IN PRAISE OF NURA MANU-SORO

Again, it has been proved that though numbers are decisive, they may altogether be deceptive. In the annals of Bauchi State, there may have never been a time when a few sets out to determine the future of a people than now. History shows that in spite of the very many successful technocrats and business tycoons the state has produced, this is the first time that millions of naira had been set aside to pay school tuition fees to students who are educationally thirsty but financially helpless.

And to effectively achieve this, Nura Manu-Soro, a Bauchi State-born businessman, floated a foundation and charged it with the responsibility of administering the scholarship scheme. When he told newsmen on 12th May, 2019, at a press conference in Bauchi that a whopping N100 million had been set aside to provide succour to the educationally thirsty but financially helpless students of Bauchi State, Nura ManuSoro also explained in unambiguous terms that students across Islamiyya, primary and secondary schools, higher Islam and tertiary institutions could access the facility.

According to him, the process of accessing the facility is altogether seamless. It only involves picking a form at the Foundation`s Secretariat, filling and returning it for verification and subsequent shortlisting. Today, through this process, one that is cashless, a total sum of N8.3m has been disbursed to 314 beneficiaries from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi; Bauchi State University, Gadau; Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi; Modibbo Adama University, Yola and Bayero University, Kano.

The Foundation Secretariat which stated this at a press conference also announced that it had finished its first phase of the disbursement and that the next phase would involve constituting what it termed as scholarship selection committee (SSC) in all the 20 Local Governments of Bauchi State. With this, it is critical to note that the foundation is not only committed to disbursing the funds, it is also willing to do so in such a manner that the prospective beneficiaries of the funds will access it with ease.