The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in Kano State, North-western Nigeria. History Bayero University initially was Ahmadu Bello College. The college was named after the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello. It was founded in January 1960 by the Northern Nigeria Ministry of Education headed by Isa Kaita to prepare senior secondary certificate holders for General Certificate of Education (G.C.E.) and A-level in Arabic, Hausa, Islamic History, Islamic studies and English Literature. Upon the establishment of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, Ahmadu Bello College was renamed to Abdullahi Bayero College, after Abdullahi Bayero, Emir of Kano and soon thereafter it became a faculty of the new university. Initially located on the grounds of the School of Arabic Studies near the palace of the Emir, the college moved to a location at the old Kano Airport Hotel, where it remained until March 1968, when it moved to Western Kano to make way for a military hospital (the Nigerian Civil War having started the previous year). The first students began their studies in February 1964, and they graduated in July 1966. In 1975, the college became a university college, and was renamed Bayero University College, with Mahmud Tukur as principal. In 1977, it was given university status as Bayero University, with Tukur as vice-chancellor. In 1980, the university ceased functioning as a faculty of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. Academic sections The academic sections in Bayero University consist of colleges, faculties, centres, institutes and schools. The two colleges in the university are: Colleges of Health Science Colleges of Natural and Pharmaceutical Sciences The eleven faculties in Bayero University are: Arts and Islamic Studies Agricultural Sciences Computer Science and Information Technology Communication Engineering Earth and Environmental Sciences Education Law Management Sciences Social Sciences Veterinary Medicine The research centres include: Centre for Advanced Medical Research, Centre for Infectious Diseases, African Centre for Excellence in Population Health and Policy, Centre for Gender Studies, Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Inter-faith Dialogue, Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Centre for Biotechnology Research, Centre for Renewable Energy and Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages, Translation and Folklore Centre for Information Technology, among others. The university also houses the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance