By Muhammad Uba Sani

The Federal University of Kashere in Gombe State has awarded honorary doctorate degrees to Dr. Kole Shettima, Director of the MacArthur Foundation and four others.

SolaceBase reports that the other recipients are Prof. Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, Rep. Abubakar Bichi and the university chancellor, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, the Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom.

The event also includes the investiture of Igwe Lawrence as the Chancellor of the university.

The university vice chancellor, Prof. Umaru A. Pate, announced the award on Saturday during the university’s combined 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th convocation ceremonies for the award of higher degrees and the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees.

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Professor Pate revealed that out of the 6,872 graduating students,  the university’s School of Postgraduate Studies was presenting its first batch of 584 candidates for various qualifications.

“Sixteen will be conferred with PhDs, 464 will receive Master’s degrees in several disciplines, and 76 will collect postgraduate diplomas,” he said.

He said the honorary doctorate degree recipients were accorded the honour in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the national development and nation-building across sectors.

Citation of Kole Shettima

In 2025, His Royal Highness Alhaji (Dr.) Bashir Albishir Bukar Machinama, (OON, L’ONN) appointed Kole Shettima as the Zanna Yuroma of Machina Emirate, a position traditionally conferred upon wise elders trusted to offer guidance and, when necessary, principled counsel to the Emir.

In bestowing this role upon his agemate and former primary school classmate, the Emir signalled a profound recognition: not of age, but of moral stature. He sought not just an elder, but a Rashidi, Dattijo, a principled guide.

Dr. Kole Shettima is one of the most compelling embodiments of moral clarity, humility, and public service.  

Over several decades, Dr. Shettima has provided material, emotional, and intellectual support to communities across Nigeria and Niger Republic.

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He has fed the hungry, clothed orphans, built places of worship, funded education, and constructed water points. His philanthropy is rooted in his deep empathy and belief in the sacred worth of every human being.

As a civil society leader, Dr. Shettima has been a quiet architect behind Africa’s most impactful movements for transparency, inclusion, and rights. Long before it became fashionable, he championed women’s rights and was proudly called a feminist because of his fight for women’s rights, equality, and justice.

He has been a trailblazing Pan-Africanist, building bridges among civil society actors, governments, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations across West Africa and the continent. He has mentored a new generation of African civic leaders carrying the torch of justice, inclusion, and democratic renewal.  

The nominee’s role extends to nation-building. He has advised governments in North America, Europe, and Africa.

In Nigeria, he has advised the governments of Ekiti, Kano, Borno, Niger and Yobe. In Yobe State, he has been Honorary Special Advisor to the Governor. He has worked with the Northern Governors’ Forum, the Progressive Governors’ Forum, and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He was central in establishing the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in 2009 and the Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation, contributing to ethical finance and development, including halal enterprises such as Jaiz Takaful and Jaiz International Halal Certification Limited.  

Fondly referred to as the Dean by his peers in the philanthropy field, Kole has spent his last 26 professional years as the Director of the MacArthur Foundation.

He has transformed philanthropy into a tool of empowerment and social transformation. Under his leadership, the Foundation has touched every facet of Nigerian life: higher education, maternal health, young people’s sexual health, media, human rights, girls’ education, youth empowerment, criminal justice reform, and civic space.

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He has democratized philanthropy, expanding its reach to include civil society, religious groups, universities, people with disabilities, youth, and the creative industries. In the last 10 years, the Foundation has made a significant difference in the lives of ordinary citizens by supporting interventions that directly impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

Kole has a pedigree in academia. He studied Political Science at the University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the University of Toronto. He taught and worked at the University of Maiduguri, the University of Toronto, York University, Ohio University, and Yobe State University.

He used to drive from Abuja to Damaturu during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency to teach at Yobe State University to prevent the University from losing its accreditation. Service to society is not optional for him. It is a calling.

Federal University of Kashere is proud to honour one of its own, an intellectual, philanthropist, Pan-Africanist, and servant leader.