The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of Veritas University, Abuja, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said that has all it takes to turn the country around, saying young Nigerians leaving the country are needed to fix the country.
Kukah spoke while addressing the graduating students of Veritas University on Saturday at the 12th convocation of the institution and the conferment of degrees and awards of prizes.
The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese said Veritas University would continue to inspire and shape the new generation so that the change Nigerians expect is not the same change they expect from politicians.
Noting that Nigeria has everything it takes to turn the country around, he prayed that the right and conducive environment be created so that Nigerian youths could compete favourably with their counterparts outside the shores of the country.
“The country is big enough; we can assure you that by the time you settle down in the United States of America or wherever you have gone, you will discover that Nigeria needs you, and for those you left behind, our hope and prayer is that they will be competing at the same level with you because we have everything that it takes to turn the country around.
“We at Veritas University will continue to inspire and shape the new generation so that the change we expect in our country is not the change we expect from politicians. It is the change that will come with the big intellectual understanding of the complex nature of this country that every graduate who walks out of the portals of Veritas will be truly equipped mentally and intellectually to conquer Nigeria, he said.
He tasked the graduates to remain focused and remember the school they were leaving behind, just as he appealed to teachers to strive to be role models for the students, as according to him, “the quality of help and support you will get from the alumni will be determined by how they left this university.”
He said, “As you prepare to start a new chapter in your life, I encourage you to remain focused on your dream. Do not forget your alma mater, because you are standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before you.
“Do not forget the sacrifices you have made. This is why we also appeal to teachers to become sources of inspiration because the quality of help and support you will get from the alumni will be determined by how they left this university. If they leave this university feeling sorrowful, they are not likely to look back because there are other challenges.
“So we want to encourage your parents to please endeavour to serve as models and mentors to these young people. Remember, it could have been done anywhere; it’s not by accident that they are in Nigeria, he added.
While noting that some teachers were sacrificing to give their best to the country, he said that contrary to the claim that teachers’ rewards were in heaven, they are here on earth, appealing to them not to rest on their oars.
“Some of you are suffering in very difficult situations; your sacrifices are well appreciated, and they will never be in vain. Someday, hopefully, you will stumble across somebody at some point in your life who will appreciate you because you were a teacher at Veritas University, he said.
He narrates his personal experience thus: “I have a personal experience of coming late to catch a flight to Sokoto, and I was the last person to get on the plane. Miraculously, the plane continued to wait, and when I got to the aircraft, the pilot was waiting at the foot of the plane. I tried to take my seat, and he sat in front of me and kneeled to greet me. I was quite embarrassed because I had never seen this gentleman in my life, and he said, ‘Well, Bishop, I have to kneel and greet you because you are the one who recommended me over ten years ago for the job as a pilot.”
“We never know as teachers. Do not fall victim to the claim that your rewards are in heaven. Your rewards are actually here, and they will also be in heaven, he added.
He congratulated the management and staff of the university, headed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ichoku Hyacinth, saying his outstanding leadership and qualities “have been very clearly enunciated on how far the university had travelled, the programmes it has received the rise without compromise, the quality of students and rising from 1,200 students to the fact that we are now turning students back.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
COP28 delegates: Invest in production, not frivolities, Peter Obi knocks Tinubu
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections has reacted to the long list of delegates that travelled with…
I studied for seven hours daily for four years — ACU best graduating student
To attain great academic success, the best-graduating student at Ajayi Crowther University for the 2022–2023 academic session, Susanna Akinteye, has…
CBN will freeze your accounts if you don’t link your BVN-NIN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that all accounts without the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and…
How housewives are coping with exorbitant cost of pepper
YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports that in addition to significant increase in cost of food items, many Nigerian homes that…
Service chiefs on national security
SPEAKING at the Green Chamber when he led service chiefs to address parliamentarians on pertinent security issues last week, the Chief of…
Gusau outlines 2030 vision for Nigeria football development
President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has outlined his plan for…
