Focus on hard work, rather than riches, Obi tells Dominican Varsity graduates

THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and pro-chancellor of the Dominican University (DU), Ibadan,  Mr Peter Obi has advised the graduating students of the institution to work hard and contribute to building a better society, rather than striving to acquire riches.

He said: “Anyone who strives to be rich can never make it; rather,  strive to help and improve humanity; innovate things that would make life better. Someone discovered the phone and from there he became very rich; dare to change the world and you will be rich.

“Be there for those who are in need, those who have nobody and don’t look down on anyone. Always remember that grace brought you this far; you are graduating today by His grace.”

Mr Obi, who spoke at the combined first and second convocation ceremonies of DU held at its Samonda campus in Ibadan, promised to invest in education right from the basic to the tertiary level if he eventually becomes the president in 2023.

I will invest in health and education. We will start from basic education ensuring that our people are educated at the basic level. At the tertiary level, we will find a combination that will enable the system to work well and ensure that our lecturers no longer go on strike; this is not befitting for our country.”

Speaking further, he noted that “holistic education that informs the mind, equips the hand and enriches the heart is what our youths deserve to navigate their future,” adding that “this is the avowed commitment of DU which is encapsulated in its vision and mission.”

In his remarks, the proprietor and chancellor of the institution, Very Rev Fr, Modestus Ngwu, noted that the maiden convocation ceremonies marked an important milestone in the short history of the university, saying that for more than 800 years the Dominican Order has uninterruptedly shaped and formed the minds and hearts of so many men and women around the world.

He charged the graduands to channel the wealth of knowledge and experience they had acquired at DU in the service of humanity.

Delivering the first convocation lecture of the institution entitled, ‘Let Your Education Count,’ the chiarman of Globus Bank Limited, Mr Amangbo, said instead of complaining about brain drain as a nation, “we should rather take advantage of the situation by investing in quality education and generally improve the quality and number of our work force.”

He congratulated the pioneering graduates of the university encouraging them to be focused, passionate about what they do, continue to learn, maintain a healthy network, think globally, among others, as they grow personally and professionally.

In his address, the acting vice chancellor of the institution, Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, tasked the Federal Government to grant private universities  access to funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) due to the pivotal roles they are playing in building the country’s human capital.

“The government must invest in all duly accredited institutions that expend their resources in manpower creation for the nation,’” he stressed.