By Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has said Nigeria can become a better, stronger and more prosperous nation if citizens apply the knowledge acquired from reputable institutions to national development, guided by wisdom, integrity, moral discipline and faith in God.
Governor Mutfwang stated this on Friday, November 5, 2026, while delivering the convocation 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 building 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 when competing ideologies, emerging challenges and distractions require 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, which should be harnessed as a source of collective strength rather than division.
He stressed the need to uphold the social contract between government and the governed, anchored on the rule of law, security, popular consent, access to education and healthcare, political participation, freedom of association and the preservation of human dignity.
The governor identified the educated mind as central to building the Nigeria of collective aspirations, noting that national transformation requires critical consciousness, independent thinking, the ability to distinguish truth from propaganda, moral conviction and the competence to translate ideas into tangible 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 had never suffered from a shortage of intelligence, as its citizens continued to distinguish themselves globally, but stressed that the country needed intelligence anchored in integrity and brilliance committed to selfless service.
Mutfwang urged the graduands not to lose faith in Nigeria, irrespective of where their aspirations might take them, noting that nations admired for their 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.
He added: “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.”
The governor charged the graduands to become builders of enduring institutions, champions of ethical leadership and agents of positive change, stressing that their worth would be measured not by certificates or positions but by their impact on society.
He also commended the Catholic Church for its enduring contributions to national development through education, healthcare and humanitarian services.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Rev. Fr. Prof. Hyacinth E. Ichoku, thanked Governor Mutfwang for honouring the university’s invitation, noting that his presence added value to the institution’s prestige and academic standing.
Prof. Ichoku urged the graduands to remain committed to 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.
