The Federal University of Technology, Minna is a Federal
Government owned University in Nigeria. It was established on 1st
February, 1983. The objective for its establishment is to give
effect to the Nation’s drive for the much-needed self-reliance in
Science, Engineering and especially Technology. It is a specialized
University of Technology.
The pioneer Vice-Chancellor was Professor J.O. Ndagi
who served from 1983 to 1990. He was succeeded by Professor S.O.
Adeyemi from 1990 and 1994. Between 1994 and 1997 Professor I.H.
Umar served as Sole Administrator. Professor S.A. Garba was
briefly acting Vice-Chancellor between 26 th June and 6th August,
1997. On 7th August, 1997 Prof. M.A. Daniyan became the third
substantive Vice Chancellor of the University till 6th August, 2002.
Prof. J.O. Adeniyi served from 7th August to 2nd October, 2002 as
acting Vice Chancellor. Prof. H. Tukur Sa’ad was appointed
Vice-Chancellor on 3rd October, 2002 and he served till 27th
October, 2007. The current Vice Chancellor, Prof. M.S. Audu was
appointed on 26th November, 2007.
The pioneer Registrar was late Dr. B.P. Sawa who
served from 1983 to 1986. Dr Bawa Salka was acting Registrar between
1986 and 1988. Then Mrs. L.S.J. Ahmed became the Registrar of the
University between 1988 and 1993. She was succeeded by Alhaji U.A.
Sadiq who served as the Registrar from October, 1998 - 2003,
having acted in that position since 1993. The current Registrar
Mallam M.D. Usman was appointed on 1st October, 2007. Having acted
in that capacity since 2003.
At inception, the University acquired on a permanent
basis, the facilities of the former Government Teachers' College
Bosso which now serves as the Bosso Campus of the University. It
has undergone a tremendous. face-lift and wears a beautiful outlook
befitting a modern University. The University acquired 10,650
hectares of land at Gidan-Kwano along the Minna - Kataeregi - Bida Road
as its permanent site, to carter for the necessary inevitable
expansion envisaged.
On Tuesday, June, 2nd 1992 the former President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of
Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR, fss, mni (rtd),
performed the Sod Turning Ceremony to mark the commencement of
projects on the main campus site. And since then work had started
in earnest for the physical development of the Main Campus which in
phase I consists of the School of Agriculture and Agricultural
Technology (SAAT), School of Environmental Technology (SET), School
of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SEET) Buildings,
Students Hostels, Students Center, University Library, Senate
Building, Staff houses, Computer Centre as well as the Industrial
Development Centre.
The completion of students’ hostels, some staff
houses, SET and SEET buildings facilitated the commencement of full
academic activities in the Main Campus at the beginning of the
2004/2005 academic session. Meanwhile, SAAT which was temporarily
occupying a part of the SEET Complex has been successfully completed
and moved in 2009.
Since its inception, the University has graduated
students, whose market value is being adjudged very satisfactory and
are in high demand both in government and industry, servicing the
technological needs of the nation. The figure showed a
remarkable growth rate from 22 graduates in 1990, to 662 in 1998
and total students enrolments are now over 13,000 with academic
staff strength of 698 as at 1st January, 2009.
The University has recorded quite a number of
academic achievements which, include the design and fabrication of a
number of highly valuable items of socio-economic importance such
as the Solar air heater, Motor-car crankshaft, Gearing system for
crane hoist drives, Rice de-stoning machine, Maize sheller,
Multi-purpose grinder, Irrigation models, Poultry feeder amongst a
host of other creative innovations. It is equally gratifying to
note that the University has gained recognition nationwide as a
Centre for Excellence in Computer Science having been so
designated by the National Universities Commission. In pursuit of
this, the University obtained Internet connectivity towards the
end of 1998, acquired its VSAT facility in 2003, and by 2005/2006
academic session students’ registration was conducted on-line. Now
the members of the University Community can easily access
information the World over on the super highway.
In pursuance of academic excellence in solving human
problems, Professor S.A. Garba of the Department of Microbiology
led a team of researchers in the development and production of
typhoid fever vaccines. This project is sponsored by the Unipetrol
Nigeria Plc. The team has been able to develop and produce typhoid
fever vaccines. And having completed the testing on mice, guinea
pigs, rabbits and monkeys, the Vaccine was tested on humans with
amazing success. The new vaccine would soon b e made available to
the global market after further due process.
For the purpose of generating internal revenue to
supplement government funds the University established the FUTMIN
CONSULT, a consultancy outfit. The outfit has continued to make some
positive impact to justify its establishment. In this regard, it
has undertaken the following consultancy services among others:
Gurara Inter Basin Water Transfer. NNDC/UNIDO Project. EEC/FGN
Middle-Belt Project, Niger State Ecological Mapping for wheat
growing, ADB/ONDO State Ecological Zone Mapping, Mando Fish Farm
and TRANSCORP-HILTON Hotel Sewage Design, Environmental Impact
assessment of Kagara Dam for the Upper Niger River Basin and Rural
Development Authority (UNRBDA). FUTMIN CONSULT is also a
consultant to INEC on its Computerization and Telecommunication
Programme, and to UBE on its programmes in Niger and Kogi States.
Other consultancy services recently carried out by the FUTMIN
CONSULT include the Second National Fadama Development Project
(Fadama II) in Niger State and the Niger State Agroclimatological
zones and Land use mapping into crop zones.
In August 2003 the University Council formalized the
Centre for Climate Change and Freshwater Resources (CCCFR) as one
of three newly established Centres. The others are Centre for
Human Settlements and Urban Development (CHSUD) and Centre for
Remedial and Extra-mural Studies (CRES). The CCCFR in
collaboration with environmentalists in the six Geopolitical Zones of
Nigeria have just concluded a N105 million National Agro-Climatic
Atlas Project to combat effects of climate change-induced natural disaster in Nigeria
sponsored by the Ecological Fund Office of the Presidency. The second
phase of the project is awaiting Federal Executive Council’s
approval. Aart from this project, the Centre is now into
collaborative climate change studies with University of Cape Town,
South Africa, while its scientists continue as consulting experts
with United Nations Agencies like UNFCCC, WMO, UNEP, UNDP, FAO,
UNESCO etc. The Centre is also involved in the university’s
Sustainable Livelihood initiative in the context of the UN Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015) and is about to
commence a new professional programme in Climate Change Disaster
Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction as a prelude to a programme in
Disaster Early Warning.
The Centre for Human Settlements and Urban
Development (CHSUD) which was established by the University in
collaboration with the UN-Habitat is to assist in settlements, Urban
Governance and Urban Development. Since then, CHSUD has focused
attention on building capacity at all levels of government, for
effective Urban Environmental Management such as establishment of
Environmental Management Information System, Certificate and
Postgraduate Diploma Programmes in Public-Private Partnership for
Urban Environment. With the support of the Collaborative Learning
Course established by a partnership of UNDP and Yale University,
U.S.A. CHSUD is currently carrying out consultancy service for
UN-Habitat, in four Nigerian cities (Ibadan, Enugu, Kano and Karu) on
the use of implementation instruments for sustainable cities
programme. In its effort to contribute to the development of
manpower for urban environmental management in Nigeria, CHSUD is in
the process of designing post-graduate courses (M.Sc. and Ph.D) in
City Planning and Urban Design, with the support of UN-Habitat.
The Centre for Remedial and Extra-Mural Studies
(CRES) is responsible for coordination of all academic programmes not
funded by the National Universities Commission (NUC). Remedial
course is a one-year terminal programme specifically designed to
equip candidates from catchment areas with emphasis on Niger State,
who are deficient in some basic science subjects and are unable to
meet UME admission requirements. Admission into this programme is
also extended to other thirty-six states of the federation and FCT.
On successful completion of Remedial programme, students secure
admission into the various degree programmes run by the University.
Approval has also been given to the Centre to commence Diploma
and Certificate programmes.
More recently in August 2006, the Centre for
Research and Development in Information Technology (CREDIT) was
established. This latest Centre is not only to make Federal University
of Technology, Minna, ICT compliant but also to launch the
University into the global market of certified software development.
In the area of domestic and foreign linkages and
collaboration, the Management of the University recently created two
new directorates to cater for this important function of
networking. These are the Directorate of Affiliation and Local
Linkages (ALL) and the Directorate of Collaboration and External
Linkages (CEL).
The University has established a linkage programme
with the University of Namibia and the University of Scienec and
Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. The Unversity has also signed a
memorandum of understanding with The German Agency for Technical
Coorperation (GTZ) and the National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP).Nigeria. It is also a member of the Association of
Commonwealth Universities and the Association of African Universities.
It has also honoured some Distinguished Gentlemen and Achievers
namely: Alhaji (Dr) Shehu Idris, CFR, the Emir of Zazzau; Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Dasuki. CFR, the former Sultan of Sokoto, late Alhaji (Dr) Abdulrahman Mora and Dr. Sam Nujoma, the former President of the Republic of Namibia, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babaginda (rtd), the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings (rtd), the former President of the Republic of Ghana, Prof. Jonathan Othman Ndagi, pioneer Vice Chancellor, of the University and Mr. Raphael O.A. Shonekan, the pioneer Principal, Federal School of Medical Laboratory Technology, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom. Others include, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the Executive Governor of Osun State, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the Waziri of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu the Sadauna Minna and Mr Alioune Badiane of the UN Habitat, Nairobi – Kenya.
In recognition of excellence in areas of Science and
Technology, the University has been attracting high calibre and
eminent scholars to its fold. In addition, most of its academic
programmes have full accreditation and the rest interim accreditation
by the recent exercises conducted by relevant professional bodies
and the NUC. The only programme that was denied accreditation
during the recent (November, 2005) NUC accreditation exercise was a
new programme started in 2002 which is yet to mature for
accreditation.
