Historically, Jigawa State has been classified as educationally backward. Past records show high rates of out-of-school children, low girl-child enrolment, poor learning outcomes, and weak transition rates.
This was the painful reality of the state prior to the efforts to change the narrative by His Excellency, Dr. Sule Lamido.
In his foresight while serving as Executive Governor, Dr. Lamido supported the establishment of the Congress of Jigawa Academics [COJA]. The forum became a rallying point for all academics of Jigawa origin working in various tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
COJA was never a political party, nor was it conceived as a tool for political campaigns. It was established as an independent, non-partisan intellectual think-tank – the conscience of the state. Its mandate was very clear: to provide direction for the educational growth of Jigawa State through research, data, and honest advice to government, irrespective of who is in power.
Available records show that Dr. Lamido, who supported the group’s formation, never used it as a tool for political campaigns. His performance spoke for him. For this reason, Dr. Lamido deserves commendation.
For many years thereafter, COJA functioned as that independent body, until recently when the state government under His Excellency, Umar Namadi Danmodi, set a dangerous precedent.
Academics who came together to advance the cause of education in the state are now being used as political tools to cover up the state government’s failure.
An invitation was sent to individual members of the forum. Out of respect for the office of the governor, members attended. Our coming together as academics was an act of patriotism, not politics. It shows that our conscience is still alive, trying to instil hope for the common child in Guri, Kafin Hausa, Gumel, Hadejia, Ringim and Yankwashi, among several other communities. This was the spirit that built COJA and now the Jigawa Academic Forum.
Regrettably, last week, when invitations were sent to us as active members of this important forum, we received the message from the state government with an open mind. The message was clear: the state government wanted to have a roundtable discussion with academics. We honoured it in good faith. Some of us came with papers, data, proposals, and genuine concern for our dear state. However, there was a sudden hijack of the process; the meeting was turned into a political campaign platform. To say the least, it became a charade.
To our utter shock and dismay, the agenda was abruptly abandoned. The education discussion was discarded. The Governor only read out educational expenditure and apparently failed to show any tangible achievements. The meeting was converted into a political campaign, and regrettably, a vote of confidence and endorsement was staged for the sitting Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Umar Namadi Danmodi, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Why must a government seek endorsement through deceit?
Cameras were brought in, prepared statements were read, and our presence was fraudulently used to portray us as supporters. For many of us, it was the most disappointing moment of our academic lives. We woke up to find ourselves in a quagmire – trapped in a political deception we never consented to.
This is, regrettably, a desperate move by the APC structure in the state through the state government to break the ranks of the academic group and dangerously politicise a forum of critical minds that has been giving the state educational direction.
We begin to ask, what brought Alhaji Ibrahim Masari, Special Assistant on Political Matters to the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, into a forum of intellectuals of Jigawa State? He was never a member, and apart from that, he is an indigene of Katsina State. Was he in Jigawa State for a political campaign or to advance the state’s educational growth? That was when we began to suspect foul play.
As Jigawa State is trying to shake off the toga of backwardness and address the challenges of out-of-school children among boys and girls, lack of standard schools, among other challenges, our participation was meant to chart a way forward for the state’s educational growth.
As concerned Academics, we disown the endorsement of Governor Danmodi and President Tinubu. Let their performances speak, not political deceit.
The twist of events, however, became the biggest tragedy for us. A forum of intellectuals was deliberately arm-twisted by those in government to toe a political line, to compromise and join the rot for personal gain.
This is why most of us who attended the meeting with the aim of bringing succour to the state’s educational challenges have condemned and distanced ourselves from the decision.
As concerned academics from various tertiary institutions within and outside Jigawa State, our profound disappointment, anger, and unequivocal condemnation of this deceptive turn of events is deep.
The purported endorsement being circulated in the media does not represent us, our views, or our collective will. We were deceived and lured under false pretence. The failure of the state government was so glaring. It has not performed creditably well in the past three years. The administration cannot boast of a single completed educational project.
In fact, at no point was endorsement part of the invitation or the agreed programme. Any signature, photograph, or video clip used to portray those who attended the meeting as supporters was obtained through deception. It is unacceptable, null and void. It was just an expression of desperate moves to cover up the governor’s failure.
The act of using the respected name of academics to score cheap political points is condemnable, fraudulent, unethical, desperate, and anti-intellectual.
What the state government did, clearly undermines public trust in academic neutrality and debases the serious educational discourse Jigawa urgently needs. It is an insult to the integrity of the academic community and a clear sign of desperation by a sinking government.
Academics are the conscience of society and must remain so. Our duty is to critique, advise, and proffer solutions to government, irrespective of who is in power.
This is why we cannot be aloof or allow ourselves to be reduced to praise-singers and rented crowds for any administration.
We showed respect for the office of the Governor that organised the meeting, but we are certainly not in tandem with the orchestrated political plan.
Our participation in the meeting does not translate to automatic political support for either the governor or the president. Support must be earned through performance, not manufactured through deceit. We will continue to fight with data, not noise.
We remain committed to the development of education in Jigawa State and are willing to engage any responsible stakeholder in a genuine, non-partisan dialogue for the benefit of our children.
When you politicise the only independent educational forum in a state that’s struggling to shrug off educational backwardness, you are destroying the state’s only mirror. Government will continue to believe it is doing well because it has silenced those who should tell it the truth.
This incident, as painful as it is, is however, a critical turning point. We will not allow JAF to die. We will handle this situation strategically:
JAF remains non-partisan. We will never endorse any politician. As academics , we will only endorse ideas. There shall be no political endorsement. Our credibility is our only capital. The purported endorsement is a product of political trickery and the desperate political move by a sinking ship.
This latest attempt to hijack JAF has failed. The intellectual conscience of Jigawa has refused to die. Let the APC administration from Federal to the State know, this is a moral resistance, and as men of conscience we shall not be silenced.
Thank you.
Professor Muhammad Abdu Mago
For and on behalf of Concerned Members, Jigawa Academic Forum
28th September, 2026
