COTABATO CITY – The Mindanao State University (MSU) system has conferred on Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Hadji Murad” Ebrahim an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his “exemplary contributions to humanity and peace building” in the south.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod “Hadji Murad” Ebrahim (right) receiving from MSU System President Dr. Habib Macaayong the plaque conferring an honorary doctorate degree in peace and development during the school’s 55th commencement exercises in Marawi City last January 28. (Photo via Ali Macabalang / MANILA BULLETIN)
The conferment highlighted the 55th commencement exercises of the MSU-Marawi City main campus last January 28, according to reports from the university leadership and the Bangsamoro government’s information bureau.
“I am accepting this honorary degree not for myself, but for the Bangsamoro struggle and the Bangsamoro people,” Ebrahim told some 1,500 graduates during the conferment ceremony at the MSU system’s Dimaporo gymnasium in Marawi City.
Ebrahim’s choice as graduation speaker and recipient of honorary doctorate degree in peace and development was opted by the MSU Board of Regents on recommendation of MSU President Dr. Habib Macaayong.
“I am accepting this honorary degree not for myself, but for the Bangsamoro struggle and the Bangsamoro people,” Ebrahim told some 1,500 graduates during the conferment ceremony at the MSU system’s Dimaporo gymnasium in Marawi City.
Ebrahim’s choice as graduation speaker and recipient of honorary doctorate degree in peace and development was opted by the MSU Board of Regents on recommendation of MSU President Dr. Habib Macaayong.
In his speech, Ebrahim recalled that he was once an MSU student, 55 years ago. After being granted a government scholarship program, he then transferred to Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and took up Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.
“And yet, with another twist, before finishing my fifth year in college, I decided to pursue a calling bigger than all of us – the rise of the Moro movement. Without hesitation, I left the university and joined the movement’s military training in 1970,” he added.
Ebrahim was referring to his entry into the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and later the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to fight for a separate state for the Bangsamoro community. He rose to the top post of the MILF after the death on July 13, 2003 of its founding chairman, Ustadz Salamat Hashim.
“Fast forward, that revolution has enabled us to establish a new bureaucracy that reflects our ideals and aspirations,” said the MILF chairman cum chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
BARMM was formally established last March 29 following the ratification of its charter – R.A. 11054 – in the January 21, 2019 plebiscite. Congress passed the law in July 2018 following decades of peace talks between the MILF and the government.
“It is your generation who will truly benefit from the success of the Republic Act 11054. Hopefully, when it’s already your time to lead our people, you will continue to honor those who were there before,” Ebrahim told the graduates in between sobs.
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