The academic community in Nasarawa State has been thrown into deep mourning following the deaths of two respected educators, Dr. Gbolagade Kola Adegoke, a senior lecturer at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), and Mr. Solomon Zari, the pioneer Provost of the Nasarawa State College of Nursing Sciences (CNS), Lafia.
Dr Adegoke, a seasoned scholar in the Department of Computer Science at NSUK, died after a brief illness at the Federal Medical Center, Keffi.
Conflicting reports from colleagues indicate he died either on Friday, September 26, or early Sunday morning, leaving staff and students shocked by the sudden loss.
In a related development, tragedy struck again with the death of Mr. Zari on Sunday in Abuja. According to the state’s Ministry of Health, Zari died weeks after undergoing a kidney transplant.
Mr Zari, a veteran registered nurse and renowned administrator from Keffi Local Government Area, was a proud alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Government College Keffi, where he graduated in 1984.
He was appointed as the first Provost of the College of Nursing Sciences by Governor Abdullahi Sule in May 2023, a role in which he was widely admired for his dedication to training the next generation of health professionals.
Tragedy strikes Nasarawa academic community as NSUK senior lecturer, college of nursing provost die days apart