Prof. Iya Abubakar From Adamawa , The First-rate Mathematician Of Africa That Became Professor Of Mathematics At The Age Of 28.

Abubakar, A fulani by tribe, had first class in mathematics at London University (University College Ibadan) in the ’50s, and completed a doctorate at Cambridge university, England in the 60s.

Professor Iya Abubakar was the only Nigerian appointed as a Professor in the department of Mathematics, ABU, Zaria, at the age of 28 in 1963. A first class graduate of Mathematics at the University of Ibadan, he is the first Northerner to earn a PhD in any field when he earned it at the University of Cambridge, UK.

~He became Head of Department, Mathematics and Computer Science, ABU, Zaria, at age 32 (a record in the Nigerian University system),

~Second indigenous Vice Chancellor of ABU, Zaria, at age 40 and retired from academics at age 44
His academic productivity suffered a lot when he became Vice Chancellor (President) of the university and eventually a Minister of Finance.

Birth and academic career…
Abubakar was born on 14 December 1934. He was educated at Barewa College , University College Ibadan (later to become the University of Ibadan ) and earned a Ph.D at the University of Cambridge .

He worked as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan in 1965-66, before being appointed as Professor of Mathematics at Ahmadu Bello University at the age of 28, in 1967.

He held this position until 1975, as well as a visiting professorship at the City University of New York from 1971-72. In 1975, he was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, a position he held until 1978. Abubakar was a director of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1972 to 1975.

Later career
After the regime of Lt-Gen. Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ handed power back to an elected government in 1979, Abubakar was appointed the Federal Minister of Defence, holding this office until 1982. From 1993 to 2005, he was the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the
University of Ibadan .

In the late 1990s, he served as director of the National Mathematical Centre at Abuja and chaired both the National Manpower Commission of Nigeria and the non-governmental Africa International Foundation for Science and Technology.

[ citation needed ]
Abubakar Iya was elected Senator for the Adamawa North constituency of Adamawa State , Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

He took office on 29 May 1999.

He was reelected in April 2003. [4] After taking his seat in the Senate in June 1999 he was appointed to committees on Public Accounts, Banking & Currency (chairman), Commerce and Finance & Approprition.

Abubakar has also chaired the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriation [6] and the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

Bibliography
Abubakar, Iya (1961). “Disturbance due to a line source in a semi-infinite transversely isotropic elastic medium” . Geophysical Journal . 6 (3): 337–359.
Bibcode : 1962GeoJ….6..337A .
doi : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1962.tb00356.x .
Abubakar, Iya (1962). “Motion of the surface of a transversely isotropic half-space excited by a buried line source” . Geophysical Journal . 7 : 87–101.
Bibcode : 1962GeoJ….7…87A .
doi : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1962.tb02254.x .
Abubakar, Iya (1962). “Free vibrations of a transversely isotropic plate” . Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math . 15: 129–136.
Abubakar, Iya (1962). “Scattering of plane elastic waves at rough surfaces. I” . Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc . 58: 136–157.
Bibcode : 1962PCPS…58..136A .
doi : 10.1017/S030500410003629X .
Abubakar, Iya (1963). “Scattering of plane elastic waves at rough surfaces. II” . Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc . 59: 231–248.
Bibcode : 1963PCPS…59..231A .
doi : 10.1017/S0305004100002176 .
References

1. ^ “Iya Abubakar” . Mathematicians of the African Diaspora . Retrieved
   2010-06-23.