Reports from late 2025 and early 2026 underline that while mass abductions by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) persist, local religious leaders have remained critical voices for negotiation and restorative justice.
The heroic action of a Borno-based Islamic cleric, lawyer and philanthropist, Zannah Mustapha, continues to draw the attention of the world to embracing lessons in inclusion. By offering free education to Boko Haram widows and orphans towards what he envisioned as “building a truly inclusive future,” the cleric stood tall at a time when the Boko Haram insurgency was vicious, barely 4 years old. The story of The Future Prowess Islamic Foundation will not be complete without its founder, Mustapha, an educationist who risked his life to champion the cause of providing free education to vulnerable children and adults.
Mustapha told Advocatus Africa that his vision is part of ongoing efforts in Nigeria to use education as a tool for reintegration and “create a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society that addresses the lack of embracing diversity.”
Described as a unique model for providing free education and meals to the children of both victims and insurgents to foster long-term peace, the legal practitioner shared his motivation to establish an institution for widows of slain soldiers and insurgents, as part of his corporate social responsibility of giving back to society.
“I opened this foundation in 2007. It preceded the insurgency itself. As a seasoned legal practitioner with over 30 years of experience, I believe I can also make a meaningful contribution to society,” he said.
He explained that, “The government trained me, and my parents did not have to spend a single naira on my education – my last registration at the University was not up to ₦50. We had scholarship opportunities, but here we are – we cannot give scholarship to our children.”
He also disclosed that “I felt I should also venture into something, as there is nothing that has brought me where I am apart from education. I feel it is the only candle that can light the future.”
On why he chose the name, The Future Prowess, the cleric said, it was “because I felt that if you are talking about education, it should be something that should build up for the future […] That is why I established The Future Prowess Islamic Foundation.”
On inclusion and diversity in the school, the educationist disclosed that “we enrol orphans from diverse backgrounds, including those who died of natural causes,” adding that “I started with 36 orphans [including] all my biological children of school age. I also asked the teachers to enrol their children as part of their commitment and they did.”
Speaking with some student beneficiaries was revealing as they lauded the humanitarian aid provided by the cleric, whom they look up to as “a mentor, father and philanthropist.”
Muhammed Alhaji Gana, a science student of Future Process, told Advocatus Africa that Boko Haram killed his father in Bama on October 7, 2014.
The nostalgic 18-year-old recalled that the ugly incident occurred around 2 p.m. when men, numbering 20, appeared in military fatigues on motorcycles, carrying swords and guns.
He disclosed that they killed 5 people as they ran to Malari, spending two days on the road.
“We met some Fulani on the way who assisted us. Eventually, we arrived at my father’s relatives’ and stayed with them for 3 months,” he said.
Gana used the opportunity to express gratitude to the school’s proprietor “for the scholarship granted to me to complete high school and for changing my story.
“I am also grateful to the principal and staff for their dedication and for imparting knowledge to us.”
Another science student, Aisha Usman Adam, 16, detailed that her father was killed in cold blood by Boko Haram.
“I am from a poor background. My father was a bricklayer and trader while my mum is a full-time housewife,” she said.
The teenager explained that her father was a cloth-trader at Giwa Barrack, Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, but one day, “in 2013, my father and uncle were killed by Boko Haram. I was barely 8 years old.”
The firstborn of 3 siblings from her mother narrated that her father had 4 wives with 8 children who were forced to cater for themselves.
“I thank the proprietor, principal and staff because without them, I do not know where I would have been,” said she.
The determined Adam, who disclosed that she aspires to become a physician, insisted, “I want to achieve my goal. I do not believe that women’s education ends in the kitchen.”
Immediate past principal of the school, Ali Mohammed Ali, told Advocatus Africa that staff and students cut across religion – Muslims and Christians, stressing that the inclusive policy “shows that the academic environment welcomes all.”
