Medicine/surgery final year student turned food vendor dies

Mr Usman Abubakar-Rimi, a Medicine and Surgery final year student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), who ventured into food selling business due to prolonged ASUU strike, has died.

Abubakar-Rimi opened a food outlet and Indomie joint in the Diplomat area in Sokoto.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the medical student died on Wednesday after a brief illness.

The death was confirmed to NAN on Saturday by the Chairman of 21st Century Enterprenuer Hub, Umar Idris, a close associate of the deceased.

Idris said the deceased had been buried according to Islamic rites in his hometown, Rimi, in Rimi Local Government Area of Katsina state.

He described the deceased as a humble person and a dedicated student and enterprenuer.

According to him, the deceased was Katsina State Coordinator of the 21st Century Entrepreneurs Hub, and actively participated in coordinating Global Entrepreneurship activities in 2019 and 2020.

He added that the deceased also coordinated Young CEOs Meetup in Katsina, the largest CEOs gathering in Katsina from 2019 and 2020, as well as several other skills acquisition trainings.

He noted that during Abubakar-Rimi’s leadership, the 21st Century Entrepreneurs Hub in Katsina empowered about 1,000 women and youths on various business skills.

NAN recalled that during an exclusive interview with the deceased on Sept. 9, 2022,  he said that the prolonged industrial action embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) gave him the opportunity to begin the food business.

The deceased also told NAN that he utilised the period of the COVID-19 lockdown to start an egg and chicken distribution business.

Abubakar-Rimi had advised students to utilise their free time to engage in businesses, stressing that online services provided a lot of opportunities to leverage on.