Nasarawa State University, Karu is preparing to mark its 25th anniversary with its most ambitious convocation ceremony to date, honouring a sitting African head of state, graduating over 25,000 students and commissioning a wave of new facilities that reflect two and a half decades of institutional growth.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Sa'dat Hassan Liman, announced the details at a pre convocation press briefing in Keffi, confirming that Tanzania's President Samia Hassan will receive an honorary doctorate at the University's 8th Convocation ceremony on Saturday. BUA Group Chairman Abdulsamad Rabiu and Ahmed Adamu will also receive honorary degrees in recognition of their contributions to society.

Of the graduating class, 82 students will be awarded first class degrees, drawn from 11 faculties running 83 undergraduate courses and 104 postgraduate programmes. Professor Liman described the Silver Jubilee as worthy of celebration, pointing to a series of rankings that have placed NSUK among Nigeria's and Africa's leading Institutions. "The university emerged as the 36th best university in Sub Saharan Africa in the 2024 Times Higher Education ranking, the 8th best University in Nigeria across federal, state and private Institutions, and the second best state University in the country," she said. The Institution was also recognised in 2025 for promoting inclusive and quality education under the Sustainable Development Goals framework.

Two convocation lectures are scheduled for Friday, 10 April. Dr Umar Bindir will present the Silver Jubilee Lecture titled "From Knowledge to Wealth Creation, Pathway for Revitalising Nigerian Tertiary Institution Systems," while Professor Patrick Lumumba will deliver a second lecture on "University's Leadership of Africa Renaissance, Reimagining Knowledge for Development in the 21st Century."

Five donors have committed to building new facilities for the University, including an ICT hub, a furniture making facility for the entrepreneurship unit and a workshop. Projects already completed, among them an elibrary, road infrastructure and an alumni secretariat, will be commissioned at Saturday's ceremony. An alumni dinner has also been organised to draw graduates into the university's ongoing development drive.

Community engagement has featured prominently in the week's activities. The University organised a health and sanitation outreach for neighbouring communities in Keffi and Angwanlambu, and a novelty football match has been arranged between NSUK and Bingham University. "The Keffi community and the Angwanlambu community were very happy, excited, and satisfied with our health and sanitation outreach," Professor Liman said.

She noted that the university has grown from two faculties at its founding to eleven today, with significant gains in infrastructure, student enrolment, academic output and staffing over its 25 year history. The Silver Jubilee convocation, she said, is not merely a celebration of numbers but a statement of where a young Nigerian state University can arrive when vision, leadership and institutional discipline are applied consistently over time.