At the age of 87, if Rumfa College Kano were to be a human being, it would have been dead by now or locked in a battle with old age related ailments.
Although the school still exists, a large part of its land area has been taken over by other institutions established by the state government.
The surroundings of the school which many notable northerners passed through has been encroached upon even though the old structure of the college is still intact. Three educational institutions, namely, Kano State School of Hygiene, Government Secondary School Sabuwar Kofa and the Headquarters of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) were built in portions of the land that used to be part of the college.
The school which started as Kano Middle School had Alhaji Abubakar Waziri Gidado, father of the late Wazirin Kano, Sheikh Isa Waziri, as the pioneer indigenous principal. It has so far seen 30 principals, including the present Minister of Education Malam Ibrahim Shekarau who served his tenure from 1988 to 92.
At the beginning, it was said that in response to the hostility shown to the Western education by particularly the northerners, the traditional rulers used to send their wards there in order to encourage their subjects to do same in appreciation of Western education.
As the quest for education in the north swelled, the school was upgraded to the status of a secondary school in 1954 and it was named Government College Kano. The school contributed in no small measure to the development of education in the region as notable northerners passed through it.
In April 1981, it was renamed after the famous emir of Kano Alhaji Muhammadu Rumfa and came to be known as Rumfa College. The school boasts of two former head of states, late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed and late General Sani Abacha.
Other notable personalities that passed through the college include the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Emir of Ringim, Sayyad Abubakar Mahmud Ringim Emir of Gumel, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Sani, Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Hussaini Adamu and Dan Masanin Kano, Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Dahiru Musdapher and popular former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano, Professor Dan Datti Abdulkadir also passed out from the school.
When our correspondent visited the school recently, it was observed that some construction works were going on in the college. Except for the old structures that were built at the commencement of the college, all the structures that were built there of recent were funded by the old boys.
It was gathered that the main road network in the college was also constructed by the old boys few years ago at the cost of N35m. The school has three ICT centres.
One was built by the family of late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, one by AVM Nura Imam (rtd) and the third one by the Shell Oil Company.
At the moment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is spending N500m in the college’s renovation; constructing classrooms, laboratories, toilets among others.
Also courtesy of one of the old boys, a N20m sports complex is under construction in the college. Late last year, the college was invaded by drug addicts as they turned the school’s premises to one of their jungles.
The oldest security guard in the college, Auwalu Iliyasu (60) told Daily Trust that except for the deployment of policemen and NDLEA officials, drug addicts have almost turned the school into their den.
“Although we have overcome it, there was a time that drug addicts turned the college into their joint. They came in large numbers and smoke their Indian hemp in the open. In fact, there was a time, the principal fought them and they tore his cloth,” he said.
Iliyasu, popularly known as Baban Yaro, said the drug addicts who were coming from residential areas in the school’s neighborhood succeeded in turning some students into drug addicts.
Speaking to our correspondent, the principal of the school, Alhaji Shehu Salisu, said the challenge of invasion of the school by drug addicts has been addressed.
“Our major challenge at present is security; we have many entrances leading to the school and our security guards are inadequate. It is not true that the drug addicts have taken over the school because we have succeeded in sending them away,” he said.
Salisu said it is not correct to say that the college is surviving at the mercy of the old boys, explaining that they are just helping in appreciation of the solid foundation given to them at the school.
“If the old boys did not do it, the present administration would have done it because shortly after he was sworn in, Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso came to this college three times to see things for himself,” he explained.
On academic performance of the students, he said the school is still one of the best in the state, adding: “We are still maintaining the academic excellence. Annually we always come top in academic competitions in the state and even beyond.
“The old boys are providing educational support materials to all students. The moment a student is admitted, he would be given text books of all subjects courtesy of the old boys. About 100 students are under the scholarship of the old boys.
“On the moves by the old boys to return the college to boarding house, he said: “If we can get twice the amount of N500m given to the school by the CBN, the school can reintroduce boarding arrangement.”
One of the students of the college, Murtala Umar Abubakar, 17-year-old, commended the old boys for the gesture, saying: “I’m praying to Allah to give us the ability to do same when we grow. up.”
Abubakar, SS2 technical class student, said he wants to be an engineer like governor Kwankwaso, “so that I can develop our state as the governor is doing.”
