From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Kaduna State Chapter, has expressed disappointment over the editorial stance of a national daily (name withheld by our correspondent) against the newly approved federal government’s decision to establish a Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State.
In a press statement on Thursday, signed by the Chairman, Luka Binniyat, the MBF questioned the newspaper’s motives, wondering why it did not condemn the establishment of four new federal tertiary institutions in Zaria town, Kaduna State, which already has 11 federal institutions.
According to Binniyat, the national daily editorial of January 7, 2025, dismissing the new university as “political” and a “Greek gift” was unfair and demonstrated a lack of understanding of the historical marginalisation of Southern Kaduna.
“We feel that, had the editors of the said national daily been armed with the shocking marginalisation that Southern Kaduna has suffered in the allocation of federal institutions in Kaduna State, they would have written their editorial from a rather sympathetic perspective,” Binniyat said.
The MBF chairman noted that Southern Kaduna, which makes up 12 local government areas out of the 23 in Kaduna State, has been neglected in the allocation of federal institutions.
“Kaduna State has an approximate landmass of 46,000 square kilometres, out of which Southern Kaduna has an estimated 26,000 square kilometres. Yet, Southern Kaduna has no single university,” Binniyat lamented.
Binniyat also pointed out that the new university in Kachia already has a well-developed physical structure, courtesy of the privately built Nok University, which was forfeited to the federal government by the EFCC.
“Unlike Speaker Abbas, who secured N80 billion funding for Zaria’s new schools, the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, is not costing the federal government much to build,” he said.
The MBF chairman questioned the newspaper’s silence on the establishment of four new federal tertiary institutions in Zaria town, which already has 11 federal institutions.
“Why didn’t the editors write their editorial condemning the creation of new federal universities when Zaria town, which is already saturated with federal institutions, got an additional four new ones?” Binniyat asked.
Binniyat also expressed concern that the newspaper’s criticism may be motivated by a desire to discourage the federal government from establishing the new university.
“We suspect that the motive behind the editorial is to discourage the federal government from seeing the takeoff of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia,” he said.
The MBF chairman emphasised the importance of the new university to the people of Southern Kaduna, who have been historically marginalised.
“A university is not merely a place of learning; it 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,” Binniyat said.
He called on the newspaper editorial board to reconsider its stance on the new university, noting that the MBF would appreciate a follow-up editorial that takes into account the historical context of Southern Kaduna’s marginalisation.
“We hope that the newspaper will do the right thing and give us a balanced reportage,” he said.
The MBF chairman reiterated the Forum’s commitment to advocating for the rights and interests of the people of Southern Kaduna.
“We will continue to speak out against injustice and marginalisation, and we will not be silenced by critics who do not understand our struggles,” he added.