HIS EXCELLENCY PROFESSOR HAFIZ ABUBAKAR, MFR
His Excellency Professor Hafiz Abubakar is a distinguished academic, administrator, and public servant with over three decades of experience in higher education, research, and governance. A Professor of Food Science and Nutritional Biochemistry (recently retired), he served as Deputy Governor of Kano State (2015–2018) and previously as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) at Bayero University, Kano (2013–2014).
He currently serves as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Northwest University, Kano, and holds several strategic national appointments, including Member of the TETFund Standing Committee on Research and Development and Chairman of the Governing Board of the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training. He has also served as Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation in Kano State and Visiting Professor at the National Universities Commission (2019–2024).
Professor Abubakar earned his M.Sc. in Food Science (1985) and PhD in Cereal Biochemistry (1992) from the University of Reading, UK. An accomplished scholar in cereal science and African traditional foods, he has authored five books and numerous peer-reviewed publications, including Sorghum Starch: Physico-chemical Properties and Applications (2010), and contributed to Elsevier’s Traditional and Ethnic Food Series (2024).
He has held leadership roles in professional bodies, notably as Chairman of the North West Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (2008–2012). He was elected Fellow of NIFST in 2012 and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. His advocacy contributed significantly to the establishment of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology in 2019.
A recipient of Nigeria’s National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2014 and an Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Reading (2018), Professor Abubakar continues to contribute to national development through education, research, and institutional leadership.