Prof. Danladi Abok Atu, the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Plateau State and Director of the APUDI Institute for Peace Studies and Social Rehabilitation (APIS), had an interface dialogue with the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Manko Lar, and members of the Plateau State Academic Community at Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja). The meeting comprised professors and other academic staff of Plateau origin, convened to foster unity and strategic collaboration.
Speaking during the interface, Prof. Atu stated that the engagement with critical stakeholders from Plateau in the university community was aimed at appreciating them for their unwavering support to one of their own, Prof. Lar, following her appointment as Acting Vice Chancellor. He described this show of solidarity as a true reflection of the “Plateau spirit.”
Prof. Atu also extended heartfelt appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the honor bestowed on Plateau’s revered patriarch and national statesman, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, by renaming the University of Abuja in his name. He noted that this gesture has once again placed Plateau State in the national spotlight, emphasizing that Yakubu Gowon University holds strategic significance as a symbol of national unity—an ideal championed by Gen. Gowon.
He further disclosed that the Plateau Academic Community should synergize ideas to develop a blueprint that will immortalize Gen. Gowon’s legacy in the university, focusing on fostering national unity, peaceful coexistence, research excellence, and academic development.
In her remarks, Prof. Manko Lar expressed profound gratitude to Prof. Atu and the Plateau Academic Community, stating that their support represents a great honor and encouragement to her leadership. She commended the community for their visionary ideas aimed at making a lasting impact on the citadel of learning and reaffirmed the university’s openness to partnerships and collaborations that will advance its mission.
The meeting later went into a closed-door session, where critical details and strategies were discussed. Outcomes of these deliberations will be made public in due course.
Dafir Zughumnaan
Media Aide to
Prof. Danladi Abok Atu
APIS (Nigeria)
