TY Danjuma leads N5 billion fundraising for 111-year-old Benue faculty

Retired Lieutenant General and former Chief of Army Staff, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, alongside different notable Nigerians, is main efforts to boost N5 billion for the rehabilitation of Government College Katsina-Ala, Benue state, because the establishment marks 111 years of existence.

The fundraising occasion, organised by the Katsina-Ala Old Boys Association (KAOBA), is scheduled to carry on October 19, 2026 on the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The initiative goals to rescue the historic establishment from years of infrastructural decay and restore its standing as a centre of educational excellence.

The nationwide president of KAOBA, Chief Anthony Adda, said this in an unique interview with Blueprint Newspapers, saying that the intervention grew to become obligatory following what he described as extended neglect of the varsity by the authorities answerable for its upkeep.

Adda mentioned the affiliation determined to take the initiative after a number of efforts to safe authorities intervention yielded little progress.

According to him, Danjuma had demonstrated dedication to the varsity’s revival by renovating its 5 hostels about three years in the past, offering a mannequin for different outdated college students to contribute to the establishment’s growth.

He mentioned: “General TY Danjuma has been intervening in that faculty. He renovated all of the 5 hostels there, and they’re lovely now.

“But when you look at the classrooms, some of the structures we used when I entered Form One in 1967 are still there. Nobody has touched them. We felt that what General Danjuma is doing should challenge the younger ones to also contribute.”

The KAOBA president added that  the affiliation’s main goal was to forestall the varsity from deteriorating additional, stressing that the establishment remained a supply of satisfaction to its alumni throughout totally different generations.

Adda, who mentioned he entered the varsity in 1967, lamented that its infrastructure had deteriorated to the purpose the place former college students felt compelled to take direct motion.

He famous that the varsity belonged to the Benue State Government and never the outdated boys, however argued that alumni couldn’t stand by whereas an establishment that formed their lives continued to say no.

“The essence of what we are doing is to intervene so that the school will not die. It appears there has been a lot of negligence on the part of whoever is supposed to take care of the school,” he mentioned.

Adda additionally raised considerations over alleged encroachment on the varsity’s land and the sale of some workers quarters by earlier administrations.

He recalled that the affiliation had approached former Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, over the encroachment, including {that a} committee was subsequently established to determine affected parts of the land.

According to him, the previous governor directed that those that had acquired parts of the land ought to be refunded and requested to go away.

However, Adda mentioned the affiliation had struggled to safe comparable consideration from the authorities because the change of administration.

He said that some academics now reside exterior the varsity premises as a result of parts of the workers quarters had reportedly been offered, elevating considerations in regards to the welfare of personnel and the state of amenities.

The affiliation, he added, had inspired the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to submit periodic studies to the Ministry of Education on the challenges dealing with the establishment.

Adda defined that the varsity traditionally admitted college students from a number of areas that have been a part of the identical provincial administration earlier than the creation of states, making the establishment’s legacy prolong past Benue.

He mentioned the affiliation was additionally reaching out to company organisations, monetary establishments, conventional rulers and rich people.

According to him, some households nonetheless keep information of their fathers and relations who attended the varsity a long time in the past, together with former college students who served as head boys within the Nineteen Forties.

He appealed to invited dignitaries and well-meaning Nigerians to assist the initiative, saying the intervention would assist restore the varsity’s amenities and protect its historic significance.

Adda mentioned the fundraising was a part of a broader effort to provide again to an establishment that had contributed to the schooling and growth of generations of Nigerians.

As a part of efforts to mobilise assist for the N5bn fundraising, KAOBA has invited governors of states that traditionally fashioned a part of the varsity’s catchment space, alongside distinguished people and conventional rulers whose households have longstanding ties to the establishment.

Those anticipated embrace Benue state governor, Rev. Hyacinth Alia; Taraba state governor, Dr Agbu Kefas; Nasarawa state governor, Engr Abdullahi Sule; Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; Kogi state governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo; and Cross River state governor, Bassey Otu.

Established in 1915, Government College Katsina-Ala started as a center faculty in Wannune earlier than relocating to its current location in Katsina-Ala within the Nineteen Twenties. It is extensively thought to be the oldest secondary faculty in Benue State and has served college students from a number of elements of the North-Central and Middle Belt areas.

However, Adda mentioned the affiliation had struggled to safe comparable consideration from the authorities because the change of administration.

He said that some academics now reside exterior the varsity premises as a result of parts of the workers quarters had reportedly been offered, elevating considerations in regards to the welfare of personnel and the state of amenities.

The affiliation, he added, had inspired the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to submit periodic studies to the Ministry of Education on the challenges dealing with the establishment.

Adda defined that the varsity traditionally admitted college students from a number of areas that have been a part of the identical provincial administration earlier than the creation of states, making the establishment’s legacy prolong past Benue.

He mentioned the affiliation was additionally reaching out to company organisations, monetary establishments, conventional rulers and rich Nigerians to assist the fundraising.