Zannah Bukar Mustapha
Born1958 or 1959
NationalityNigerian
OccupationLawyer

Zannah Bukar Mustapha[1] (born 1958 or 1959) is a Nigerian educator and lawyer. He quit the legal profession in 2007 to open a school for orphaned children, opening a second school in 2016. Mustapha has twice negotiated the release of girls and women abducted in north Nigeria. He is the 2017 winner of the Nansen Refugee Award.

Education

Mustapha holds bachelor's degree in law from the University of Maiduguri.[2]

Career

After graduation, Mustapha worked as a Sharia court lawyer, resigning in 2007 after 20 years to become an educator.[3] In the midst of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2007, Mustapha opened the Future Prowess Academy and Islamic Foundation School in Maiduguri, Borno State.[4][5] The school has no fees and also provides healthcare, food, and school uniforms to orphaned children.[4] Originally the school taught 36 students, growing to 540 in 2017.[4] Classes include Arabic, French, English, mathematics, cookery, and textile work.[6] In 2016, Mustapha opened a second school, a few kilometres from the first, that supports the education of 88 students.[4] Mustapha helped negotiate the release of 21 young women abducted in north Nigeria and the release of 82 Chibok schoolgirls in May 2017.[4]

Awards

In 2017, Mustapha was awarded the Nansen Refugee Award.[7] In 2021, Mustapha was identified as a CNN Hero at the 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute.[2]

Personal life

Mustapha was 63 years old in 2022.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Mary Robinson to receive Tipperary international peace award". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  2. 1 2 CNN Heroes Tribute: Zannah Mustapha - CNN Video, 15 December 2021, retrieved 2022-09-03
  3. ↑ Eteng, Innocent (2022-07-29). "The Nigerian school with a radical idea: Teaching Boko Haram's kids". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Visionary Nigerian teacher wins UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award". UNHCR. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  5. ↑ Okunola, Akindare (29 April 2022). "This Man Built 4 Schools to Help Kids Orphaned & Displaced by Boko Haram Get an Education". Global Citizen. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  6. ↑ Unah, Linus (15 Feb 2018). "In Nigeria, a school takes on the fight against Boko Haram". Devex.
  7. ↑ Idowu, Yemisi Adegoke,Torera (2017-09-21). "Zannah Mustapha: The Nigerian man saving Boko Haram orphans". CNN. Retrieved 2022-09-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Hallett, Vicky (2017-10-05). "His School For 540 Needy Kids Earns Him A U.N. Prize". NPR. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
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