| Decision Makers 2001 Visit to Bayero University, Kano (BUK) Sponsored by Colleges and Universities Affiliations Program / U.S. State Department June 7 & 8
BUK Principle Officers Meeting We met in the VC's conference room with the available principal officers.
NUNet Report Dr. Dan-Isa reported on a new room that is being set aside for training staff and faculty. He noted that in the year 2000, BUK experienced no interruptions in the NUC email system. They have updated their servers to Linux RedHat 6.0 with Qmail and the servers are now up 24 hours a day. They are planning a dial-up system so administrators can use modems to connect to the network. The NUNet staff is still building user awareness through an ongoing campaign. They are planning on a installing a PABX and hope to use it for network expansion as well.
According to a recent survey, BUK currently has 70 functioning computers on campus, 50 percent of these are Pentium-class computers. The University Computer Center has a Solaris server plus 20 Pentium III workstations. The Busary has an additional 20 PCs. Dr. Dan-Isa estimates they need 500 more PCs to meet the expected demand. Dr. Dan-Isa also expressed a need for tools with which to do network design and construction. His goal is to install fiber between all buildings on both campuses. I asked for maps of the five campuses so I could consult on backbone design. Management Information
Systems Report Other reports The Bursar reported that they have eight units which need computers. They need modern financial software, but are unsure of the options available. They have been working with the NUC to implement their NOC software. The university librarian, Mal. Muhammad H. K. Naisa has been investigating the digitization of library and is keen to expand their holdings. Mal. Salisu, the Coordinator of Equipment Maintenance Centre reported that they have been busy with maintaining the current collection of systems, but are consistently short on spare parts, which are very difficult to source locally. Presentation The meeting ended after two and a half hours, as most in attendance need to go to Friday mosque. Tour Being mosque time on a Friday, with most staff away from campus because of the ongoing academic strike action, most offices were closed. Hence I was not able to see much of the progress BUK has made. Dr. Dan-Isa showed me the room they are preparing for a training center. I was asked not to take pictures, but can describe it as being in the very rudimentary start-up stage. Consultant's Recommendations BUK has made significant progress in developing staff skills in the basics of networking. Their challenges lie in building the campus backbone and scaling their services up to the next logical stage: hundreds of computers and thousands of users. Since email is the most popular Internet service that almost automatically creates profound productivity increases and engenders universal goodwill towards ICT initiatives, I recommend that they look at dramatically expanding their email services. I suggest providing 50 or more workstations in public computer labs, so that thousands of BUK staff, faculty, and students can participate. At the same time, I suggest that they increase email penetration into departments and administration, both in raw numbers and sophistication. The former requires more networking and desktop machines, the latter requires that someone focuses on learning the email software very well and then trains others in its use. The MIS office is clearly poised to demonstrate the effectiveness of information gathering and provision with client-server Web-based databases and, given their enthusiasm, resources, and leadership, could easily become a leader amongst Nigerian institutions in this regard. I suggest that they invest in an SQL server and start training students in Web design and Active Server Pages. In particular, I would recommend Microsoft SQL Sever and FrontPage. BUK clearly needs to draft a plan for the wide area network (WAN.) Given the distances between campuses and the flatness of the geography, wireless networking should play a significant role in the BUK's plans. At the same time, a fiber backbone on each campus is a logical and effective investment. I'd be happy to consult with BUK on developing such a plan. As with all other Nigerian universities, BUK needs to develop a long-term plan that draws on different sources of funding and assistance to build a sustainable campus network. U.S. programs, like Fulbright and Peace Corps (as well a their European and Japanese counterparts), should be tapped to provide visiting experts. Alumni and large-scale local donors need to be approached for targeted assistance, while national and international agencies need to be encouraged to invest in BUK's information infrastructure. Given the enormity of the task, and the manifold opportunities presented by current zeal of many NGOs and governments to promote ICT in higher education, BUK would do well to assign these tasks to a full-time ICT planning and development person. Both ICT planners and ICT implementers at BUK would profit richly from traveling to visit other ICT installations in Nigeria (I, of course, recommend Jos and Ile-Ife) and at least a couple should consider visiting sister institutions in Europe or America to see large-scale systems in action.
Consultant's Notes I was met at the airport by Ben Abel -- the university protocol officer, who ably negotiated my excess baggage through the airport. BUK put me up at a very nice, small hotel called the Ni'Imah Guest Palace (8B Sulaiman Crescent. Phone: 064-644-577 or 642946.) The accommodations were very nice and I was lucky to meet a good number of northern politicians there. However, the hotel was quite a distance to campus, so I didn't have a chance to wander the grounds and get a feel for the place. This is entirely my fault, as I did not make this request to my hosts. However, I've learned a good lesson and will try to remember to ask to be housed on or near campus in the future. Friday may not the best choice for a productive day at a largely Muslim institution, but this particular Friday was exceptional. My hosts explained that on most Fridays people will take an extended lunch break to go to the mosque and then return to work afterwards. However, with the strike action happening and few staff on campus, most of the remaining staff saw little reason to return to campus after mosque. All was not lost, however. After visiting the university, my hosts escorted me to the main Kano market near the Emir's Palace (one of my favorite markets in Nigeria) and I managed to score a couple of good quality Hausa talking drums. <big grin> |
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