Meet Nigerian Professor Who Makes More Money From Welding Than Lecturing

CURSORY: Meet Kabir Ahmed Abu-Bilal the Nigerian Professor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, who has a passion for welding.

Kabir Ahmed Abu-Bilal, a professor at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna state has a list of academic degrees.

However, to make ends meet, the professor also operates a roadside workshop where he does welding work.

Welding has always been a hobby of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering professor.

The discovery that Kabir Ahmed Abu-Bilal, a Nigerian professor, is also a welder has drawn attention to him. The professor based in Kaduna emphasized that this is one of the wonders of craftsmanship, saying that the money he made from the workshop in just one month doubled his pay as a professor.

“I profited from welding,” the professor said. The professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering said in an interview with Daily Trust that he had a passion for welding and that it was another way he used his gifts from God to be independent.

He also stated that his academic discipline—in which he lectures students in both theory and practical elements of the course—was the driving force behind the passion for his handiwork

In his words: “Since we deal with electrical equipment during our practical lessons, I easily developed the passion for welding and started doing it with some of my students, who are more brilliant than me in the practical.

“I, therefore, learnt more of practical from them and added it to my theoretical knowledge, which made me understand the trade faster.”

The ABU lecturer further mentioned that when private works started coming to the university’s practical workshop, the university administrators learned of it and put a ban on outside jobs.

He faulted the university for failing to work with him and others “to generate some revenue for the department and institution as a whole”.

He added that he was not affected by the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) most recent strike, which withheld lecturers’ salary for several months.

“In fact, some of my colleagues came here to borrow money because they learnt the hard way. Others just came for help due to the non-payment of salaries.” He stated.