In 1999, when the incumbent Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Saidu Ahmad, was offered admission to Bayero University Kano (BUK), her plan was to study Medicine. However, her father insisted that education was the best path for her, despite all her pleas.
Her degree in Chemistry Education was significantly influenced by her father, Prof. Sa’idu Babura Ahmed, who was at the time a senior lecturer in the Department of English at BUK.
Education
Born to the highly academic Sa’idu family on February 13, 1981, Suwaiba Sa’idu Ahmad hails from Babura, a town in Jigawa State.
She obtained her Primary School Certificate and Senior Secondary School Certificate in 1991 and 1997, respectively, from Bayero University Staff Primary School and Bayero University Staff Secondary School, both in Kano.
In 2003, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Education (Chemistry), followed by a Master of Education in Curriculum Studies, both at Bayero University Kano.
She wasted no time and immediately enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Science Education at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), graduating excellently in 2014.
She returned to Bayero University Kano as a Graduate Assistant in 2004, where she rose to the rank of Professor in Science Education on December 27, 2024.
Employment and Career
Suwaiba began her teaching career immediately after completing her one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by joining Bayero University Kano (BUK) in 2004 as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Science and Technology Education.
She served as the Head of the Department of Science and Technology Education at Bayero University Kano between 2018 and 2020.
In 2020, she was appointed as the Director of BUK’s Centre for Gender Studies, a position she held until 2024.
In 2022, she joined The Policy Practice Ltd as an associate consultant, offering recommendations in education and development strategies to make an impact on political economy.
Other academic and administrative positions she held at BUK include being an examination officer, postgraduate coordinator, and Sub Dean (Academics), among others.
From March 2024 to October 2024, she served as the Provost of Jigawa State College of Education and Legal Studies, Ringim, Jigawa State.
On October 23, 2024, she was appointed as the Minister of State for Education by President Bola Tinubu.
Her Disciplinarian Dad Influenced Her Career
Her father, Prof. Sa’idu Babura Ahmed, a lecturer in the Department of English at Bayero University Kano, changed her choice of career in the late 1990s.
According to a story narrated by Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, a junior colleague of Prof. Babura Ahmed at BUK in the 1980s and 1990s, Suwaiba cried profusely when she realized her parents would not allow her to study Medicine and Surgery, her long-term dream, like many science students after secondary school.
“After going back and forth, we decided she should obey her father and study education,” The Daily Reality, an online media outlet, quoted Prof. Adamu as saying.
Although Suwaiba vowed to return to school to study Medicine after fulfilling her father’s wish, she eventually fell in love with Science Education, where she has been promoted to the rank of a professor by BUK and now a leading voice in education and gender studies.
Her father Prof Babura Ahmad has been serving as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, since April 2017.
If you conclude that the Minister of State for Education inherited her academic inclination from her parents, you are absolutely correct. She was born and nurtured in a university community.
Areas of Study
Suwaiba, who has supervised more than 100 undergraduate projects and over 40 postgraduate projects, focuses on areas including Curriculum Studies, Girl Child Education, and Science Education. She is currently exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning can be deployed to create a positive impact in educational studies.
Consultancy
Suwaiba has been a consultant to various local and global organizations, including the British Council, Aafaaq Educational Foundation, and The Policy Practice, a UK-based organization.
Researched Works
Her works and co-authored papers have been published in local and international journals. Notable among them is “Effects of Ethnochemistry-Based Approach on Chemistry Students’ Academic Achievement and Retention in Malumfashi Educational Zone, Katsina State, Nigeria,” co-authored with Halliru A. in 2022.
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