Transferring the Ownership of Murtala Muhammad Library Complex to Northwest University Kano: A Rational Decision by the Kano State Government

The decision of the Kano State Government to transfer the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex to Northwest University Kano (NWUK) should be viewed within the broader context of the State’s commitment to expanding access to higher education and providing sustainable infrastructure for the growing number of students seeking university education.

Rather than being perceived simply as a transfer of a public facility from one institution to another, the decision represents an attempt to align an existing public asset with the changing educational needs of Kano State and the long-term development of Northwest University Kano. The University Management appreciates the Kano State Government and the Kano State House of Assembly for their continued support for education and for their interest in finding sustainable solutions to the infrastructural challenges confronting institutions of higher learning in the State.

Importantly, the transfer did not occur in isolation. In September 2025, the Kano State Government formally approved the transfer of the facility to Northwest University. Following the approval, the University took possession and commenced the use of the complex for academic and related institutional activities. The facility currently houses the University’s Institute of Continuing Education and serves as a venue for lectures and other academic activities under the University’s IJMB and Part-Time Degree programmes. Accordingly, the facility has, since the approved transfer, been actively integrated into the University’s academic operations. Indeed, lectures for newly admitted IJMB students for the 2026/2027 academic session commenced at the Murtala Muhammad Library Campus on 31 August 2026. This existing academic utilisation makes the question of the future of the complex particularly important.

As the University’s academic programmes continue to expand and student enrolment increases, the demand for lecture theatres, classrooms, administrative offices, research facilities, libraries, laboratories, and other essential academic infrastructure will inevitably grow. A university cannot adequately plan for sustained growth and future needs if its infrastructure is designed solely around its current student population. Given the rapid development and expansion of Northwest University, Kano, this appears to be a significant consideration in planning for the University’s present and future infrastructure needs.

NWUK’s long-term academic brief envisages development over a 20-year period, subject to renewal. Such a long-term vision requires corresponding long-term infrastructure planning. The Murtala Muhammad Library Complex therefore offers an opportunity to provide the University with additional academic space that can accommodate present needs while allowing room for future growth. The question should consequently not be whether Northwest University needs the facility today alone. The more important question is whether the University will need additional academic space as it continues to expand over the coming years. Meanwhile, libraries have evolved considerably, and the modern university library is no longer primarily defined by the quantity of physical books occupying shelves. Digital databases, electronic journals, e-books, online repositories, research platforms and virtual library services now form an essential part of academic library systems.

Consequently, the facility can be modernised and reconfigured into a comprehensive academic campus that incorporates digital learning facilities, lecture spaces, offices, research areas, student services, and other infrastructure required by a contemporary university.

This is particularly important because the objective is not to diminish the value of a library but to ensure that the facility continues to serve the educational needs of the people of Kano in a form that reflects contemporary realities. Perhaps one of the strongest indications that the present arrangement requires attention came during the recent visit of the Kano State House of Assembly Committee on Higher Education to the Northwest University Institute of Continuing Education at the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex.

During the visit, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Dr. Ali Lawan Alhassan Kiyawa, expressed concern over the prevailing learning conditions and pledged that the Committee would work towards ensuring a more conducive environment for students and staff. Also, the Committee reportedly observed that academic activities were being conducted alongside political gatherings and other social activities at the complex and described such a combination as inappropriate and alarming. Similarly, the Director of the Institute of Continuing Education, Dr. Lawan Idris, also drew attention to inadequate office space, lack of domestic water supply and the disruption caused by non-academic activities. He appealed for the facility to be allocated for academic purposes only.

This is significant because the argument for a dedicated university campus is no longer merely theoretical. The condition has been observed by representatives of the legislative arm of government themselves. A university campus requires an environment designed primarily for teaching, learning, research, and intellectual development. Where several unrelated activities take place within the same facility, competition for space and disruption of academic activities can become unavoidable. The issue is therefore not about the value of the Library Board or the importance of the library to Kano. Both are important.

A rational government policy can therefore accommodate both interests by providing alternative and appropriate locations for the Library Board and other occupants while allowing the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex to function as a dedicated academic campus of Northwest University. The University’s own historical documentation has also recognised the Murtala Muhammad Library Campus as one of its campuses. The logical next step is to provide a clear and sustainable institutional framework for that academic use. Therefore, the Kano State Government’s reported approval for the transfer in September 2025 should be considered in the context of government planning and policy implementation.

Once government identifies an educational infrastructure need and determines that an existing public facility can better serve that need under another institutional arrangement, the objective should be to ensure that the policy is implemented in a manner that produces the greatest educational benefit. The Kano State House of Assembly, as the legislative arm of government, has an important role in supporting, scrutinising and facilitating policies intended to improve the welfare of citizens. Its recent inspection of the Northwest University facility demonstrates that the Assembly is already engaging with the practical consequences of the present arrangement. The Committee’s stated concern about the learning environment provides an opportunity for the matter to be addressed comprehensively rather than through temporary measures.

The way forward is therefore relatively straightforward

First, the Kano State House of Assembly should support the implementation of the State Government’s decision of transferring the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex to Northwest University Kano for academic purposes.

Second, the Library Board and other occupants currently operating within the complex should be provided with appropriate alternative locations where their legitimate functions can continue effectively.

Third, the Kano State Government should consider renovating and upgrading the complex for use by Northwest University.

Such renovation should take into account the requirements of a modern university campus: adequate lecture spaces, offices, water supply, electricity, digital infrastructure, research facilities, student services and other essential academic facilities.

The debate surrounding the Murtala Muhammad Library should therefore not be reduced to a contest between institutions. It should be approached from the perspective of what arrangement will best serve the people of Kano. The State needs more university spaces because more young people are seeking access to higher education.

The objective should not be to erase the historical significance of the Murtala Muhammad Library. Rather, the objective should be to ensure that the facility continues to contribute to Kano’s intellectual development by responding to the educational realities of the present and the demands of the future.

For Northwest University Kano, the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex can provide much-needed room for expansion. For the Kano State Government, it can become a strategic investment in higher education. For students, it can provide a more organised and conducive environment for learning. Similarly, for the people of Kano State, it can demonstrate how an existing public asset can be repositioned to meet the changing educational needs of a rapidly growing society.

The transfer of the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex to Northwest University Kano is therefore best understood not merely as a change of administrative control, but as a forward-looking educational decision designed to support the expansion of higher education in Kano State. What is required now is not prolonged uncertainty, but a coordinated implementation of the government’s decision: appropriate relocation of existing occupants, renovation and modernisation of the facility, and its full development as a dedicated academic campus of Northwest University Kano.

The future of Kano’s higher education demands space, planning and vision. The Murtala Muhammad Library Complex can be an important part of that future.

Abubakar Ibrahim, anipr
The Head, Public Relations Unit
Northwest University, Kano