The Bayero University, Kano had said it would confer an honourary doctorate degrees on the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, in recognition of their contributions to education and youth development.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Sagir Abbas, disclosed this in a letter addressed to the deputy senate president.
In the letter, Mr. Abbas, a professor, said both the leadership of the Senate and management of the university have approved the honourary doctorate degrees for the duo.
The Vice Chancellor noted that the award ceremony would be held on 2 March during the grand finale of the 38th convocation of the university at the new campus of the institution, Gwarzo Road, Kano.
“Sir, your nomination for the coveted award is based on your great passion for education and youth development, among others. You have impacted positively on the lives of the people in your constituency and beyond in terms of the provision of scholarships, health-related projects and many agricultural and empowerment programmes across the state.
“At the Senate, you succeeded in sponsoring 56 bills between 2015 and 2023. You have been recognised as the best Northern Senator of the Year, 2017 by the Senate Press Corps due to your immense contributions to national development,’’ the letter reads.
Mr Barau was born in 1959 in his hometown of Kabo, the headquarters of Kabo Local Government Area of Kano State. He began his journey to the legislative arm of government in 1999, when the country returned to civil rule.
He represented Tarauni Federal Constituency of Kano Central Senatorial District in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003. Mr Barau was the chairman of the Appropriations Committee at the green chamber then.
On completion of his term at the House of Representatives, he returned to private practice. In 2013, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed, he was one of the frontline members of the party in Kano State. In 2015, he contested and won the election for Kano North Senatorial District on the platform of the APC.
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After the inauguration of the Senate in June 2015, Mr Barau was named as the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream). A few months later, he was elevated to chair the same committee.
In 2016, he was reassigned to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETfund as its chairman, a position he held until the end of the 8th National Assembly.
He was re-elected to the Senate in 2019 for a second term and he was appointed as chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. For five years, he was the secretary of the Northern Senators Forum (2016 to 2021).
Mr Barau was re-elected for the third time in the 2023 General Election. He was later elected by his colleagues as the deputy senate president last June. He is currently chairman of the Constitution Review Committee.