Haruna Abubakar: The UNILAG Best PhD Thesis Winner Who Discovered How Carbon Nanotubes Can Harvest Energy

By Success Essien and Jacinta Emeka

For Engineer Dr Haruna Abubakar, academic excellence was never a straight path. It was shaped by poverty, delayed education, repeated rejection, and an unyielding belief in learning as a lifeline. 

“I had already set a standard for myself to have a Western education,” he said. 

“No matter what happened, I knew I had to go to school.”

Born in Kogi State, Abubakar began his education at Ala Akabe Primary School but later proceeded to St. Peter’s College, Idah, where he completed his primary education in 1984. Financial hardship, however, kept him out of secondary school for several years. As a teenager, he took on menial jobs to raise money for his education. While others prepared for Christmas in 1987, he made a difficult choice. 

“That year, I didn’t buy anything for myself,” he recalled. “I kept the money with my mother and told her not to touch it. That was my school fees.”

In January 1988, with the help of an uncle, he gained admission into Ogamemura Grammar School, paying his fees himself. His determination was tested when two of his cousins abruptly withdrew from school, insisting that education was forbidden. Abubakar refused to follow them. 

“I asked myself how education could be haram when science and technology are built by human beings,” he said. 

“I knew I shouldn’t allow that to shatter my dream.” He later transferred to St. Peter’s College, where he completed his secondary education in 1993.

After secondary school, money again stood in his way. Although he gained admission to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Calabar, he declined the offer. 

“I didn’t have money, and I didn’t have anybody there to assist me,” he explained. 

He enrolled instead at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, to study Civil Engineering. During industrial training placement, he was the only student without a letter. 

“I was the only one in the whole class,” he said. An ITF officer eventually sent him to Lagos, a turning point that expanded his opportunities.

Following his National Diploma, Abubakar worked with the Nigerian Postal Authority and later returned to academics, earning an Upper Credit in his HND at Yaba College of Technology. With renewed hope, he approached the University of Lagos, a school he had long admired, but was turned away. “I was going back with tears,” he recalled. “UNILAG was one of the universities I loved.”

Undeterred, he earned a Postgraduate Diploma with distinction at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Policy restrictions initially blocked his academic progress again, until encouragement from his wife helped him persevere. “She told me to pray and leave everything to God,” he said. That resolve eventually led him to the University of Port Harcourt, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in 2013.

In 2016, Abubakar finally gained admission into the University of Lagos after passing a rigorous entrance examination. “When I saw my name on the list, I was so happy,” he said. “At last, I was back in the University of Lagos.” Immersed in a highly competitive academic environment, he thrived under strong mentorship, though his PhD journey was nearly derailed by a clerical error that delayed his admission for two years. On the verge of quitting, he made one final attempt that changed everything.

His award-winning PhD thesis explored the nonlinear vibration analysis of carbon nanotubes, materials far stronger than steel. The research examined their use in civil engineering structures, not only as reinforcement but also as a means of generating electricity from vibration. “This research has never been done before,” he said. “We discovered that it can also provide a model for harvesting energy.” 

According to him, vibrations from everyday structures such as concrete speed bumps could generate power for streetlights or sections of a university campus.

Beyond the thesis, he has published eleven international journal articles, many drawn directly from his PhD work. “Once you are in research, you cannot stop,” he said. Now in his fifties, he continues to research actively, passing on lessons of discipline and sacrifice to his children.

For aspiring scholars, his message is clear: “Don’t look at distraction. Go back to your mathematics and physics. Once your foundation is strong, the sky is your limit.”