Update IV: The public was notified of the ongoing class room constructions we initiated in the last few days. This is the last one before returning to Primary Health Care Centres. Further to my earlier post on the ICT Centre currently under construction in Government Girls Secondary School, Kigo Road, Gaji Ward, Kaduna North, I wish to provide a brief progress note. The Centre will be named after the Late Mrs. Dolores Lami Mohammed (MFR), fondly remembered as Mrs. Mohammed, my former Principal at Essence Primary School, Kaduna. May God bless her soul and continue to guide her amazing daughter that continues to sustain her good work.
Mrs. Mohammed was a Philadelphia born African-American who made Nigeria her home and vocation. At Essence Primary School, she was more than a Principal, she was a disciplinarian, a nurturer, and a builder of minds. She insisted on excellence, order, and curiosity at a time when many of us were still forming an understanding of what those values meant. She forged the likes of my humble self, Mukhtar Baloni, Hafiz Bayero, Nasreen Mamman Daura, Ramla El-Rufai, Summayyah Ahmed, Buhari Mohammed, Ahmed Mutallab, Sani Gumel, Fah’d Dasuki, Fah’d Mohammed, Aliyu Mohammed, Umar Baba Ahmed Mubarak Adamu Aliyu, Hafsatu Zango Daura, Zaheedatu Zubairu, Marilyn Mahmood, Aisha Bello, Fusam Babanagan, Nguavese Akuse, Abdullahi and Kingi Bayi, Suleiman Mohammed, Salman Mohammed and many others. Including our elder siblings.
Under her leadership, Essence became a place of formation rather than just instruction. Many of us who passed through her hands, including my own cohort, colleagues like Mukhtar and Baloni, and even children of national leaders such as Late President Buhari, carry a shared imprint of her discipline and standards. She did not lower expectations. She did not discriminate. She simply demanded the best from every child under her care.
Her legacy is not only preserved in school records or certificates, but in the lives that were shaped under her guidance and the paths those lives have taken across public service, private enterprise, and community leadership. She invested in people, and those investments continue to yield value across generations.
Naming this ICT Centre after her is therefore not ceremonial. It is deliberate. It is a recognition that those who build minds deserve remembrance alongside those who build physical infrastructure. This Centre, dedicated to digital learning and opportunity for girls in Gaji Ward, stands as a continuation of her life’s work, expanding access, raising standards, and insisting that excellence is not optional.
I would like to thank my team of advisers supervising the project. I must always commend the contractor (whom I have never met) for moving swiftly. As we did with LEA Rafin Guza, Government Secondary School, Unguwar Rimi and the school in Kabala, we will end up beautifying the school by adding some art work and greenery in partnership with local artists and gardeners. Below is a video and some pictures of the ongoing work in this school. I urge the public, particularly the people of Kabala Ward to also keep an eye and report to us if the need arises. Thank you.
Signed
Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai
Member.
Kaduna North Federal Constituency
Chairman, Committee on Banking Regulations.
June 13, 2026.