Tribute to Professor Yusuf Ibrahim
Zakari: Adiu Bindawa’s Discipline and Hardworking Ambassador
Once
again, my esteemed readers, I am writing a tribute of a bosom friend and town
mate, Prof. Yusuf Zakari whose death occurred last week. Next week, I will continue
with my Column “Breakthrough”
In the evening of Wednesday 18th
April, 2018, I was going through the documents circulated at the emergency
University Senate meeting of that day when I saw a kind of “news flash” from my
phone, “Inna Lillah wa Inna Ilaihin Rajuun, Prof. I wish to condole you on the
death of Dr. Zakari” – sender “Ibrahim Zakariyau”. I was really shocked beyond
imagination. It was that same day during the Senate meeting; the amiable Vice
Chancellor of our great university, ABU Zaria, Prof. Ibrahim Garba announced
the promotion of Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim Zakari to the coveted and pinnacle position
of “Professor of Nuclear Physics” with effect from 2014. This was the
announcement Dr. Yusuf was anxiously waiting for in the last two years. It came
less than five hours to his death. It came when he was in comma in Katsina
Medical Center. Such as life, death is the necessary end and it comes at
appointed time. We have no option but accept the reality of life. I quickly
reflected the time and life of Prof. Yusuf Ibrahim Zakari who did not enjoy the
privilege of being addressed Professor until he was unconscious on his
deathbed. He lived an exemplary life of discipline and hard work. He was
trustable and incorruptible in his academic and social life.
I can vividly recall a drama that was
played in Prof. Yusuf’s office some years back.
“Good morning Dr Zakari, I am Prof. XYZ” after the pleasantries, “I came
to see you in connection to the carry over of your course “Phy 131” by my son,
I want you to assist my son to pass the course” “Your son must put in an extra
effort to study and pass it” Dr Zakari retorted to the visitor, “well, but ….”
a usual trend normally exhibits by ‘lobbyists’ to make discipline lecturers
bend ‘rules of the games’ to allow weak students
pass without putting in an extra effort. In over two decades, Dr Zakari taught
Phy 131, he had received uncountable overtures from such ‘lobbyists’, but he
resisted vehemently such overtures. “Prof XYZ, can you excuse me as you can see
I am busy? Dr. Zakari politely requested the visitor to leave but the visitor
pushed harder, “but you see…” the visitor insisted, “kindly walk out of my
office” Dr Zakari sternly directed the visitor without mincing of words.
Evidently, the visitor’s request furiously irritated Prof. Zakari. He was
annoyed on how parents could go an extra length to secure high grades for their
children through ‘lobbying’ and other means but hard work. These days, parents
could go to ‘miracle centers’ for their wards to secure nine credits from NECO
and GCE; and miraculously get admission into universities with result they
could not defend. The result of these miraculous antecedents is massive
failures of students at their first year in the university, which become a
major headache to the tutors of such students. Yusuf’s incorruptible nature
makes him unapproachable to the so-called assistance to “pass the impassable”.
Generally, physics is a course, which is
virtually compulsory to all science-based students at hundred level of
university system and the class is always in the range of 400 to 600 students.
The psychological fear that “physics is hard” among the students and the
over-crowded nature of the class with weak and decaying infrastructure make
physics lecture an arduous task. This was the trade of Prof. Yusuf, which he
assiduously accomplished till his death.
What are the accomplishments of Prof. Yusuf in the academic arena?
At one time or the other, Prof Yusuf
virtually taught most of the courses being offered by the Department of
Physics, ABU Zaria. On the average he taught four courses per semester from
1999 when he actively started teaching till this first semester of 2017/18
session. In each semester, he marked more than five hundred examination scripts
in addition to students’ practical reports. From 2008 to 2015, Prof Yusuf
successfully graduated eleven MSc Students where he served as a major
supervisor. Among these students were Muhammad Sadiq Abubakar
(Msc/Scien/1733/07-08), Ismaila Aminu (MSc/Scien/10647/07-08) and Onuh Echeche
(MSc/Sci/4518/2011-2012). In addition, he
graduated six MSc students where he served as a minor supervisor. Within the
same period, he was supervising twelve MSc Students projects with some of them
completing in the last two years. He also supervised six PhD candidates to
completion from 2008 to 2015. Among these students were Umar Aminu Yakubu
(PhD/Scien/06855/08-09.) who worked on “Estimation of Quality Assurance for
X-ray and the effect of temperature, pressure and humidity in air on photon
fluence and air KERMA values at low photon energies with Equipment in Katsina
State Hospitals” and Viva Ibrahim Yakubu ( Ph.D/Sci/51951/05-06) who worked on “Design of additional safety
Control Rod for NIRR-1 HEU and LEU Cores using Monte Carlo Transport Code”. In
addition to this feat recorded at ABU Zaria, his employer and Alma Mater, Prof.
Yusuf was known for his immeasurable contribution to the running of academic
programs of other universities either as a visiting scholar, external examiner,
and resource person for program accreditation or postdoctoral scholar. His
undergraduate students’ supervisions were uncountable. On academic
publications, Prof Yusuf had 35 peer-reviewed academic articles published in
reputable national and international journals. He participated in more than 30
national and international conferences on Nuclear Physics held in different
continents. There were also eight scholarly awards to the credits of Prof.
Yusuf of blessed memory. The awards included Carnegie Postdoctoral fellowship
award to University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa in 2006 and ICTP
Full award to attend Nanoscience College at ITHEMBA LAB Cape town South Africa
in 2007. At the time of his death, Prof. Yusuf was holding the position of Head
of Physics Department, ABU Zaria. There is no doubt; Prof. Yusuf was an
accomplished academic, a professor of undisputable high standing and a great
asset to the academia.
On the social front, Prof Yusuf was equally
an achiever of titanic standing. Some years back, he studied the exponential
growth of youth population in our native town of Bindawa, Katsina State. The town
is a true reflection of Nigerian population growth; considerable numbers of
unemployed graduates, secondary school leavers, orphans and widows. He alongside
five of us initiated the establishment of Bindawa Socio-economic Foundation as
a special intervention. The Foundation is a registered Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO). It provides respite to the needy, the weak, widows and
orphans at the moment of their needs. Additionally, the NGO provides educational
supports to secondary schools students, youth’s empowerment, famous Ramadan and
agricultural Projects. In the last five years, the Foundation has touched the
lives of approximately thousand of less privilege members of the society. Prof.
Yusuf was always in the forefront for financial and moral supports to the
implementation of Foundation Projects. Interestingly, he paid all his financial
obligations to the Foundation account including the 2018 Ramadan Project three
months ago. The Ramadan Project involves the purchase and distribution of Foodstuff
and clothing materials to about 200 carefully selected needy people, mostly orphans,
elderly and widows. The Ramadan project provides respite to the beneficiaries
during the holy month of Ramadan as well as assists them to celebrate the end
of Ramadan period. Prof Yusuf derived joy and contentment in helping and
mentoring people. Thus, somehow, he was dividing his salary into three on
monthly basis; the first part was being shared among his innumerable nieces,
nephews, daughters and sons as support to their education and upkeeps. The
second part was for his lifelong project, an over 10 bedrooms house, an
Islamiya and Mosque while the third was to carrying him and the family to next
round of salary payment. Thanks to the Almighty God, his lifelong project was
fully achieved and several people are enjoying the dividends of Prof Yusuf
investment. I once asked him “why did you build this house with numerous
bedrooms?” His answer “I want to provide accommodation to as many students
(from Bindawa) as possible who could not afford the accommodation”.
Consequently, his house becomes the “first bus-stop” to both new and old
students.
Prof.
Ibrahim Garba, Vice chancellor of ABU Zaria aptly described the life of Prof.
Yusuf when he paid a condolence visit to the family, he told the Prof Yusuf’s
widow, “from all the testimonies, Prof Yusuf lived an excellent life of hard
work dedication and commitment, a life of great accomplishments and thus,
deserved our prayers for his soul to rest in perfect peace”. May the Almighty
Allah grant Yusuf a special place in Aljanna Fildaus, Amen
