By Sagiru Ado Abubakar.

The Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has today hosted Prof. Umar A. Pate as Guest Speaker of the month of August, 2018 for its youths mentorship program titled ‘Inspiring Leadership Reflection Interactive Series (ILERIS)’. ILERIS is monthly interactive engagement where people with robust experience in life have been invited to interact with the staffs, interns, civil society advocates and associates of the organization so that they can be inspired. With this objective, last month the program featured Prof. Binta Tijjani Jibril, the Director International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIIBF), Bayero University, Kano. In his opening remarks, the Chief Host and Executive Director of the organization, Engr. Y.Z Ya’u said “For this particular event we normally allow the guest to speak as long as he likes, we are doing this to change the narrative, to change people thinking in order to understand that all successful people are ordinary people, they are ordinary people who have struggle to achieve what they wish to become.” “We will like the guest speaker to tell us how it is started, what the challenges are, how he responded to the challenges and what he wants to pass to the young people to impact their lives”. He then urged the participants to listen attentively and learn from the guest speaker. “Every time we meet here we need that people should acquire something new”, YZ emphasized.

In his part, the guest speaker, Prof. Umar A. Pate, began his interaction by giving an example with the life style of Prof. Jibril Aminu as his role model. He then asked Dr. Rukayya Yusuf Aliyu who came along with the Professor to the event to share his citation with the audience. In her part, Dr. Rukayya said that, Prof. Umar Pate is the immediate past and founding Dean of the faculty of communication, Bayero University, Kano. Before relocating to BUK as a Professor in the Department of Mass Communication, he served as a Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Maiduguri where he rose through the ranks beginning as a Graduate Assistant in 1988 to become an Associate Professor in 2002 and full Professor in 2007. He headed the Mass Communication Department in that University for a total of seven years. Pate holds a PhD, Master of Philosophy and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Mass Communication obtained in 1997, 1990 and 1987. He attended LEA Primary School, Nassarawo Jereng in Adamawa Division from 1971-1976, Government Collage Maiduguri from 1976-1981.  In the collage, he emerged as the student with the best GCE O’Level result in the Arts class in 1981. He proceeded to the collage of Preliminary Studies, Yola from 1982-1984 and passed the IJMB A’ level examinations to qualified for direct entry admission into the BA Mass Communication in University of Maiduguri. In 1987, he graduated as one of the top students in the class with a second class upper degree. He was competitively selected as the University Valedictorian of the year in 1987/88

Speaking about his background, Pate said that his father was an Area Court Judge, and an Islamic Scholar. They have two medical Professors in the house and he was lucky to become a Professor at the age of 36. Prof. also said that presently he holds the title of Kaigama of Adamawa emirates, the title which in the possession of their house since the period of Jihad. The title implies the Chief of Defence and one among the king makers.

At the end of the lecture, Prof insisted that for anyone to achieve his dreams must be hardworking, contented, tolerance, reciprocal and spend within his limit.