Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a federal research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria, named after Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first Premier of Northern Nigeria. Opened on 4 October 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria, it is Nigeria’s second-oldest university and, spanning roughly 7,000 hectares, one of the largest universities by land area in Sub-Saharan Africa. ABU operates from the Samaru campus (sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine) and the Kongo campus (law and administration), plus a School of Basic Studies in Funtua, with a student population of roughly 45,000.

ABU has nurtured the founding of other institutions, including Bayero University, Kano and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. It is recognized for its Faculty of Environmental Design (architecture) and its agricultural research, and its ABU Teaching Hospital is among the largest training hospitals in Nigeria and Africa.

Notable alumni include Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, former President of Nigeria (2007-2010), and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the 14th Emir of Kano and a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.