A Towering Mind, A Humble Spirit: The Life and Legacy of Emeritus Professor Kyari Tijjani (OFR, FSSAN) 1942 – 2011

…….In Memoriam: Emeritus Professor Kyari Tijjani, OFR

By Comrade Zannah Ibrahim Mustapha
Founder & Editor -In-Chief
Kanempress Digital Hub
30th September 2025

In the arid plains of Wulbza, Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, a giant of intellect, compassion, and public service was born on September 12, 1942. That child, modest in his beginnings, but destined for greatness, would grow into one of Nigeria’s most respected scholars and educators: Emeritus Professor Kyari Tijjani (OFR, FSSAN).

With his passing in 2011, Nigeria lost more than an academic; it lost a generational thinker, a quiet reformer, a teacher of teachers, and a bridge between the traditions of the North and the evolving political frameworks of modern governance. Yet his legacy continues to ripple across classrooms, government institutions, and the hearts of the countless lives he touched.

Rooted in Learning, Raised by Service

From his early education at the Borno Provincial Secondary School, completed in 1961, Professor Tijjani’s journey into education was not just an academic pursuit, it was a calling. He trained as a teacher at the then Zaria Teachers College, earning his Nigeria Certificate in Education by 1965. These formative years would shape the foundation of his career, instilling in him a profound respect for pedagogy and public service.

In the wake of regional restructuring in Nigeria, Kyari Tijjani found himself transferred across states, from Bida to Gombe, always in the service of education. But fate had grander plans. In 1968, he was handpicked by the British Minister for Overseas Development for a prestigious Commonwealth Bursary to attend the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. There, he pursued a Special Course in Teaching English as a Second Language. This experience didn’t just broaden his academic horizon, it ignited an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Scholarship in Action: A Life at the Heart of Academia

Upon his return to Nigeria in 1969, he enrolled at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where he earned his BSc in Sociology in 1972. His brilliance was unmistakable. ABU retained him as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Administration, a role that would blossom into a remarkable academic career spanning nearly four decades.

Professor Tijjani’s interest quickly coalesced around Local Government Studies, a subject then in its infancy in Nigerian universities. He was instrumental in nurturing it into a viable academic discipline. His transition to the University of Maiduguri in 1987 as Head of the Department of Political Science and Administration marked a new chapter. There, he enriched political science education in Nigeria, focusing on Comparative Politics and Public Administration, while never straying far from his first love, Local Government.

His teaching style was Socratic yet deeply African in its empathy. He was rigorous, demanding intellectual discipline, but also deeply nurturing, offering his students the kind of mentorship that bred leaders, not just graduates.

Global Scholar, Proudly African

Professor Tijjani’s academic influence was not confined to Nigeria. In the 1976/77 academic year, he served as a Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, under the distinguished Programme of African Studies. There, under the guidance of Professor Roland Cohen, himself an authority on Borno history, Professor Tijjani began work on his Ph.D. thesis, embedding his scholarship in both indigenous knowledge and international frameworks.

In 1985, his passion for grassroots governance earned him a travel grant from Operation Crossroads Africa, Inc., which took him across American cities to observe local government systems. From the sprawling metropolis of New York to the pioneering spirit of Hartford, Connecticut, where he was symbolically given the Key to the City by Mayor Johnny Ford, Professor Tijjani absorbed global best practices with the vision of translating them for Nigerian realities.

Japan, too, recognized his academic heft. Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he was awarded a grant to study the Japanese model of democracy and governance, laying the groundwork for a proposed twinning between Sapporo and Maiduguri, a symbolic gesture of cross-cultural partnership and mutual learning.

Double Professorship, Singular Excellence

Few academics can claim the honour of simultaneous professorial assessments from two of Nigeria’s leading institutions, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Maiduguri. Fewer still pass both with distinction. Professor Tijjani did. It was a testimony not only to his intellect, but to his strong dedication to rigorous scholarship and national development.

His accolades were numerous. From being a Fellow of the Social Science Academy of Nigeria (FSSAN) to receiving the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), conferred by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, he remained grounded, viewing each recognition as a reminder of responsibility rather than a crown of achievement.

A Lasting Legacy

Professor Kyari Tijjani was more than a scholar; he was an institution. In the quiet corners of university libraries, in lecture halls echoing with critical discourse, in policy circles where the structure of local governance is debated, his presence endures.

He never sought the limelight, yet his work illuminated pathways for thousands. He believed that education was not merely about acquiring knowledge, but about using it in the service of others. He viewed public service not as a career, but as a duty. And he carried himself with a humility so profound, it often masked the magnitude of his contributions.

In Memoriam

As the nation marked his passing, tributes flowed from most students, colleagues, mentees, and everyday Nigerians whose lives he transformed through knowledge and kindness. At the University of Maiduguri, where he served until his last breath, his absence still echoes, but so does his wisdom, in every curriculum he shaped, every policy he critiqued, and every soul he mentored.

As we remember Emeritus Professor Kyari Tijjani, we do more than mourn, we celebrate a life of immense substance. A life lived not in pursuit of wealth or acclaim, but in relentless devotion to truth, equity, and the betterment of society.

May Allah, the Most Merciful, grant him Aljannah Firdaus and guide the rest of us to walk the path he walked, with honour, humility, and unwavering commitment to humanity. Ameen.

📚 “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Adams

Indeed, Professor Kyari Tijjani’s influence will never stop.