Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu, has awarded the overall best graduating student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), a fully sponsored pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, a gesture that has sparked mixed reactions.
The beneficiary, Abdullah Sheriff, a Microbiology graduate, finished with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.92 to emerge as the best graduating student for the 2023/2024 academic session.
The announcement was made on Saturday during the university’s convocation ceremony where 3,561 students received their degrees. According to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, 119 of them graduated with first-class honours.
Governor Aliyu’s choice of a religious pilgrimage as the prize has triggered debate both within and outside the university community.
On the Facebook page of Vanguard Press, a campus-based platform, some users commended the governor’s decision, describing it as a worthy recognition of excellence. Others, however, questioned the relevance of Hajj to academic achievement.
One commentator, Aesha Abdullahi Shateema, wrote: “When he comes back from Hajj, what next? If he won’t be supported further, it would have been better to give him money to start something meaningful.”
Another user, Imam Sarafadeen, stated: “I’m yet to see the connection between Hajj and being the best graduating student. Scholars in Pragmatics will have to explain what is being violated here.”
While some critics suggested that monetary rewards, scholarships, or job opportunities would have been more impactful, others insisted the governor deserved commendation for acknowlerdddging academic brilliance in such a grand way.
The development has reignited wider conversations about how best to reward academic excellence in Nigerian universities — whether through symbolic religious gestures or practical support that can directly aid graduates’ career and personal developmzent.
