Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has announced the conversion of Mustapha Umar Elkanemi Arabic (Teachers) College in Maiduguri, the state capital, to a specialised institute for teaching Arabic and Islamic education that will aim to counter the ideology of Boko Haram.

Zulum made the announcement while on an inspection visit to the college, preparatory to the conversion, in Maiduguri on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

The governor stated that the institute, when established, will be run in partnership with the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and it will be producing students who will return to Borno’s 27 Local Government Areas for preaching that will counter the ideology of Boko Haram.

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He said: “We are here to examine the capacity of this school, in terms of human resources and the infrastructure with a view to converting it to be Al-Azhar Institute.

“We hope to ensure that each student after graduating from this school can speak Arabic fluently and have a strong background in Islamic knowledge. Admission to this school will cut across the 27 LGAs so that they can go back and preach peace. We will do everything possible to avoid the reoccurrence of the experience we had in the last decade.”

Meanwhile, Governor Zulum has directed the newly established Borno State Arabic and Tsangaya Education Board to take over the administration of all Tsangaya and Islamic Schools in Borno State.

The Star