- A former schoolmate of Senator Dino Melaye has declared that he is not sure if he graduated from ABU
- He described the senator as a disappointment to ABU
- He also noted that Melaye was good at inciting students against the authority while he was in school
- For more of the latest news and updates on Dino Melaye visit http://ift.tt/29ZXNNV
A former schoolmate of Senator Dino Melaye at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Mr Deji Yesufu, has described the controversial lawmaker as noisemaker who usually incited students against the school authority while he was in school.
Senator Dino Melaye
In an interview with The Punch, Mr Yesufu said that he knew quite well Dino was senator Melaye’s alias but he just became aware that it is name when the issue of certificate scandal broke.
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He said: “I knew him as ‘Dino’. We were not in the same department. He was in Geography Department, while I was in Electrical Engineering Department. He was always called ‘Dino’ in school. It was clearly an alias. Apparently, since he entered politics, he has adopted it as his real name.”
“No, I didn’t know his real name. I’m just learning that his name is Daniel (Jonah Melaye) since the controversy began.
“This is my honest thought about Dino while he was in school. Dino was a rabble-rouser – that’s the best way to describe him. He was prominent in ABU’s student unionism of that time. He was usually seen inciting students against the university authorities.
“I later learnt that he was older than most of us, thus his better mental grasp of handling matters. He was a noisemaker. I remember one evening, as I was entering Suleiman Hall, there was commotion at the entrance.
"Later, I saw Dino in the centre of a crowd speaking to students. He drew crowds easily and was detested by the university authorities.
“If my memory serves me well, it might have had to do with the authorities’ plan to proscribe student unionism on campus.
"Dino and others called on the students to resist the act, although the university eventually succeeded in banning unionism and the ban was never lifted while I was in the school.
NAIJ.com gathered that Mr Yesufu said though he didn’t know whether Dino graduated or not, his colleagues would have graduated in 1999.
“No I didn’t graduate with Dino Melaye. He was in the (Faculty of) Social Sciences, and the course duration in that faculty was usually four years.
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"So, based on that summation, he would have left school in 1999. My classmates graduated in 2000 but I didn’t graduate until 2001, because of my extra year.
“Dino’s classmate should have graduated in the year 1999. If he had an extra year, then he would have graduated in 2000.
Mr Yesufu also said the issue of discrepancy in Dino Melaye’s NYSC certificate must be critically looked into, adding that he could not say for certain when he served but friends said he went for the one-year compulsory national service.
He said: “That is where the discrepancy lies. Certainly, that is contradictory. And that’s why people believe he may be lying. When the story first broke, he said he served in 1999. Then the current vice chancellor of the school said he graduated in 2000.
“Then, Dino presented an NYSC certificate that has a 2000 date. It doesn’t add up. But I cannot say for certain when he served but friends said he went for the one-year compulsory national service.
“I went for the national compulsory service in September 2002 and finished a year later.
He therefore described Melaye as a disappointment to the prestigious university, saying that the senator has become (Senate President) Bukola Saraki’s errand boy.
“Let him know that his primary assignment is to serve Kogi West and not to senate president. And if his people know what is good for them, let them recall him.
"Unfortunately, Dino’s malfeasance has cast ABU graduates in a bad light. But for every Dino that ABU graduates, there are thousands of excellent individuals.
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“The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, now Emir of Kano, was a student and later a lecturer in ABU. Mallam Nasir el-Rufai is a first-class graduate of ABU. Hadiza Usman was my classmate at Demonstration Secondary School, ABU.
"She went on to read Law in our satellite campus at Kongo, Zaria, ABU. She now heads the Nigerian Ports Authority.
