by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has said Nigeria can become a better, stronger and more prosperous nation, “if citizens deploy knowledge acquired from reputable institutions to advance national development, guided by wisdom, integrity, moral discipline and faith in God.”
Governor Mutfwang stated this on Friday, November 5, 2026, while delivering a Lecture at the 15th Convocation Ceremony of Veritas University, Abuja.
The lecture, titled, ‘Building the Nigeria We Want: The Role of the Educated Mind,’ examined the responsibility of education and intellectual leadership in shaping a nation founded on justice, excellence, shared prosperity and enduring democratic values.
The governor thanked the University for the Invitation, describing it as an opportunity to reflect with the academic community at a time of competing ideologies, emerging challenges and distractions that demand sound judgment, intellectual courage and moral clarity.
Reaffirming his faith in the Nigerian Project, Mutfwang said the country’s diversity of peoples, cultures, religions and traditions was not accidental but part of God’s divine purpose, and should be harnessed as collective strength, rather than a basis for division.
He also stressed the need to honour the social contract between government and the governed, anchored on rule of law, security, popular consent, access to education and healthcare, political participation, freedom of association and preservation of human dignity.
Governor Mutfwang placed the responsibility for building the Nigeria Of Collective Aspiration on the educated mind, noting that transformation requires critical consciousness, courage to think independently, discipline to distinguish truth from propaganda, moral conviction to choose right over convenient, and competence to translate ideas into results.
“Our nation is not short of people, who mean well; it is short of people, who can do well, who marry the will to the skill. Let your generation be known for both,” he told the graduands.
He observed that Nigeria has never suffered from a shortage of intelligence, as its citizens distinguish themselves globally, but what the country needs is intelligence anchored in integrity and brilliance committed to selfless service.
He charged the graduands not to lose faith in Nigeria, irrespective of where their aspirations take them, noting that nations admired for progress were not built by their brightest citizens abandoning them.
“The nations you admire were not built by their finest people departing. If your path leads abroad, let your success flow homeward, in knowledge, investment, mentorship, and the stubborn refusal to write-off the country that made you,” he said.
“Distance need not mean desertion, and the answer to japa is not a lecture but a country worth staying for, which it now falls to your generation, and those of us who govern, to build.”
He urged them to become builders of enduring institutions, champions of ethical leadership and agents of positive change, adding that their worth will be measured not by certificates or positions, but by impact on society.
Governor Mutfwang also commended the Catholic Church for its enduring contributions to national development through education, healthcare and humanitarian services.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Rev. Fr. Prof. Hyacinth E. Ichoku, thanked Governor Mutfwang for honouring the invitation, saying, his presence added value to the prestige and academic standing of the institution.
Prof. Ichoku charged the graduands to remain steadfast in the pursuit of truth, uphold integrity, competence and innovation, and become worthy ambassadors of the University and dependable contributors to Nigeria’s aspirations.
Governor Mutfwang was accompanied by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard M. Doro; retired Air Vice Marshal Napoleon Bali; Members of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chief John Dafan, Hon. Vincent Bulus, Hon. Daniel Asama and Hon. Ishaya Lalu; Hon. Lumumba Da’ade; Hon. Alfred Ajang; Hon. Joyce Ramnap, Commissioner for Information and Communication; Mrs. Mary Afan; and Engr. Danladi Mwantok, Coordinator, Abuja Liaison Directorate, among other dignitaries.