Minister urges graduates to reinforce fate in their country
Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola has said the Federal Government had intervened in the internal road system of 77 tertiary institutions.
The minister spoke at the 11th convocation ceremony of Veritas University ay Bwari in Abuja, where he was the guest lecturer on Saturday.
He said: “Today, we have intervened in the internal road system of 77 tertiary schools in Nigeria – universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.”
Fashola urged the graduates to develop a state of mind that Nigeria can be better.
The minister urged the graduates to take responsibility for the kind of country they want to see.
The former Lagos State governor said his belief in a better Nigeria had not changed.
Fashola said: “I have seen a difficult and not so difficult Nigeria. But in all of it, my beliefs in this country and its promises have never changed. Nigeria remains for me a home, a place to treasure and to protect.
“My state of mind is not to take flight to another man’s land and from there pour scorn and hate on my own place of birth. My state of mind tells me to deploy my skills and energy towards improving the place I call home.
“It is not colonialism that has held us back. Rather, it is our mindset. There are countries that were colonies and have surpassed those who colonised them.”
Veritas University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku said of the 445 students that graduated on Saturday, 397 were from the undergraduates and 58 other from the School of Post-Graduate Studies.
Giving a breakdown, Ichoko said 28 made First Class, 162 others made Second Class Upper, 173 had Second Class Lower, and 34 others made Third Class.
The vice chancellor said the university had secured approval for four new undergraduate academic programmes: Pharmacy; Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science, and Software Engineering.
He hailed the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) for supporting the development of private universities in the country.
During the convocation, the university conferred honourary doctorate degrees on the founder of Arik Air, Mr. Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide; Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan; and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, for their distinguished contributions to society.
In his remarks, Kaigama urged the graduates to gain new skills and never stop learning.
“I urge you to move with the tide, gain new skills and never stop learning and acquiring new knowledge. I wish you well as you navigate the uncertainty of the future that life has in stock for each and everyone of you,” he said.
Also, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Veritas University Governing Council, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, urged the graduates to sail beyond their comfort zones.
