PLASU Convocation: T.Y Danjuma Commends President Trump.
The former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence, Lt. General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (Rtd.), has applauded the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, for his consistent efforts in making the name “Middle Belt” common in the international vocabulary.
He made the statement during the conferment of his Honorary Doctorate degree in Business Administration and Ethics (Honoris Causa) at the 8th and 9th Combined Convocation of the institution.
In his acceptance speech, Danjuma said, “I want to thank you sincerely for the great honour bestowed on me and my fellow awardee. I’m deeply humbled about two issues”.
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First, the honour is coming from my own people. Only recently, the name “Middle Belt” became a common term in international vocabulary, thanks to President Trump, who lamented the atrocities occurring in Nigeria, especially in the Middle Belt Region, where our brothers are the major casualties.
According to the retired General, pressmen became lukewarm, probably confused by President Trump’s antecedents. No one knows where he is coming from, and no one can predict where he is heading. He insisted and repeated this pronouncement over and over, but no one wanted to listen to him. Even Nigerians were gradually and reluctantly listening.
And my second reason for thanking you is your nomination of the second awardee, a man who has broken new ground in business. I thank you for choosing him, because he is the right choice.
Lieutenant General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (Rtd.) was born in Takum, Taraba State, on 9 December 1937.
He had his primary school education at St Bartholomew CMS School, Wusasa, Zaria, from where he proceeded to Benue Provincial Secondary School, Katsina-Ala, where he graduated in 1958.
In 1959, he won a government scholarship to study his favourite subject, History, at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, but dropped out within a year to join the army on the advice of the British officer in charge of the College Cadet Corps, who told him that the Nigerian army desperately needed young men with brains like his.
In April 1960, Danjuma became one of the pioneer officer cadets of the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, from where he proceeded to Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, United Kingdom, to earn his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.
From September 1970 to April 1971, Danjuma served as Chairman of the Special Military Tribunal in Trinidad and Tobago, from where he was appointed General Officer Commanding, 3rd Infantry Division, Nigerian Army.
Danjuma was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1975. At the end of his military career, Danjuma was awarded the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
Recognition of his services to Nigeria and to humanity came from far and wide. In Nigeria, not less than 15 universities awarded honorary doctorate degrees to Danjuma.
The second awardee, Iyinoluwa Samuel Aboyeji, was born on March 28, 1991, and graduated from the University of Waterloo (Canada), where he studied legal studies.
He co-founded Andela, a company that identifies and trains software developers across Africa and connects them with global companies.
The company was backed by Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and became one of the biggest names in African tech talent development.
After leaving Andela, Aboyeji also co-founded Flutterwave, a fintech company that provides payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across Africa. It has become one of Africa’s future unicorns.
In his speech, Governor Caleb Mutfwang said, “It is with deep gratitude to Almighty God that I grace this distinguished gathering today in the serene and scholarly environment of Plateau State University, Bokkos, on the historic 8th and 9th Combined Convocation ceremony.
This convocation is not merely a celebration of resilience, excellence, and the harvest of years of intellectual labour; it is also a powerful reaffirmation of our collective resolve to reposition education as the engine of progress, innovation, and social transformation in Plateau State.
Indeed, the time is now for a new era in educational excellence. Let me congratulate the eminent Nigerians who were honoured today with honorary doctorate degrees; your selection reflects your outstanding contributions to national development and human advancement.”
Let me first appreciate our father, a leader par excellence, one who has laid his life for this country, a promoter of good governance, a nurturer of men. And indeed, if there is any man for us in the Middle Belt to celebrate, it is T.Y Danjuma.
He has been energetic right from the time he joined the army; he has invested in men, but many times he has been disappointed. Our prayer is that we wish God to renew your strength and add many years to your life. And if there is a time we needed you, it is now. We still need your mentorship and guidance for more years to come.
Addressing the gathering, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Shedrack Gaya Best, said, “It is with immense joy and pleasure that I welcome, with appreciation, the visitor to the University and leader of the ‘Time is now’ mantra, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, to Plateau State University, Bokkos.
We are also privileged to have an array of dignitaries and high-profile guests at this event.
Today is another historic day in the life, growth, and development of Plateau State University, Bokkos, as we witness this harvest of hard work, with our graduands and honourees being conferred with degrees and diplomas of the University.
This University, which commenced academic activities in May 2007 with three faculties, has grown into a global brand today. Our 1st to 7th Convocation ceremonies, and indeed today’s, have radiated around the initial faculties of Arts, Natural and Applied Sciences, Management, and Social Sciences.
As things stand today, however, we have taken a deliberate decision to grow, and grow fast and strong. As such, five new faculties were ushered in at the beginning of the 2023/24 school year: Agriculture, Education, Environmental Sciences, Law, and Health Sciences. The School of Postgraduate Studies also came on board the same year.
We thank the visitor for supporting all of these accreditation and resource verification exercises.
In the 2025/26 academic session, we commenced academic activities in two new faculties: Medical and Health Sciences, and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In addition, we are unbundling Mass Communication into the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, which will offer degree programmes in Mass Communication, Development Communication, Journalism and Media Studies, Broadcasting, and Strategic Communication.
To support this faculty, we have already obtained a radio licence from the National Broadcasting Commission and have commissioned a campus radio, PLASU Radio 103.3 FM, which is currently on air. Other dignitaries who attended the Convocation include Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (Rtd.), former Governor of Plateau State, Dame Pauline Tallen, former Deputy Governor, Dr. Benard Doro, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Senator Diket Plang, among others. Twenty-two students graduated with First Class and received various prizes.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, FEBRUARY 16TH 2026)
