Babagana Umara Zulum mni (born 25 August 1969) is a Nigerian

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who has served as governor of

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

since 2019 under the platform of the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

(APC).

Early life and education

Zulum was born on 25 August 1969, in Mafa Local Government Area of

. After elementary school in Mafa Primary School from 1975 to 1980 and secondary education in Government Secondary School, Monguno from 1980 to 1985, Zulum studied at the

University of Maiduguri The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) is a Federal higher institution located in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in Northeast Nigeria. The university was created by the federal government of Nigeria in 1975, with the intention of its ...

, where he obtained a degree in Agriculture Engineering after which he served as a youth corps member with Katsina State Polytechnic. He proceeded to the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

from 1997 to 1998, where he obtained a master's degree in Agriculture Engineering. In 2005, he enrolled for a PhD in Soil and Water Engineering with the

which he completed in 2009.

Career

Zulum's first appointment was in 1989 with

Civil Service as an Assistant Technical Officer in the State's Ministry of Agriculture. In 1990, Babagana moved into

Unified Local Government Service as Senior Field Overseer and later Principal Water Engineer. In 2000, he took up an appointment with the

as an assistant Lecturer where he rose to the rank of Professor. Babagana was Deputy Dean and Acting Dean, Faculty of Engineering in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In 2011, Babagana Umara was appointed the rector of the state-owned Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri. Meanwhile, he retained his teaching position in the University of Maiduguri. In 2015, Governor Kashim Shetima of

made Zulum the Commissioner of the newly established ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement.

Publications

Zulum has written papers and article for publication in both local and international journals, in the area of Agriculture Engineering.

Politics

On 1 October 2018, he won the gubernatorial primaries of the

for

. He was elected to the office of the governor of

in the 2019 Borno gubernatorial election held on 9 March 2019, with 1175440 votes.

Assassination attempts

Zulum has been the target of several failed assassination attempts by the group

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

. His convoy was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents on 29 July 2020, on

Maiduguri Maiduguri ( ) is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, on the continent of Africa. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maid ...

Damaturu Damaturu is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Yobe State in northern Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Damaturu Emirate. Damaturu is the capital and administrative headquarters of Yobe State and where the governor resides ...

highway. Five people were killed including three policemen. On 26 September 2020, Zulum and his convoy were again attacked by Boko Haram near

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

. At least 18 people were reportedly killed, including 14 police officers and soldiers and 4 civilians. The death toll was later updated to 30 as more bodies were found. Three days later, on the 29, Zulum's convoy noticed a

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

on the road and shot at it. After the donkey exploded, insurgents came out of hiding and fired at them. A number of insurgents were killed, whereas no one in the convoy was injured. On 22 November 2020, Convoy belonging to Zulum was attacked while he was traveling to meet with government officials in Baga. Seven soldiers and two civilians were killed in this ambush, but the governor was unhurt.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian National Honour of

Commander Of The Order Of The Niger Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, ...

(CON) was conferred on him by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

Projects

Babagana Zulum, has completed and commissioned 77 projects for service deliveries in the health, education and other sectors of the economy.

Distribution of Palliatives

Zulum stated that the palliative distribution was to salvage communities whose sources of livelihood were cut off due to the activities of Boko Haram insurgents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zulum, Babagana 1969 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Maiduguri Nigerian Muslims University of Maiduguri alumni All Progressives Congress politicians Nigerian agriculturalists University of Ibadan alumni Governors of Borno State Kanuri people Commanders of the Order of the Niger