The Centre for Law and Religion Studies at Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), previously known as Bauchi State University Gadau (BASUG), has received international funding amounting to $95,000, on Sunday.
This financial boost comes from various international organizations committed to advancing the Center’s mission of promoting scholarship and dialogue on law and religion.
Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Academic of the University, Associate Professor Ahmed Salisu Garba, who is currently the acting Vice Chancellor of Al-Muhibbah Open University (AOU) Abuja, emphasized the impact of this funding on enhancing the Center’s research and educational initiatives.
Professor Ahmed explained, “In August 2023, the Center applied for a grant from the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo. This grant aims to train academic staff on teaching law and religion in Nigerian universities, particularly within Faculties of Law. After defending our proposal in November 2023 at the University of Oslo, we were awarded a grant of approximately $60,000. This amount will be distributed over three years, from 2024 to 2026.”
Under this grant, the Center will admit 15 academic staff from SAZU and other Nigerian universities for training in 2024.
The program will involve five professors with expertise in law and religious studies as mentors and five foreign experts. Participants will engage in ten online meetings, followed by a four-night in-person meeting.
They will also have six months to produce original academic papers on law and religion, to be published in reputable international journals. The funds will be managed through the Center’s domiciliary account at SAZU.
Furthermore, the Center has submitted a proposal to the International Center for Law and Religious Studies at Brigham Young University in the USA to promote the teaching of law and religion in Nigeria.
This proposal includes collaboration with the University of Ilorin, Al-Muhibbah Open University, Abuja, and the Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NAILS).
Professor Ahmed detailed the proposal, “We plan to host 71 Deans of Law from Nigerian universities, the Director-General of the Nigeria Law School and his deputies, and seven international experts from the UK and USA in Abuja on August 14-15, 2024. My colleague, Hajara Shuaibu, and I defended this proposal at the 2024 international conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We received approval for $25,000, which will soon be credited to the Center’s account for the August seminar.”
Additionally, the Center has received a $10,000 award from Professor Nazila Ghanea, the current United Nations Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, from Notre Dame University in Indiana, USA.
This award aims to support students working on freedom of religion cases, provide travel grants for related meetings, and bolster the Center’s operations in freedom of religion advocacy. This amount will also be allocated to the Center for Law and Religion Studies at SAZU.
Professor Ahmed Salisu expressed optimism about the future impact of these funds on advancing the Center’s mission and fostering a deeper understanding of law and religion in Nigeria.
