Ministerial Screening: How Student Turned Senator Made Case For His Former Lecturer

By - LagosCityReporters 9 August 2023 Comments (0) 2 Mins Read

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One of President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees, Professor Tahir Mamman, was swept off his feet last week during his screening before the Senate.

It was gathered that a former student of Mamman, who is now a Senator representing Borno Central senatorial district from Borno State, Kaka Shehu Lawan, rose to defend his one-time lecturer during the screening.

Mamman, who hails from Adamawa State, is one of the nominees confirmed as a member of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet and is currently the Vice Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja.

During his screening last week, Lawan rose to make a case for the law professor, saying Mamman was his former law lecturer and Dean of student affairs, and he has equipped him intellectually and otherwise.

The lawmaker said, “My name is Kaka Shehu Lawan; I represent the good people of Borno Central senatorial district, from Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria.

“The nominee standing before you is Professor Tahir Mamman, once my teacher, Head of the Department, and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Student Affairs, while I was a student at the University of Maiduguri. In part 2, he taught me Constitutional Law, and in part 3, Administrative Law.

“I am very happy to inform this Hallowed Chamber that I was a student union leader when he was the Student Union Affairs at the University of Maiduguri. Comrade Oshiomhole was also my mentor then when he was a Labour leader.

“Mr. President, Professor Taiwo Mamman was one of the best brains at the University of Maiduguri. As a lecturer in part 2, he fraternised with the students; when you asked him questions, he would answer.

“And then, he would practically expose us to the constitution, and how it operates, the modus operandi of power of executive, legislature, and judiciary were actually at our fingertips in part 2.

“In part 3, when the students of the University of Maiduguri were not entitled to accommodation, when he became the Dean of Student Affairs, he maneuvered his ways to make sure that the students were accommodated in the hostel. Not only that, he gave us free hands to operate as unionists at the University of Maiduguri.”