Governor Babangana Zulum of Borno State has called on Nigerian youth to embrace humility and hard work as core values.

Speaking at the 20th anniversary lecture of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria's first Islamic faith-based university, Zulum also challenged faith-based institutions to produce graduates grounded in spirituality and morality. He emphasised that such values are crucial to addressing Nigeria's current moral decline, marked by corruption and social vices.

The governor, who shared his humble beginnings as the son of a peasant farmer and a commercial driver plying the Maiduguri-Okene-Ibadan route, urged young people to cultivate respect for their parents, a spirit of sacrifice for humanity, and a love for hard work.

The event, themed “Two Decades of Excellence: Al-Hikmah University's Impact on Scholarship and Educational Development in Nigeria,” was held on Tuesday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The governor also said that short-cut to anything in life usually ends in regret and disaster, adding that, “hardwork is good but humility takes you far in life”.

“Hardwork is one thing. But humility is the best. When I finished my Master's degree, I went to my village to go to farm with my parents. I could have remained in Maiduguri wearing babanrigan, but because I have to be obedient to my parents that is why I am what I am today”, he said.

In his address at the 20th anniversary dinner/award night of the university, the vice chancellor, Professor Noah Yusuf, said that the most pressing challenge of the university is inadequate funds.

The VC also said that the spiral effect of the funding challenge is the inability to meet some critical needs of the university.

Professor Yusuf therefore appealed for support from friends of the university in the following areas – construction of hostels to be endowed after the name of the donor, construction of faculty building to be endowed in the name of the donor, joint construction of classrooms and offices to be endowed in the name of the donors, scholarship grant to indigent students and research funding for academic staff of the university.

Also speaking, the former governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Masari, described the founder of Al-Hikmah University, Dr. Abdulraeem Oladimeji, as a great contributor to quality education in Nigeria.

The two-term former governor of Katsina State said that Oladimeji's efforts at prioritizing education in Nigeria have contributed meaningful impact in the lives of Nigerian youths.