From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Pen Resource University, Gombe has announced that it is changing its name to North-Eastern University. The shift in branding represents a significant step forward for the the first private university in Gombe state.
According to the Pro-Chancellor and Founder, Dr. Sani Jauro, the decision to change the name was not taken lightly, and it reflects the university’s commitment to providing innovative and relevant education to all its students. He said, “At take-off, we decided to name the university in the image of its progenitor, the great Pen Resource Academy, Gombe for the nascent university to earn public confidence by leveraging the goodwill, integrity, and excellence in standards that are meritoriously synonymous with the Academy. Thus, the name Pen Resource University, Gombe. Our university students and their parents/sponsors can attest to the fact that we have surpassed their expectations in terms of all standards”.
He added that the change of name was championed by the rapid development of the university within a few years of its establishment. “We have four faculties, twenty-seven degree programs, and a Centre for African Medicinal Plants Research among others within the two (2) years of our existence. Having come this far, the university is now of age. It is therefore time for it to take its own name and chart its own independent course,” Jauro told newsmen shortly after the name was unveiled by the Emir of Gombe, Dr. Abubakar Shehu Abubakar.
Speaking further, the Pro-Chancellor said, “Our new name: North-Eastern University, Gombe is a name we reserved for the university long before we started the processes for obtaining the operational license, is rooted in our vision to establish a university indigenous of the North-Eastern part of Nigeria in character. A university that can further develop the world by paving ways to harness the excellent brainpower, knowledge, integrity, morality, sense of responsibility, love, and sacrifice for others, human and financial strengths, fertile land pregnant with oil, gas, and solid minerals, as well as the traditional sciences and technology handed down by our progenitors but neglected over time”.
“The task of the North-Eastern University, Gombe, is therefore very clear. It is to serve as a Nexus for development, bringing together all the necessary north-eastern Nigeria’s endowments for the development of mankind. This is also what our logo symbolizes: the book and the pen symbolize our brain power and scholarly culture; the bull and fertile soil symbolize our strength and our wealth; the white color is for peace while the sky blue is indicative of our limit as the sky; and, the shield is protective of our mission and our continuous national integration as Nigerians,” Dr. Sani stated.
He added that one of the wishes and commitments of the university is to become one of the 10 best universities in Nigeria within the first ten years of our establishment. “All hands are on deck. We shall be there by the grace of God,” he assured.