. I started my education in Mahuta and I also attended secondary school in Kafanchan from 1974 to 1979. I attended Bayero University Kano from 1979 to 1983, I did my youth service in Benue thereafter.
I started work in Lagos with the Federal Ministry of Works and Environment as an admin officer. At that time the ministry was under Saidu Barda as the Secretary General.
I then had the opportunity of going to the Uthman Danfodio University Sokoto, where I started lecturing as a Graduate Assistant in 1985. That was where I began my academic profession becoming a university professor.
After that, I have worked with an international organization called African Trading Research and Development. It's activities centered on governance and administration, with about 38 countries involved. I spent only two years there, my services were even extended but I decided to return home. I went back to Sokoto, from where I moved to Zaria, to the Political Research Institute of the Ahmadu Bello University.
I was made the Vice Chancellor of this University in 2023. In between all these, I have been to several countries across the world. I have delivered papers in some of these places, and have attended meetings and conferences in others. I am married with two wives and I have nine children.
This university is well organized and was established in 2006. It was established by the late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua. A lot has been achieved since inception.
When he became President and later died, those he had put in place and those who succeeded him, like Ibrahim Shehu Shema, Governor Masari, and later on this government came, they have all continued along the path on which the university was established. It has gotten to the level whereby you can compare it to any university anywhere outside.
We have enough infrastructure such that there are enough offices for staff, enough classes for students and enough laboratories for research. In fact presently, we have facilities that even universities established earlier do not have.
Like I have mentioned earlier, all those that succeeded Umar Musa Yar'adua are the ones that have ensured the establishment of these infrastructure and facilities that have brought us to where we are today.
For example, in this university, we had five faculties, but now we are having nine faculties. This is a school that started with only 1000 students but can now boast of having 20,000 students studying under good environment.
We offer degrees in 117 fields in the university presently. We are also enjoying a cordial relationship with other universities and institutes across Nigeria and beyond. We have friends in Niger, and even Europe, like in Germany and the UK. We have good working relationship with them in various fields. Sometimes our staff go to them to spend some time working there and return with new experiences, and theirs also come and spend some time with us to gain. This is really an achievement.
Presently we have produced a lot of professors. For example in 2025 we had about 113 staff promoted, at that time we had 19 professors all in 2025. We have about 48 staff with second degrees, about 83 have moved from Lecturer 2 to Lecturer 1. There are also those that have become Doctorate degree holders. Finally, what I want to say here is that we have achieved a lot in the development of the University.
More so, it is not just that our lecturers are going to other places to upgrade their levels, they also have our support. Whosoever does not benefit from TETFUND can benefit from the N2 billion that was kept aside when the university was established. They are sponsored from the proceeds of of the investment to go and study for their second and third degrees both at home and abroad.
I want you to understand that you can go round universities and will not find this kind of facility where such money is set aside and used in sponsoring sponsoring the staff to upgrade themselves. This was initiated by the late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua, and those that came after him continued along the same path.
The university also has corporate social responsibility. There are two issues, we are very grateful with what we are getting from the public. There are those who come to assist the university in various ways due to our relationship with them. There are those who have constructed hostels for us, there are those that have constructed boreholes for us, there are those who have sponsored researches, there are also those who have sponsored students to study in the university. We get all these things.
What we do on our side is that, those in whose environment the university is located, both those in the towns and the villages enjoy a good relationship with the university.
About 80 percent to 90 percent of our students are from the 34 local governments of Katsina state, apart from those who have come from.other climes.
Apart from this we have different types of courses, like Certificate, Diplomas with which we assist those who cannot pursue degree courses. Apart from these, we also have courses that people come in and benefit from. There are those who come and benefit from some contracts in the university. That is why I said we have a good relationship with this in our immediate environment.
There are also assistance that the university gives to those in our immediate environment that enhances the good living relationship between. For example we have a foundation that supports women, we just finished meeting with them a while ago. There is also the one assisting the less privileged around us.
We have provided access to jobs for them, like cleaners, security guards and the likes. We give them more support, like food items and funds to use in farming and others. There are a lot of other things we do to ensure hamoneous coexistence with the communities around us.
The Government of His Excellency Dikko Radda has given a lot of support to the university. For example, the issue of salary which people see as something very easy. But it is clearly difficult to find places where salaries are as consistent. Since I became the Vice Chancellor, there has never been any month that salary had not been paid as and at when due. Event this month that just passed was paid on Saturday 25th and that is how it has always been. The salary is consistent and is paid as and at when due.
If you can recall, ASUU had been on strike and one of the reasons is the lack of payment of academic allowances of lecturers. What the government of his Excellency did was that his government calculated all the academic allowances due. After receiving the alert for monthly salary, a minute later, you get the alert for the academic allowance due.
For example, a lecturer that is supposed to be teaching 50 students, is seen teaching 100 students. Such is monitized, calculated and the lecturer is paid accordingly. There are those whose academic allowances are even more than their salaries. But you see other unions going on strike for that, but here we are consistently being paid, even last month it was paid.
As I have mentioned earlier, as long as you are qualified to further your studies, as a lecturer, whether there is or there is no TETFUND, we pay for you to go. Although there are those who when they go they don't come back, though not all.
More so, overheads are paid without any delays. We also enjoy full autonomy as an institution without any outside influences. Nobody comes to tell us what to do or what not to do. If you would recall there are universities that have been on strike due to the issue of autonomy, but here we have full autonomy and we operate based on the laws establishing us.
Also, if you come around the university at night, you will see that there is light everywhere, this is because we have solar power. His Excellency has put in place a lot of solar implements for us. I know of universities that have closed down due to lack of electricity. Here, we have electricity for about 18-24 hours daily. Even the electricity bills are paid by the state government, we have never received any bills before. All we can say to His Excellency is a big thank you.
On the issue of honorary doctorate degree, we have a university governing council. However, the University Senate is vested with the powers to select qualified persons and give them honorary doctorate degree award. Even the students get cleared by the Senate for their degrees.
It is the Senate that has the power to offer degrees to anyone it dims qualified. Last year about four persons were offered honorary doctorate degrees. They include the Chancellor of the university, Senator Ibrahim Ida, the Wazirin Katsina, he is well known, there is late Hajiya Iro Ikko, she is also well known, there is Dan Ammani, and Sa'idu Mara, they are all well known personalities.
This time around, we have honoured 3 personalities. These include His Excellency the state governor, due to the contribution he has given towards the development of the university. This was decided by the Senate and no one else. There is also the Sardaunan Katsina who was once in-charge of the NIA, and there is also the Ambassador of Nigeria to Qatar who has contributed a lot, not only to education, but also to educational infrastructure. The Senate decided on all these.
SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF UMYU
As at October, 2025 to date, a total number of eighty nine (89) staffs are on various study fellowships among which thirty-three (33) are sponsored by the Staff Training and Development Fund (STD) including two (2) foreign and the remaining fifty-six (56) are sponsored by TETfund.
Overall, over two-hundred Ph D Scholars have been trained through Staff Training and Development Fund many of which are Professors now.
PROMOTION, CONVERSION & UPGRADE
As at October 1st 2025, a total of one hundred and thirteen (113) Academic Staff were promoted to various ranks:
1. Nineteen (19) to the rank of Professors
2. Twenty (20) to Readers
3. Thirty one (31) to Senior Lecturers
4. Seventeen (17) to Lecturer I
5. Twenty seven (27) to Lecturer II
Additionally thirty-six (36) staff were converted to various cadres and upgraded to higher ranks. Promotions are also regular, consistent and merit driven.
INFRASTRUCTURE
From 2023 to date the following are the completed projects at the University:
1. Construction of office complex at Faculty of Agriculture
2. Construction of Departmental Block A and B at Faculty of Agriculture
3. Construction and furnishing of five hundred (500) seat lecture theatre and laboratories
4. Construction of three-hundred (300) capacity multi-purpose lecture hall
5. Expansion of research facilities in the Central Laboratory
6. Construction of Department of Special Education Phase I
7. Construction of School of Continuing Education
8. Construction of fifty (50) NR housing units for University staff
9. Construction and furnishing of Medical students' hostel.
10. Construction of lecture theatre, Postgraduate classes and academic staff offices at Faculty of Social Sciences
11. Construction of classrooms and academic staff offices at Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences
12. Construction of University Third (3rd) Water Scheme
13. Construction of fifteen (15NR) three bedroom flats for University staff
14. Construction of fifteen (15NR) two bedroom flats for University staff
15. Construction of A block of forty-eight (48NR) rooms in male hostels for the College of Health Sciences
16. Construction of lecture theatre, postgraduate classes and academic staff offices at Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
ACCREDITATED PROGRAMMES
From 2023 to date the following programmes were given full accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC):
1. M.Sc. Accounting
2. Master of Public Administration (MPA)
3. M.Sc. Public Administration
4. B.Sc. (Ed). Mathematics
5. LL. B Law
6. B. Sc Biochemistry
7. B.Sc. Mathematics
8. Master of Business Administration
9. B. Sc. Local Government and Developmental Studies
10. B. Sc. (Ed) Integrated Sciences
11. B.Sc. (Ed) Business Studies
12. B. A (Ed) Primary Education
13. B. A (Ed) Early Childhood Education
14. B. Sc. (Ed) Computer Science
15. B.Sc. Meteorology
16. B. Sc. International Relations
17. B. A. (Ed) Special Education Twenty eight (28) Programs are also awaiting result from the NUC accreditation conducted in 2025.
COLLEGE OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
From 2023 to date, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved fourteen (14) additional postgraduate programmes and these are:
1. PhD Physics
2. PhD Microbiology
3. PhD Biochemistry
4. PhD Law
5. PhD Sociology
6. PhD English/Literature
7. PhD Public Administration
8. PhD Library and Information Sciences (LL.M)
9. PhD Political Sciences
10. MSc. Sociology
11. MSc. Business Management
12. Masters in Environmental Sustainability
13. Masters in Renewable Energy Management A total of eight hundred (800) students graduated from the Post Graduate College
14. PGD Sociology
Between the year 2023 to date comprising of one hundred and seven (107) PhDs, one hundred and forty-eight (148) Postgraduate Diploma and five hundred and forty-five (545) Academic and Professional Masters Degree.
At present, all programs in the University are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) with high ratings.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOUs) SIGNED BETWEEN UMYU AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES/RESEARCH CENTERS/ORGANIZATIONS
From 2023 to date, the following are some of the MOUs signed between Umaru Musa Yar'adua University and other organizations/bodies:
1. Shaanxi University of Technology (SNUT), The People's Republic of C hina
2. The Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Katsina
3. Katsina State Hospital Services Management Board (KSHSMB), Katsina
4. InternationalUniversity of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan
5. Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, (HUKPOLY), Katsina
6. Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), Katsina
COLLABORATIONS/LINKAGES
Below are some of the Collaboration/linkages Umaru Musa Yarádua University has with other Organizations/Institutions:
1. Songhai Health Trust Limited (HMO)
2. Lease Agreement between UMYU and Globacom Limited.
3. University of Tahoua Niger Republic
4. Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India
5. University of Zinder Niger Republic
6. Intellectual Sharing Agreement between UMYU and Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
7. Green Environment and Energy Conservation Initiative (GEECI)
8. Raw Materials Research & Development Council (RMRDC)
9. Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
10. High Tech & Technology Welders, Consult Nigeria LTD (HT&TWC), Katsina
11. University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, USA
12. Institute of Economic Development and Social Research, Republic of Turkey
13. Katsina State Investment & Property Development Company Limited, Katsina
14. French Village Gamborunga, Borno State
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
From 2023 to date over sixty (60) staff of the University are on research grants cutting across all the Faculties and Research Centre of the University. The University is in collaboration with the International University of Sudan to establish UMYU Model Farm which is being spearheaded by the Katsina State Government. The University Team during a TETFund workshop held in May, 2025 developed an award winning special food formula (e-feed) for livestock and a specialized electronic application software (eeapp) designed to guide elderly persons in selecting appropriate food formulation from any part of the country for their daily nutritional needs.
STUDENTS' WELFARE
The management has consistently prioritize students welfare in all its decision ranging from the maintenance of hostels, cleanliness of the environments, water supply, security and zero tolerance to sexual predations and harassment. To tackle the problem of water supply, the intervention of the State Government has made the supply of water in the campus to significantly improve.
Also the National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has sponsored the drilling of four (4) boreholes at the site of the University's third water scheme and the drilling of three (3) boreholes by Justice Umaru Abdullahi (Walin Hausa) two (2) of which are at the students' hostels.
UMYU is among the few Universities in the country that conducts E-Voting during the Students Government Representatives election. In 2025, the Federal Government offered over one hundred and thirty (130) students of the University with Bursary Allowances to support their academic pursuits, UMYU has the largest among the State Universities and 3rd in the whole of the country.
In the year 2025 a total of one hundred and seventy four students (174) were nominated for the award of excellence by Katsina State Government cutting a cross all the Faculties of the University. The University in partnership with Tech9nine Innovators to introduce special vocational Remedial Programme at the University, the programmes targets persons from the thirty four (34) Local Government Areas in the State and aims to provide vocational and entrepreneurial training to youth to become job and wealth creators in the society. The programme is presently being conducted with students taking classes during every first semester.
OTHERS
The Department of English and French hosted the 39th International Conference of English Scholars Association of Nigeria in September, 2024 and Ibrahim Shehu Shema Center for Renewable Energy and Research (ISSCERER) hosted an International Conference on Renewable Energy and Environment in October 2024.
Other Conferences organized/held include:
1. 1st International Conference organized by the Department of Islamic Studies in 2025
2. National Conference of the Faculty of Education in 2025
3. 1st National Conference organized by the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences in 2025.
