Stranded Kano Students Abroad Return As Gov Yusuf Settles Debt Owed Foreign Institution

By Ayodele Oni

Parents of students from Kano State studying abroad can now heave a sigh of relief as their wards are due to return home after years of completion of the course of study.

The affected students had traveled abroad for studies on scholarship, courtesy of Kano state government but could not return after completion of their studies due to refusal of their sponsor to pay necessary fees.

The latest information from  Kano state is that  Governor Abba Yusuf has fully settled the outstanding tuition and accommodation fees of the affected students.

Numbering 84, the Kano students were stranded in Northern Cyprus, bringing an end to years of hardship, uncertainty, and international embarrassment.

This was contained in a statement issued by governor’s spokesperson Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa on Thursday.

The affected students—initially sponsored under a foreign scholarship scheme introduced by former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—were left in limbo after the administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje discontinued funding for the programme

The move, not only disrupted the students’ education, but also subjected them to severe financial and emotional trauma, with some facing legal threats from their host institution at Near East University in Cyprus.

For years, the students endured untold suffering: locked out of classrooms, evicted from accommodations, and ridiculed abroad as they battled to survive in a foreign land without support.

The situation drew widespread criticism from human rights groups and diaspora communities who decried the politicization of education and the abandonment of vulnerable 84 citizens abroad.

The statement said the present administration confirmed that all debts owed to the Cyprus Near East University have been cleared.

“A total of two billion, two hundred and forty million has been paid to secure the certificates of the students who have waited for over five years”

This action paves the way for the candidates to receive their certificates and begin to pursue their career.

Among the beneficiaries were 28 medical students, other paramedical and engineering who graduated with MBBS, BSc./MSc Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Computer and Biomedical Sciences.The Governor has directed automatic employment for the students into the state civil service.