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My Visit to the World’s First University.
SINCE I began writing this Daily Diary of my coverage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco 17 days ago, no entry has generated as much interest and feedback as my entry of yesterday, Friday, the 2nd of January, 2026.
Usually, when I published the diary for each day, I would receive feedback in bunches throughout the day mostly from social media as more readers got to read apparently in their leisure periods. But yesterday’s feedback started coming thick and fast immediately the diary was published, the first set coming closer to home from my daughter Mariam and my daughter-in-law Khadijah. They, along with many others, simply couldn’t wait to read about the Nigerian students that I met at the Qarawiyyun Mosque and University in Fez, the very first higher institution of learning in the world.
That is the power of human interest stories, as we call them in journalism. I have written quite a bit already on the university in my previous diary posts, but a quick recap here is in order, especially for those who are just joining my travelogue in Morocco.
Qarawiyyin University (spelt Quaraouiyine or Al-Karaouine in Arabic) was founded in 859 AD as a mosque and madrasah (Islamic school) remarkably by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, who came originally from Tunis. It is recognized by the Guinness World Record and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the oldest institution of higher learning in the world, predating European universities like Bologna in Italy (1088) and the famous Oxford in the United Kingdom (1096).
Qarawiyyin University is located in the ‘Ancient Medina’ district of Fez which is also listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because it has retained its centuries-old architecture, infrastructure and culture. These descriptions make the district a magnet for tourists and foreign visitors from around the world who are always intrigued to experience how our forebears lived many centuries ago. While here in Fez for the past 16 days since the start of the AFCON, I have met tourists coming in their hundreds from Europe, the Americas and South East Asia.
Friday, 2nd January, 2026 was a rest day at the AFCON; there were no football matches. The Super Eagles that I came primarily to report, courtesy of Mr.ChefNigeria, Official Sponsors of the National Teams, was having a training session, but it was closed to the media. I had the whole day to myself, so I decided to go say my Friday congregational prayer (Jummat Service) at the historic Qarawiyyin Mosque and University. That was how I ran into the three Nigerian students at the world’s first university. Whao!
Twenty-four-year old Usman Nasir is from Kazaure Local Government in Jigawa State. He is studying for his First Degree in Sharia Law. He described to me the procedure that he went through before he was admitted. I will not interrupt his narration….
Usman: “Only the best students are admitted into this university. It is highly competitive. You have to score Alphas (‘A’ grades) in all your subjects at secondary school level and you must have memorized the entire Holy Quran. I sat for my West African School Certificate (WASC) examination at Sheikh Jafar Mahmoud Adam Secondary School in Kazaure, and I scored A’s in all my subjects. There are about 200 students from all parts of the world in the Sharia Law programme. About ten of us are from Nigeria. I will complete my First Degree this year (2026) and I plan to pursue my Masters and Doctorate Degrees also in Islamic Law here at Qarawiyyin University. My future plan is to be an academic and to teach in a Nigerian University or abroad.”
I asked Usman how it feels to be attending the world’s first recognized university. “It’s a thing of great pride,” he said. “Even some Moroccans are not able to gain admission, so coming from Nigeria and studying amongst the best students from other parts of the world makes me feel very proud. We have many students also from Indonesia. I feel that I am representing Nigeria very well.”
Usman has been watching the Super Eagles matches at the AFCON and he plans to be in the stadium again for Nigeria’s Round of 16 match against Mozambique. His favorite player is Victor Osimhen.
Twenty-six-year-old Dahir Aliyu Muhammad is from Kano State. Qarawiyyin University was recommended to him by a relative who already lived in Fez, and he was able to secure a scholarship after passing a rigorous interview process.
Dahiru says: “I was a science student in secondary school in Nigeria and I scored A’s in all subjects in my final exams. But after I completed the memorization of the Qur’an, I decided to leave the sciences and switch to Islamic Studies which is my course of study here at Qarawiyyin University. I got a scholarship from Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation in Nigeria for my First Degree after I attended their interview. I hope to secure further scholarships from them for my Masters and PhD programmes as well.”
Dahiru is not a passionate football fan like Usman. “I have not been watching the Super Eagles matches at the AFCON but, as a patriotic Nigerian, I always pray for them to win,” he said. “I will be praying for them to lift the Cup,” he concluded.
My third respondent is 28-year-old Abdulwahab Alabata from Ibadan, Oyo State. He claims that when he was admitted to study Islamic Law at Qarawiyyin University in 2017, there were 700 applications from around the world, but only 33 students were offered admission in that year. “The admission process was very tough,” he recalls. “Twenty slots were reserved for Moroccans and the remaining 13 thrown open for foreigners. Six of us qualified from Nigeria.”
I couldn’t verify Abdulwahab’s claims, but it suffices to say that gaining an admission into the world’s first university is a rigorous process. The requirement for prospective students to be an Hafiz (memorizers of the whole Qur’an) alone is a big challenge.
A quick check on the university’s website describes it as “The First Degree awarding university in the Americas for Arabic Literature and Arabic Islamic Studies.” The curriculum includes Qur’an and Classical Arabic, Islamic (Sharia) Law, Islamic Studies and Hadith, the record of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Lessons are delivered on the fully-rugged floors of the huge mosque and in classrooms in an adjoining building. Only students under 30 years of age are admitted. Most of the faculty are Moroccan scholars.
After I observed the Jummat Service in the university mosque last Friday, I made my way from my third row to the Minbar (the pulpit) to greet the Imam and take a selfie. He obliged with a smile.
Obviously, the congregation in the huge mosque were mostly Arabs, but I spotted quite a number of blacks and South East Asians as well. After exchange of greetings, it emerged from our introductions that many of the blacks were from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.
That got me thinking: These people, including our Moroccan hosts, are our rivals for the AFCON trophy and I’m sure that all of us would have asked Allah (God) to grant us victory at this tournament. I hope that it is Nigeria’s prayer that God will hear this year. The others should wait till another time for their own prayers to be answered (Lol).
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*TRAVEL is education. Were it not for this 2025 AFCON that brought me to Fez, I never imagined that the world’s first university was in Morocco and that it was founded by a woman. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to visit the historic site and share my experience with my readers. Meeting the three Nigerian students and bringing their stories in this travelogue is the icing on my cake.
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*MOROCCO is a predominantly Muslim country with about 99 percent of the 34 million population practicing Sunni Islam which is the state religion. However, freedom of worship is guaranteed in the country’s constitution for the one percent of the local population and foreigners who are Christians. There used to be a small number of Jews as well, but most of them have migrated.
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*AFCON action resumed today, Saturday, 3 January with Senegal taking on Sudan in Tanger, and Mali facing Tunisia in Casablanca in the Round of 16. Senegal made a short work of war-ravaged Sudan by coming from behind to grab a comfortable 3-1 victory. By contrast, Mali suffered an early red card to one of their players; conceded an 88th minute goal which they fought to equalize via a penalty kick in the 92nd minute; endured another 30 minutes of extra time with their nine men, before knocking Tunisia out 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
I am writing this just 30 minutes after the Mali-Tunisia game was concluded. By the time you read, Tunisia’s Coach Sami Trabelsi might have been sacked!
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*THE pre-match press conference for Nigeria’s Round of 16 clash with Mozambique was scheduled for Sunday, 4 January at the Complex Sportif de Fez, ahead of the match proper on Monday, 5 January. Coach Eric Chelle and captain Wilfred Ndidi will brief the media about what to expect while Bruno Onyemaechi, Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey will speak to journalists at the mixed zone of their evening training at Sardienne Complex.
Be on the lookout for my full preview of the match against the Mambas of Mozambique in tomorrow’s diary, courtesy of Mr.ChefNigeria, Official Sponsors of the Super Eagles.
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