Mombasa politician Suleiman Shahbal will revive an education project championed by the late Professor Mohamed Hyder to honour him.
Shahbal said he will ensure that the Coast University that was to be constructed in Malindi is revived after it failed to take off in 2011.
Prof Hyder, who died on Thursday evening at his house in Kizingo, Mombasa, was one of the brains behind the establishment of the university, an idea that Shahbal embraced and even bought a 168-acre plot where it was established.
The groundbreaking of the project was done in 2011 but it never took off.
Shahbal said they faced major opposition and their efforts were frustrated.
On Sunday, Shahbal said to honour the late scholar, who was a role model and a leading figure at the Coast, he will ensure he completes the project they started together.
“I know that this was the Professor’s greatest dream. I still owe him this project and I will keep it going as long as I am still alive,” the businessman said.
“This is a debt that I was hoping to pay while he was still alive and in his memory I will do my best to deliver it.”
It was to be situated 7km from Malindi town, near the Malindi prison.
Shahbal, who is a champion for education at the Coast, said he will have to delve deep into his pockets to make the university a dream come true.
Technical University of Mombasa, Pwani University and the Taita Taveta University are the only universities at the Coast.
Educationists have called for more fully fledged universities in the region.
On Sunday, Shahbal revealed that Hyder’s dream would have come true had it not been for the many setbacks the project encountered.
“I need to raise more money to restart the project,” the politician who noted that he needs to start it by himself and then get others to grow it said.
He said as much as Sh150 million had been pumped into the project, which will cost an initial Sh500 million.
“We had made some progress in terms of the software before the setbacks. Most of the money we invested went down the drain.”
He revealed that already, the syllabi for the courses that were to be offered had already been approved and the architectural drawings done.
“The bank facilities that were needed were already in place. The money was ready. We had even hired some professors who were part of a team,” Shahbal said.
The businessman also revealed they had already signed MoUs with various universities across the globe to provide expertise in various aspects, including courses.
These universities include the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, Coventry University Department of Oil and Gas Management, among others.
The team had already leased the former Braeburn International School premises in Shanzu and paid three years’ rent.
The premises were to be used as the Coast University’s Mombasa campus, which was to be used as construction of the main campus was being completed in Malindi.
Already, a library had been set up with over 40,000 books bought.
Some 75 high-end computers had also been acquired.
“Eventually we had to donate the computers. By this time, we had lost about Sh150 million,” Shahbal said.
He blamed his entrance into politics for the failure of the project to take off, citing sabotage from political opponents.
However, he said his determination to set up the university will never change.
“When you have a vision of what you want to do you have to stay with the vision. Politics come and go, but the vision I have for education in Mombasa and at the Coast will never die.”
Prof Hyder was one of the leading supporters of the project, alongside many of the Coast professors who were involved in the project, Shahbal said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
