Who is Prof Ribadu, the New CEO NUC?
Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, FCVSN, the newly appointed Executive Secretary (ES) of the National Universities Commission (NUC), was born in Fufore, Adamawa State, on September 2, 1960. He completed his primary education between 1967 and 1973 and subsequently attended Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Mubi, from 1973 to 1978, where he earned his West African School Certificate (WASC).
In the 1978/79 session, he attended the School of Basic Studies at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and in October 1979, he enrolled in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree program at ABU, which he successfully completed in June 1984. Following his graduation, he fulfilled his mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the Lower Niger River Basin and Rural Development Authority in Ilorin from 1984 to 1985.
In September 1985, Professor Ribadu began his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction at the University of Maiduguri. Driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, he returned to ABU Zaria from 1986 to 1988 to pursue a Master of Science degree in Theriogenology. In 1990, he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship for his PhD studies at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. Later, in 1997, he received a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship from the prestigious Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) at Rakuno Gakuen University in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan.
Throughout his academic career, Professor Ribadu ascended through the ranks and was appointed Professor of Veterinary Reproduction at the University of Maiduguri in October 2002. He held various academic and administrative positions at the university level and was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Yola (now Modibbo Adama University), by President Olusegun Obasanjo in April 2004. As Vice-Chancellor from April 26, 2004, to April 25, 2009, he implemented significant changes that positively impacted the university’s landscape.
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Professor Ribadu has served as an external assessor and examiner for notable institutions such as Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Ibadan, and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He is a competent and resourceful researcher, with numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations at national and international conferences. His groundbreaking research on “Ultrasonography and Endocrinology of Ovarian Cysts in Cattle” at the University of Liverpool has received extensive citations. From June 2009 to November 2011, he took a one-year sabbatical and an additional year and a half at the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja, where he chaired the Committee on Monitoring of Private Universities (COMPU). He also served as a Visiting Professor/Advisor to Nigerian Turkish Nile University (NTNU) in Abuja from January 2012 to June 2013. In November 2013, he became a Professor in the Department of Theriogenology at the University of Abuja and was a Visiting Professor at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU) in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 2023. Prior to his appointment as Executive Secretary, he had been a visiting professor at the Commission.
In December 2013, Professor Ribadu was appointed the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Jigawa State University, Kafin Hausa, later renamed Sule Lamido University. During his tenure, he oversaw the university’s foundation and the enrollment of its first students, culminating in a successful inaugural convocation after five years of dedicated leadership.
Professor Ribadu is a member of various national and international professional bodies. He was awarded a membership diploma from the College of Veterinary Surgeons of Nigeria (MCVSN) in 2003 and became a Fellow of the College in 2011. Additionally, he is a member of the Nigeria Institute of Management (MNIM), an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers (FNIAE), a Fellow of the Global e-Policy and e-Government Institute, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea, and a Fellow of the Institute for Government Research and Leadership Technology (2014). Professor Ribadu served as Secretary-General of the Association of West African Universities (AWAU) and was conferred an Honorary Degree (Honoris Causa) by Commonwealth University in London on December 14, 2017. He has been a member of the TETFund’s National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRF) since 2021.
His academic and administrative efforts have provided him with opportunities to travel to numerous countries, including Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Japan, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Professor Ribadu is fluent in Fulfulde, Hausa, English, and conversational Japanese (Nihongo).
He is happily married to Aisha Mohammed Abba and is the proud parent of three children: Asma’u, Hadiza, and Zaynab. His hobbies include reading, traveling, and playing table tennis.
