Ahmadu Bello University

About Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) located in Zaria “the City of Knowledge” is a federal government owned and operated institution with a vast background. Following the recommendation of the Ashby Commission report, to create a University in Northern Nigeria, the University was established on October 4, 1962, and was widely regarded as the “University of Northern Nigeria” until it was renamed after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first premier of Northern Nigeria.  

ABU operates two campuses: the main campus in Samaru, a suburb of Zaria in Kaduna State, and Kongo (a mini-campus) located in Zaria. The main campus houses the administrative offices and the faculties of education, arts and languages, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, agricultural sciences, environmental design, medicine, and research facilities. The Kongo campus is home to the faculties of Law and Administration. ABU also has a pre-degree school located in Funta and is in charge of other institutes and centers situated in various locations.

The University has suffered its own share of political instability due to “its national character” (in drawing students and staff from diverse ethnic groups and race) but still claims to be the largest and most extensive University in Sub-Saharan Africa. This can be said to be true as the University runs a wide variety of Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes, also offering associate degrees and other vocational and remedial programmes.

The courses offered at ABU are officially accredited and recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other relevant professional bodies leading to recognized degree programmes. ABU is a very large co-educational institution with an enrollment range of 30,000-35,000 students from every state of the nation, Africa and the rest of the world; and this is due to the fact that it has a less selective admission policy, admitting 90-100% of its applicants.

Nevertheless, the University has enough provision for its students as it provides several academic and non-academic facilities including, an extensive library, lecture halls and faculty buildings, halls of residence, staff quarters, sports facilities, as well as administrative services.

ABU currently ranks as the 2nd best University in the Country, and 1,189 in the world, and has over the years produced an extensive alumni list consisting of notable and prominent Nigerian. 

Ahmadu Bello University Faculties

ABU boasts of been the largest institution in Nigeria, with over 82 Academic Departments, 12 Faculties, and 12 Research Institutes and Centers. The University has the following faculties.

Faculty of Arts  

Faculty of Administration

Faculty of Agriculture

Faculty of Education

Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Environmental Design

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Medicine

Faculty of Science

Faculty of Social Sciences

Faculty of Pharmacy; and

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Courses Offered At Ahmadu Bello University

As stated earlier, ABU has over 82 academic departments in various faculties. Here are some of them:

Faculty of Administration, we have;

-Accounting

-Business Administration

-Local Government and Development Studies

-Public Administration

Faculty of Agriculture

-Agric Economics and Rural Sociology

-Agronomy

-Animal Science

-Crop Protection

-Plant Science

-Soil Science

Faculty of Arts consists of the following departments:

-African Languages and Cultures

-Arabic

-Archeology

-English

-French

-Hausa

-History

-Theatre and Performing Arts

Faculty of Education includes the following departments:

-Arts and Social Science Education

-Educational Foundation and Curriculum

-Educational Psychology and Counselling

-Library and Information Science

-Physical and Health Education

-Science Education

-Vocational and Tech Education

Faculty of Engineering

-Agricultural Engineering

-Chemical Engineering

-Civil Engineering

-Electrical and Computer Engineering

-Mechanical Engineering

-Metallurgical Engineering

-Water Resources and Environmental Engineering

Faculty of Environmental Design, we have;

-Fine Arts

-Architecture

-Building

-Geomatics

-Quantity Survey

-Urban and Regional Planning...

At the Faculty of Law, you can offer:

-Civil Law

-Commercial Law

-Private Law

-Public Law, and

-Sharia Law

Faculty of Science offer departmental courses such as;

-Biochemistry

-Botany

-Biological Sciences

-Chemistry

-Geography…

Faculty of Social Sciences, we have;

-Economics

-Mass Communication

-Political Science

-Sociology

And other departmental courses at the faculties of Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and Medicine.

Ahmadu Bello University Admission Requirements

Studying in ABU, you have to be conversant with the programmes offered in each faculty in order to choose correctly your desired course. The University has a long list of courses offered for both undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, a detailed list on this has been provided above; take time to go through it before making a decision. It’s also advisable that you frequent the institution, make inquiries or more conveniently, visit the school website for reliable information on admission process in the institution, and for other news.

For Prospective Undergraduates:

As a prospective candidate seeking admission in Ahmadu Bello University, its advisable that you go through specific admission requirements for the courses offered in the institution on the JAMB website, or the UTME Brochure published every year. Asides this, here are some general requirements:

• You are required to have at least 5 credit passes in your O’level result or its equivalent at no more than two sittings. The subjects passed should include English Language, Mathematics, and any other three, based on the subject combination for your desired course of study.

• You must register for JAMB, sit for the examination, and attain the prescribed JAMB cut-off mark for your course. This would make you eligible to;

• Sit for the Post-UTME examination organized by the institution. Bear in mind that you must attain the exact Post-UTME cut-off mark or preferably score higher so as to increase your chances of getting admitted.

If successful, your name comes out on the admission list released by ABU and you’ll be informed of subsequent steps to take.

Please note that application forms for the 2017/2018 academic session are currently closed. Further information about admission in ABU and related news would be posted on the University’s website.

For Prospective Postgraduates

ABU offers postgraduate programmes at PGD, Masters, and Ph.D. levels. The courses offered in these levels are relatively the similar offered at the Undergraduate level. The admission requirements for PG students at the institution isn’t so different from the general requirements requested in other universities. These requirements may include, obtaining 5 credit passes in SSCE/GCE or other equivalents, having a Bachelor degree with a minimum of Second Class Lower Division for PGD and Masters students or having a Masters degree with a weighted average score of 60% for Ph.D. programmes.

Asides all these, you may be requested to write an entrance examination depending on your proposed programme. Other requirements may also include, NYSC Discharge Certificate/ Exemption letter, and also your academic transcript.

More details about the PG school at ABU, PG admission requirements, programmes available and lots more can be found on the University’s website.

Ahmadu Bello University website can be found at abu.edu.ng.

Ahmadu Bello University Facilities

ABU is home to the following: administrative buildings, lecture halls, halls of residence, staff quarters, student and staff portals, faculty buildings, research centres and institutes, an ICT centre, a teaching hospital, a farm, cafeteria’s and canteens, an online learning management system, an open courseware portal, a library, an Open Educational Resource which provides an online journal system, and lots more.

Other Noteworthy Information

Looking at taking a tour around one of the Largest Universities in the country, or are you a prospective student of the institution? Here are a few things to note:

Weather At the University

ABU experiences weather conditions accustomed to its location in Zaria. Zaria, one of the largest cities in Nigeria possess a tropical continental climate with a pronounced dry season lasting up to seven months (October-May). During the dry season, a cool period is usually experienced between November and February, and this emanates from the influence of the North-easterly winds. The rainy season also comes and lasts from May to September, sometimes extending to October. It's also advisable to note that the University experiences its own fair share of harsh weather conditions.

Security On Campus

ABU is located in a very secure location with seasoned security personnel.

What To Bring

Before heading to Ahmadu Bello University, here are some useful things to come along with:

• Books

• Educational Materials

• Research Documents

Things To Do

• Enroll for full-time or part-time course(s)

• Attend educational and social events

Notable Alumni

ABU has an extensive alumni list, here are a few prominent Nigerians on the list:

• Atiku Abubakar GCON, Former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

• Namadi Sambo, Former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

• Samuel Oboh, Renowned Architect

• Oladipo Diya, GCON, Former Vice President/CGS, Federal Republic of Nigeria

• Turai Yar’Adua, Former First Lady of Nigeria

• Nuhu Ribadu, Former EFCC Chairman

• Jerry Gana, Former Information Minister

• Mohammed Bawa, Former Ekiti State Governor

• Abubakar El-Kanemi, Shehu of Borno

• Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, Current IGP, Nigeria Police Force.

And a host of other reputable Nigerians holding it down in their diverse fields.

Best Features

ABU is the largest University in Nigeria and the second largest in Africa covering a land area of 7,000 hectares and encompassing 12 academic faculties, a large and prominent teaching hospital, a postgraduate school and 82 academic departments.

Writer’s Review

Ahmadu Bello University campus creates a stunning backdrop for all that happens within the University, offering unparalleled resources to the University community, including laboratories, libraries, museums and research centers to support scholarly work in any field or discipline. ABU student experience is characterized by unlimited possibilities and after graduation, students join the ABU Alumni Association, which has nearly 360,000 alumni worldwide including Head of States, Governors, Prominent personalities in the private sector and many more.