Even though I knew him by reputation from his days as a primary and secondary school teacher and from many stories that his pupils and students told about him, I first got to meet Dr. Mustafa Mohammed Bunza in 1979. It was the old Sokoto State, which included the current Kebbi and Zamfara states. As officials of the Federated Organisation of Sokoto State Student Associations [FOSOSSA], we were organizing that year’s edition of the annual Sokoto Students Week. Bunza was Provost of the College of Education [COE], Sokoto, a post he took over from Dr. Garba Nadama, who left it to enter politics.
Organizing the Students Week was very hectic. The association had no money of its own, so we relied on donations from well-meaning individuals, mostly senior public servants, as well as help with venue, transportation, public address system and other aids. While several persons donated various amounts of money when our Donations Committee met them in their offices, not many wanted to entertain our other requests. Their secretaries often made it very difficult to enter their offices.
However, there were three senior public servants who were most accommodating. One was Alhaji Lawal Bungudu, the then Commissioner for Information, long since deceased. Another was Alhaji Isa Wasagu, then a permanent secretary. The third one was Alhaji Mustafa Bunza, Provost of the College of Education. He was very accessible; he showed no irritation when, as young and zealous student leaders, we went to his office several times a day, days on end. He was always cheerful and always sported a mild smile.
When the military returned to power in 1984, he became the state Commissioner for Education. I did not get to meet him during that period, though I regularly saw him on television. His ministry, being in charge of all public primary, secondary and tertiary schools, was by far the largest in the state. In 1987 however, when I was teaching at the then University of Sokoto, the Registrar’s post became vacant and the Vice Chancellor, Prof Mahdi Adamu, convinced Dr. Mustafa Bunza to quit the cabinet and take up the job. Now I got to see him more often, always wearing a welcoming smile. The campus was hot in those days, with endless tugs-of-war between ideological camps of the academic staff. As Registrar however, Dr. Bunza stayed well away from controversy. Towards the end of Prof Mahdi’s tenure, there were two or three hot meetings of Congregation, but as the Secretary, Dr. Bunza remained very calm throughout and only said things that could calm frayed nerves.
We were to meet again in Kaduna in the 1990s, when he became Director of the National Teachers Institute [NTI] while I worked in newspaper houses. He was always his readily accessible and very cheerful self. After he left NTI, he succeeded his father as District Head of Bunza in Kebbi State, the position he held until his departure on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
One of the best and most dedicated educationists and educational administrators of the Sokoto/Kebbi region and indeed of the national teacher education landscape has departed. May Allah reward him with Aljannat for all his dedicated service to God, education, administration and community.
