Professor Miko: Versatile Linguist Of Repute Goes Home
By Dr. Isa Muhammad Inuwa 5/9/25
IT just came and passed snappy, sneaky, shocking, yet, devastating. Everything came to pass in few days, less than a week – He was healthy and hearty Tuesday, he fell sick Wednesday and passed away Thursday night, September 4, 2025. The untimely death of Professor Hafizu Miko Yakasai came as a shocker and left many people in sheer delusion and astonishment.
If I am asked to describe late Professor Hafizu Miko I knew, I will dub him as – gentle, calm, disciplined, serious, dedicated, workaholic and no-jokes personality.
Born and bred at Yakasai Quarters Kano, late Professor Hafizu acquired both his Bachelor and Masters degree in Languages, from the Bayero University Kano. He proceeded to Poland, where got his PhD in Linguistics.
He was a one time Deen of the defunct Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies. Recently before his death, Professor Miko was appointed the pioneer Provost of the newly conceived College of Humanities, Bayero University, Kano.
His passion in the field of translation had once triggered him the post the President of the National Institute of Translators and and Interpreters, NITI.
Although his area was basically Semantics, yet the late Professor equally spread his tentacles to Morphology, Translation and Lexicography, among other areas of the Linguistics. Similarly, he made several and valuable publications in these areas.
Additionally, Late Miko was a nice teacher to many students of Linguistics, including my humble self. He taught me Advanced Semantics, When I was a PhD candidate in 2015. He taught with passion and always talked calmly but succinctly, with deep sense of intellectual insight.
One of his distinguishing features that marked him out was his dedication and seriousness, as he wore his seriousness on his face – Always a busy fellow, he virtually had no time for jokes or quarrel with anybody.
Late Professor Miko went and left viable legacies of the numerous students he mentored and groomed, most of whom are themselves, teachers. He left the several books he published as well as the exemplary life of dedication, hard work and sacrifice to the academia and knowledge in general.
Dr. Isa Muhammad Inuwa, writes from the Department of Linguistics and Translation Studies, BUK.
