by Editor
The Kano State Government has made significant strides in prioritizing education, yet the walls of Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education are witnessing a quiet crisis. It is a crisis of “Ghost Lecturing” where those entrusted to teach are more visible on the political trail than in the classroom. At the center of this controversy is Abdussalam Muhammad Kani al-Gusawy.
A Lecturer or a Full-Time Politician?
Reports from within the college suggest a blatant disregard for the Kano State Civil Service Rules (2004). While students are left stranded and lecture halls remain empty, Mr. al-Gusawy is reportedly traveling outside Kano for weeks at a time. The question the public must ask is: Under what authority does a civil servant abandon their duty post for political tourism?
Under Rule 04306 and 04406 of the Revised Civil Service Rules of Kano State, “Absence from duty without leave” is categorized as Gross Misconduct. In 2015, Sa’adatu Rimi College set a precedent by dismissing staff for gross misconduct; why is the current administration allowing a “political traveler” to continue drawing a salary from the state treasury?
It is a fundamental principle of the public service that an officer must remain neutral. Mr. al-Gusawy, however, has allegedly taken on the role of an opposition activist, frequently challenging government officials and policies.
There is a deep irony here: He is using the salary provided by the government to fund a lifestyle of challenging that very government
If he is an opposition politician, let him resign and join the field.
If he is a lecturer, let him pick up his chalk and face his students.
You cannot be a servant of the state by day and a saboteur of its officials by night. The Code of Conduct for Public Officers prohibits any act that brings the government into disrepute or creates a conflict of interest. Challenging the very administration that pays your wages, while failing to show up for work, is the height of professional hypocrisy.
When a lecturer is absent, the government’s investment in education is sabotaged.
Financial Leakage: Paying a full salary for “zero lectures” is a waste of Kano State resources.
Student Frustration: Students at Sa’adatu Rimi deserve mentors, not “ghosts” who are always “away on political business.”
Institutional Decay: If one lecturer is allowed to break the rules without consequence, others will follow, leading to a total collapse of discipline.
We call on the Kano State Ministry of Higher Education and the Provost of Sa’adatu Rimi College to act. An academic who prefers the “corridors of power” to the “corridors of the classroom” has no place on the government payroll.
Mr. al-Gusawy must be made to “show cause” why he should not be dismissed for his prolonged absences and his partisan activities. The students of Kano are watching. The taxpayers are watching. It is time to end the era of the “Political Lecturer.”
Written By: Mohammed B. Abubakar