The family of a former Minister of Defence, retired Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma has donated an additional ultramodern females hostel to the University of Benin, making it the second within the last 15 months.
The Matriarch of the family, Mrs. Daisy Danjuma said at the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday in Benin that the Danjuma family felt it owed the university more than the university owed them.
Danjuma, who was represented by Mr Andy Ehanire, the Managing Director, Ogba Zoological Garden and Nature Park, Benin lauded the university for singling out the former minister and his wife for honourary doctoral degrees.
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The family has also laid a foundation for another hostel for the boys in the university.
“The donation of the hostels is like a token. I was around at the inauguration of the first hostel. I know that the UNIBEN Students’ Union President made a passionate plea that the Danjuma’s family should not forget the boys.
“I have also bought into the agenda. So, I pray that two hostels should go on at the same time for the boys,” Danjuma said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Lilian Salami, said the edifice, named after the matriarch of the family, Sen. Daisy, demonstrated a belief in girl-child and her development.
“We are here to celebrate someone who is just marvellous. I say so with no reservation. How can someone sit in her quiet corner, and continue to give? If not someone whom God has created to really impact on humanity,” Salami said.
Salami said the university never believed the project could be delivered in a short time, 14 months after the first donation was made.
According to her, when we started with the first hostel, we visited Sisi Daisy, and General Theophilus Danjuma and they asked us what the university wanted from the family.
“We said if they could give us a hostel, we would appreciate it, and we were promised one hostel, which was inaugurated by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
“When Sisi Daisy came to UNIBEN for the inauguration of the hostel that she donated, she said, why not give a second hostel, and we thought it was a joke, until the foundation laying came, and we had it.
“Here again, celebrating Sisi Daisy’s 72nd birthday, she promised to give a third hostel.
Reacted to this today, a female student in a chit chat with All Campus Show said the school management should also reduce the hostel fees as far it comes through donation, the hostel fee gotten from students should just be for maintenance not extorting students on free things the school received. Management should be ashamed of billing students without sympathy, most of these Professors billing the students lived and ate free food when in University but currently behaving like they are God.
She also said "Federal Government should look into this act by the Universities Managements for corrections."