Born
SECRETARY, NORTHERN CABINET Abdurrahman Okene was born in 1914 in Okene the traditionalheadquaters of the Igbirapeople. He was born to the only ruling house in Igbiraland at that time. His father Alhafi Yakubu was the Wakilin Lokoja and brother ofAttahof Igbira Ononqyio^a Ibrahim. His education started in a Quranic School in 1921 where he also had the privilege of additional instructions in English and Arithmetic. It was his group that started thefirst Elementary School in Okene in 1922. In 1925, together with three other pupils Abdurrahman Okene was sent to Bida Provincial School to continue with primary education which he completed in December 1930. In 1931, he went to Katsina for his secondary education and it took five yearsof schooling before he graduated as SpecialMasterinMathematics and Science. His working career started in February 1936 when he was appointed Science and Mathematics Teacher in the Zaria Middle School making him one of the people to start the teachingof Science in all Middle Schoolsof Northern Nigeria. He remained in Zariatillthe endof 1944 when he was transferred to Okene Provincial Institute.He continued to teachtill 1948 when he had to travel to Londonfor furtherstudies in Comparative Education. At the endof his training programme in 1950 his performance was so outstanding that he gained an Associate Membership of the Institute of Education, London. On his return in 1950 he was sent to open a new Teacher Training College in Bauchi which was Modeled after the famous Bakhdaruda Institute of Education in the Sudan. Alhaji Abdurrahman Okene was the only indigenous member of staff of the College which had the responsibility for producing teachers, run courses for Inspectors of Schools and research into teaching methods and production of textbooks. His efforts in the College endeared him to the Ministry of Education and was appointeda Member of the Board of Education as well as Vice Principal of the Institute of Education, Bauchi. Again because of his superlative performance he was posted to the Teacher Training Colleges at Katsina and Maru in 1958 where he introduced new methods of teaching relevant to the environment. All these excellent performances asa School Master were called to the fore in 1987 when Alhaji Abdurrahaman Okene was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the University of California, U.SA.
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Public Servant , Teacher
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