Borno State capital Maiduguri has re-enlivened after over a decade of drab and trauma caused by insurgency and can now even pass for “the most peaceful place” in the country.
The above assertion was made by Professor Aliyu Shugaba, the Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) on Thursday when he and his institution’s management team visited the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria in his office in Abuja.
Mr Shugaba says the reduction in insurgent activities in Borno has made Maiduguri one of the most peaceful state capitals it was once known for.
He said the busy activities that Maiduguri was once known for had returned, adding that even the university had recorded tremendous achievement with visitors thronging it for one engagement or the other.
Mr Shugaba disclosed that in spite of the harrowing experience in the last 12 years, the university remained resilient.
He added that the institution remained open to academic activities in spite of the challenges, making it easy to bounce back to what it was known for.
“As a university, we have remained open.
“We have not closed for a single day and today, we thank God almighty that this whole thing has subsided and Maiduguri has opened up.
“I dare say now that if you want the most peaceful place in the whole of this country then Maiduguri is one.
“Having realised this, we have started taking stock of those friends of ours who remained with us in the face of those difficult years,” he said.
The VC commended NAN for its balanced reportage of the university’s activities and that of the state in the peak of the insurgency.
“We are here to express our appreciation to the News Agency of Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Shugaba solicited for the agency’s continued support while the university continued with its academic activities.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of NAN, Buki Ponle, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring the objective, balanced and credible reportage that it was known for within and outside the country.
While commiserating with those who lost loved ones and property to insurgency over the years, the managing director expressed satisfaction with the progress so far made in tackling insecurity in the area.
(NAN)
