Aminu Kano

=== Islamiyya schools ===
During the 1950s, drawing inspiration from Islamic schools in [[Sudan]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tankarkar |first=Maijama'a Sule |date=18 May 2012 |title=Remembering Mallam Aminu Kano |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/5163-remembering_mallam_aminu_kano.html |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Premiumtimesng.com}}</ref> the writings of [[Abdullahi dan Fodio]], and some similar reformist movements in Nigeria, Aminu initiated the establishment of the first ''Islamiyya'' schools, aiming to reform and modernise Islamic education in Kano. To garner support, Aminu proposed the programme to influential ''mallamai'' in Kano, including Sheikh Na’ibi Suleiman Wali and [[Inuwa Wada]]. The first of these schools was established in the Sudawa ward of the city, which quickly rose in popularity with an initial enrollment of 30 students that soon grew to 60. Parents, especially those with young girls, favoured these schools as they focused on Islamic education while also incorporating aspects of Western education which was a viable alternative to not attending school at all.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=|pages=142-144}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daneji |first=Abdalla Uba Adamu |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368602049 |title=From Evolution to Revolution: The Kano Emirate Yesterday Today and Tomorrow |date=July 2021 |location=Kano |pages=12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mustapha |first=Olusegun |date=2018-04-20 |title=Tunawa da Marigayi Malam Aminu Kano |url=https://aminiya.ng/tunawa-da-marigayi-malam-aminu-kano/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Aminiya |language=ha}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |last=Reichmuth |first=Stefan |date=1989 |title=New Trends in Islamic Education in Nigeria: A Preliminary Account |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1570982 |journal=Die Welt des Islams |volume=29 |issue=1/4 |pages=41–60 |doi=10.2307/1570982 |jstor=1570982 |issn=0043-2539}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite book |url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00M825.pdf |title=Kano State Education Accounts 2005/2006 |date=2006 |publisher=Kano State Education Accounts |pages=19–20}}</ref>

An education officer inspected the schools and was impressed with the program, leading to its integration into the formal school system. Within a year, ten more Islamiyya schools were opened in major cities across Northern Nigeria, including Kano, [[Kaduna]], and [[Jos]]. By 1958, there were approximately 60 such schools. Given that most support for these schools came from NEPU members, they became politicised and were occasionally targeted, even violently. Nevertheless, the popularity of these schools endured, particularly among female students.<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kane |first=Ousmane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CGIM8F6fuQC |title=Non-Europhone Intellectuals |date=2012 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-2-86978-506-9 |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref>

Following Nigeria's independence in 1960, the Northern Government increased its support for Islamiyya schools. By the 1970s, primary school students "in addition to their primary studies attend an Islamiyya school fo several hours a day".<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bray |first=Mark |url=http://archive.org/details/educationsociety0000bray |title=Education and society in Africa |date=1986 |publisher=London : Edward Arnold |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7131-8158-6}}</ref>{{Rp|page=92}} Today, the majority of children in Northern Nigeria attend Islamiyya schools alongside traditional primary education.<ref name=":19" /> These schools have received support from the Nigerian government and international organizations, such as [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]], as part of efforts to promote goals like girls' education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thurston |first=Alex |date=2012-05-18 |title=Nigeria's Islamiyya Schools: Global Project, Local Target |url=https://therevealer.org/islamiyya-schools-draft/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=The Revealer |language=en-US}}</ref>