ABU alumna, Khadijah Halliru, recommends Canadian municipal governance model for Nigeria

By Saidu Abubakar

A leadership coach and councilor at the Town of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, has canvassed for the adoption of Canadian municipal governance model in Nigeria to strengthen governance systems, and inspire confidence in public service.

This was contained in a statement by the Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Halliru, a Nigerian and an alumna of Ahmadu Bello University, was a guest speaker at a one day public lecture organised by the Faculty of Public Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria today (Monday, 4th August, 2025), the statement added.

The lecture, ‘Mastering Public Leadership: Building a Governance Culture that Moves Nigeria forward,’ was mainly targetted at university students for them to shift their perspective from individual academic pursuit to national responsibility.

Khadijah Halliru, a business strategy consultant and an embodiment of public leadership, explained that at a time when nations sought visionary leadership universities served as critical breeding grounds for ethical consciousness and service-based leadership.

The lecture defined public leadership in the Nigerian context and identified systemic challenges and reform opportunities.

The guest lecturer generally spoke on public leadership, building trust through ethics, and youth-driven transformation.

The lecture equally sought to equip future Nigerian leaders with the mindset, tools, and frameworks to lead ethically and build strong governance systems that restore public trust and foster development.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Abubakar Mohammed Madaki, described the lecture as “relevant, timely, and forward looking.”

Prof. Madaki, who is the Director, Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said ideal public leadership was one critical area that had eluded Nigeria over the years and thereby preventing rapid socio-political and economic development.

Madaki also said public leadership in Nigeria was characterised by lack of accountability, lack of integrity, inadequate communication, mistrust and devoid of empathy and strategic thinking.

He further said as a university ABU was positioned most appropriately to offer practical and research-based pathways to societal challenges, saying the public lecture was part of the mission to generate knowledge, influence reforms and policy through scholarship, dialogue, and collaboration.

Prof. Madaki explained that the choice of the guest speaker was deliberate and appropriate, saying the guest lecturer exemplified the highest standards of leadership within a public context.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Ahmed Doko Ibrahim, described the lecture theme as apt and urged the audience, particularly students to listen attentively for the significance of the lecture.