In the history of Yobe State, few leaders have left as profound and lasting an impact as Governor Mamman Bello Ali. Though his time in office was tragically brief from May 2007 until his passing in January 2009, his visionary approach to education has continued to transform thousands of lives and reshape the state’s future for over a decade.
Governor Ali came to office with a clear mission: to create opportunities for the people of Yobe State, particularly through education. Born in 1958, he brought impressive credentials to the role, having served as Senator for Yobe South from 1999 to 2007 and earned degrees in engineering from both Kaduna Polytechnic and Tuskegee University in the United States.
What set Governor Ali apart wasn’t just his qualifications, but his personal commitment to the cause he championed. With his own five children studying at Turkish colleges funded from his personal resources he understood firsthand the transformative power of quality education. This personal investment gave weight to his public declarations and policies.
Understanding that education was the foundation of lasting progress, Governor Ali’s administration made it the cornerstone of development, allocating over N9.5 billion—an unprecedented 26% of the state budget to the sector in 2008. This exceeded international benchmarks and demonstrated a clear commitment to investing in human capital.
But his vision went beyond numbers. “I want your children to go to the same school with my children,” he declared, articulating his belief that quality education shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for the few, but an opportunity available to all Yobe children. This philosophy would drive his most innovative initiative.
Perhaps Governor Ali’s most groundbreaking and enduring achievement was establishing the Nigerian Turkish International College (NTIC) in Yobe State. What began as a revolutionary partnership to sponsor 100 students annually evolved into something far more transformative—the creation of NTIC Mamudo, a world-class educational institution right in the heart of Yobe.
The governor’s vision was both bold and practical. Rather than simply sending students abroad, he made the strategic decision to bring international educational excellence to Yobe itself. The state government fully funded the construction of the NTIC Mamudo campus while partnering with Turkish educators to manage operations, ensuring students could access world-class education without leaving their home state. This was a statement that Yobe’s children deserved nothing less than the best, delivered right at their doorstep.
NTIC Yobe quickly became a beacon of educational excellence in the region. The campus combined modern facilities with the internationally acclaimed Turkish educational methodology, creating an environment where students from across Yobe could thrive. The school’s rigorous academic standards, emphasis on character development, and multilingual approach prepared students not just for Nigerian universities, but for global opportunities.
Governor Ali’s educational vision was refreshingly comprehensive. While pioneering international scholarships, he simultaneously strengthened local education by establishing 17 boarding primary schools across all local government areas, providing free feeding, uniforms, and learning materials, upgrading teacher salaries to motivate educators, and improving school infrastructure and equipment. This multi-layered approach ensured that educational excellence would grow from solid foundations, benefiting children at every level.
The impact of Governor Ali’s educational investments has been extraordinary.
The transformation of NTIC Yobe students has been nothing short of remarkable. From the campus in Mamudo, 1,608 students have graduated from secondary school, with an impressive 662 being female students, demonstrating the school’s commitment to gender equality in education. What’s truly extraordinary is what happened next: 600 of these graduates have completed university degrees, while 500 are currently pursuing undergraduate studies worldwide, from the United States to the United Kingdom, from Turkey to Malaysia.
The first graduating class from NTIC Yobe in 2012 tells an incredible success story. Of the 97 pioneering graduates (49 boys and 48 girls), over 99% completed their first degrees—a success rate that rivals the world’s best educational institutions. More impressively, approximately 20% have completed or are pursuing master’s degrees, 5 are currently undertaking PhD programs, and 2 have already earned their doctorate degrees. These aren’t just statistics, they represent young people who started their journey in a small town in Yobe and went on to become researchers, professionals, and leaders on the global stage.
Currently, over 332 NTIC Yobe graduates are gainfully employed across various sectors, contributing their skills and knowledge to society. Another 142 are awaiting university admission, ready to join their predecessors in higher education. The ripple effects are evident in recent achievements: over 25 NTIC Yobe alumni scored above 300 in JAMB examinations, and three girls from the school—Nafisa Abdullah, Rukayya Muhammad Fema, and Khadija Kashim became world champions at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals in London, with Nafisa Abdullah specifically named World Best in English Language Skills.
These achievements represent more than statistics—they’re young Yobe citizens who’ve become doctors, engineers, teachers, and leaders, contributing to their communities and representing their state with pride on global platforms. NTIC Yobe has become a launching pad for dreams, transforming the educational landscape of not just Yobe State, but the entire Northeast region.
The success of NTIC Yobe has attracted students from neighboring states, making it a regional center of educational excellence. Parents who once worried about sending their children far from home for quality education now have a world-class institution in their backyard. The school has created a culture of academic excellence that has raised the bar for all educational institutions in the area, fostering healthy competition and inspiring improvement across the board.
Governor Ali’s legacy lives on not just through the students he sponsored, but through the leaders who recognized the value of his vision and continued building upon it. His successors, particularly Governors Ibrahim Gaidam and Mai Mala Buni, deserve immense appreciation for not only maintaining but significantly expanding these educational programs. Under their stewardship, NTIC Yobe has continued to thrive and expand.
Governor Gaidam continued the international focus, sponsoring graduate assistants to universities in the UK, Malaysia, and Turkey to strengthen academic capacity at home. Governor Buni has taken the programs to extraordinary new heights, currently supporting 890 students at NTIC and approximately 40,000 others in tertiary institutions globally. Under his administration, NTIC Yobe has received additional infrastructure upgrades, expanded capacity, and enhanced programs that continue to produce world-class graduates. Their commitment to this educational vision demonstrates true statesmanship recognizing that some legacies transcend politics and deserve continuation for the greater good of Yobe’s people. This continuity across different administrations has ensured that NTIC Yobe remains a beacon of excellence, with thousands more young people having access to life-changing educational opportunities.
What makes Governor Mamman B. Ali’s legacy so powerful is how NTIC Yobe has become more than just a school—it’s become a symbol of what’s possible when visionary leadership meets unwavering commitment. His initial investment in 100 scholarships has multiplied into thousands of opportunities, but more importantly, the establishment of NTIC Yobe created a permanent institution that will continue producing excellent graduates for generations to come. His belief that “children of the masses” deserved world-class education has become an institutional reality that transcends political transitions.
Today, when a Yobe student excels on the international stage or returns home as a qualified professional ready to contribute to their community, many of them carry the NTIC Yobe badge with pride. They represent the fulfillment of a governor’s vision that quality education should not be a distant dream, but a tangible reality accessible to every child in Yobe State.
Governor Mamman B. Ali may have left us too soon, but his greatest achievement establishing NTIC Yobe and opening doors to world-class education for thousands of young people continues to bear fruit every single day. In the success of every NTIC Yobe graduate, in every international award they win, in every contribution they make to society, his vision lives on, and Yobe State moves steadily toward the brighter future he dreamed of creating.
Ayuba Bazam, Abuja Nigeria
