Professor Saleh El-Yakub Abdullahi is a distinguished academic with over 23 years of post-qualification teaching and research experience, coupled with 19 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He earned his B.Sc. in Computer Science from Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa College under Ahmadu Bello University in 1987, an M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Lagos, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, in 1996.
Professor Abdullahi’s extensive career in the telecommunications sector includes serving in various IT roles at the defunct Nigerian Telecommunication (NITEL) Plc and Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication (MTEL) Ltd from 1996 until 2015, when he retired as the last Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of MTEL Ltd. His academic career began at Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa University in 1988 as a Graduate Assistant. He also served as a Lecturer at Lefke University in Cyprus (1994-1995), a Visiting Senior Lecturer/Reader at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna (2009-2018), and a Visiting Senior Lecturer/Professor at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2008-2020).
Professor Abdullahi joined Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja in 2011, initially as a Visiting Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, before taking a full-time position in 2015. He served as the Head of the Computer Science Department from August to October 2015 and was the Director of Academic Planning (DAP) from November 2015 to 2023. In his role as DAP, he successfully coordinated the establishment of 65 new academic programs and the accreditation of 49 academic programs at Nile University.
His research interests include Operating Systems, Programming Languages, and Software Engineering. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in international and national journals and has supervised 4 Ph.D., 40 M.Sc., and numerous B.Sc. projects in Computer Science. Professor Abdullahi has also contributed two book chapters on Computer Science, further solidifying his academic credentials.
