For the second time in 15 months, the family of Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), a former Minister of Defence, has presented an ultramodern girls hostel to University of Benin.
In her remarks at the hostel’s inauguration on Wednesday, the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Lilian Salami, said the edifice, named after the family’s matriarch, Daisy Danjuma, indicated a belief in girl child development.
She said, “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 impact humanity? When we started with the first hostel, we just visited Daisy and General Theophilus Danjuma asked us what we 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, Godwin Obaseki, on Saturday, April 29, 2023. When Daisy came to UNIBEN to inaugurate the hostel, she said, ‘Why not give a second hostel?’ We thought it was a joke until the foundation laying came and we had it.
“Here again, celebrating Daisy’s 72nd birthday, and she promised to give us a third hostel. I am sure if this continues, by the time she reaches 90, God willing, we will probably have Senator Daisy Danjuma hostels everywhere in UNIBEN.”
The vice-chancellor expressed hope that the family will fulfil the request of the institution’s male students for a boys’ hostel.
In his address, the donor’s representative, Andy Ehanire, stated that the Danjuma family believed it owed the university more than the university owed them.
Ehanire praised the institution for selecting the former minister and his wife for honorary doctorates.