WHEN Miss Faizal Abu bakar Sani, 17, a former student of Olumawu School,
Abuja, was writing her West Africa Senior School Certificate
Examination, WASS-CE, few months ago, little did she know that the
examination would earn her a scholarship to study any course of her
choice in any university in the world of her choosing. As fortune smiles
on her, Faizal’s scholarship as stated by the Kano State Government,
where she hails from, will know no bounds, as it covers university
education in any foreign country to whatever level she wants. Faizal,
who was celebrated by her alma-mater, Olumawu School, Abuja; had nine A1
in the May/June 2016 West African Senior Secondary School Certificate
Examination (WASSCE). She had A1 in English Language, Mathematics,
Further Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Computer Studies,
Civic Education and Marketing. The result was adjudged by her school and
Kano State government as the best ever in the state. Famous
universities Faizal who spoke with Vanguard said: ‘’I will like to study
Medicine in any of the famous universities abroad. Meanwhile, I have
been offered admission by at least seven universities in the United
Kingdom and one university in Egypt, to study medicine.’’ On her reading
habit, Faizal who scored 226 in the last JAMB said:
‘’I have no specific study hour because most times I study until I get
tired and often fall asleep.” She, however disclosed that when preparing
for examination, she reads and takes a break every 30 minutes. Her
words: “My mother contributed greatly to my academic success, because
she encourages and grooms me.
My father is a businessman who paid my school fees.’’ On her part,
Faizal’s mother, Mrs. Hadiza Abubakar, who is a lawyer, described her
daughter as a quiet, reserved and responsible girl who has shown
intelligence right from her birth. She said: ‘’I have not in anyway
influenced her because she has a mind of her own. Mine is just to guide
her and advise her. She is a young girl with an already set mind. I
wanted her to go into software engineering, but she said she wanted to
read Biomedical Engineering. ‘’I sat her down, looked at it and said
that if she goes for that, she will have a limited number of schools to
fit in. I advised her to go for Data Based Management course. “Being a
lawyer and working in the Identity Management sector. I saw an area
where she could go into, which is Data Base Management course, which has
to do with software. She had already made up her mind . If Biomedical
engineering is not available, she will go for medicine and she has been
on that.” On the early marriage in the north, as opposed to education,
she said: ‘’I do not have a problem with early marriage if the girl is
already matured.
The important thing is that whoever is getting married should be
focused.” Hadiza who said her daughter takes after her said: ‘’Even
though I got married at an early age, I knew where I wanted to be and
education was my primary focus. I achieved a lot in education. I might
not have been an A1 student like her, but I was good in many courses in
school.” The governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje on his part said:
‘’The scholarship is meant to cover her undergraduate, postgraduate and
doctorate degrees at any university of her choice across the world.
This gesture is to acknowledge merit and to especially encourage
girl-child education in our state. Chosen endeavours “The state
government is making arrangements to ensure that the gifted children are
given opportunity to fully exploit their potentials.
We will continue to encourage our people to achieve in their chosen
endeavours and bring honour to their families, the state and the nation
at large.” In her reaction, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Aloma Muktar said that Faizal’s academic feat boldly represents the new
era for the girl child in Nigeria. She said: “Once upon a time, girl
child was a second class member of her family and society but today,
things have changed for better as both sexes have equal opportunities to
activate their natural potentials and strive for the best in their life
time”. The Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, charged Faizal to
sustain the tempo of her excellent academic feat by taking it to the
realm of invention and end up being an inventor who will do Nigeria
proud in future. He said: “We want you to go back to your books on more
serious template when you get to the university and repeat this academic
feat, entailing reading and researching and through it, becoming an
inventor who will do Nigeria proud in future.”
Also, Barrister Arome Audu, a member of the School’s Governing Council
who described Faizal’s academic feat as one akin to the one attained by
the founder of the school, the late Chief (Mrs.) Margaret Oloruntomiwo
Audu as a student at that level in 1951, saying “Faizal is another Mrs.
Audu in the making”.