NIGERIA Defence Academy (NDA) has named its multipurpose auditorium after the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood.
The Commandant of the academy, Major-General, M. T. Liman, stated this during the unveiling ceremony recently held at the NDA’s permanent site in Kaduna.
According to him, the management of NDA decided to name its multipurpose auditorium after Professor Yakubu for his contribution while he was a lecturer.
General Liman said the INEC boss, who was a lecturer in the academy, rose to become its provost, and proposed N10 million as against the N160 million proposed by others for the establishment of the school.
Responding, Professor Yakubu thanked the academy for the honour done to him, saying, “I was the acting provost of NDA during the time of General Alex Akale. Then, the minister and chairman of NDA governing board came; and during our meeting, asked ‘why is it that NDA, unlike other universities, doesn’t give honorary doctoral degrees?’
“General Akale looked at me and said, ‘Professor Yakubu, any reply?’ So, I said ‘sir, in NDA, we don’t give what we don’t have. We don’t have a postgraduate school; so, we cannot give honorary doctorates’.
“Few weeks later, the minister asked me to come and look at the proposal for the NDA postgraduate school. I got there and saw a proposal of N160 million. The minster said it was beautiful, but there was no money. So, I quickly told him, with maximum of N10 million, we can start a postgraduate school.
“Other professors who submitted proposals were looking at me that, look at this NDA-made professor proposing N10 million for a postgraduate school. The Commandant too did not believe me. But I told him that postgraduate school does not have to be very big. Once you admit students, they will go to their various departments.
“That was how we started it during the 40th anniversary of the academy in 2004. Today, the NDA Postgraduate School is one of the best in the country.”
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