The Students Are Our Glimmer Of Hope For The Future – Bukola Saraki

Bukola Saraki has delivered a keynote address at the 4th Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State.

The Senate President also called for a departure from the educational system where emphasis is placed more on paper certification and theory based teaching.

“It is a special pleasure to be here with you all on this great occasion which is the Fourth Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University, one of the shining private institutions of learning that are helping to restore pride in tertiary education in our country. It is a day filled with the golden promise of tomorrow, and that promise is embodied in every single graduating student here today, in whom rests a glimmer of our hopes for the future of our dear country, Nigeria.

I thank Professor Samuel Ekundayo Alao, President and Vice Chancellor of Adeleke University, for my invitation to this great event in the life of this institution, and in the lives of the students and their families. I congratulate you all for the laurel-adorned achievements being celebrated today, because anyone looking at the graduating students can see that they radiate the excellence that has been imparted to them during their time at this university. I congratulate the entire members of staff, the academic and the non-academic staff. It is said that you never forget a good teacher, and I am sure a good number of these students will testify to the diligence of their lecturers at many points in their lives in the future. I must congratulate the man that made all this possible, in whose vision the gem of the idea for Adeleke University first took shape, and whose commitment and tenacity brought it all into being. I speak, of course, of none other than the founder of this institution, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, a true visionary.

Naturally, on an occasion such as this, the most fulsome kudos must go to the graduating students who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of learning, and who sit in the place of honour today. Having earned their stripes, they are ready to go out into the world and contribute their quota to the upliftment of our society and to humanity. I congratulate the parents and guardians who saw them this far, supporting their charges in every weather, through boom and recession. I know, as a proud father of children who have passed through this stage in their lives, the joy is indescribable when one’s child fulfils expectations, and shows every sign of attaining their potential and destiny. I have no doubt in my mind that it is a similar feeling for every parent or guardian watching their ward graduate at this Fourth Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University today.”

“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, when I look at the graduating students, I see a crop of freshly minted economic actors whose endeavours can give the needed impetus to our quest to realise our nation’s potentials. The choices they make, the paths they choose, will not just inform the direction of their individual lives but also the country’s push towards growth and development. That is why it is important, at this juncture, to get a measure of what is at stake, to better prepare these young ones for the road ahead. It is also why the title of this address, ‘National Economic Development Through Entrepreneurship: The Role of Private Universities in Nigeria’ is one I believe holds particular resonance for an occasion such as this.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we should put into proper context the job market that the graduating students are going into, in order to remind ourselves as to the factors at play and the nature of the challenge before us as a nation. According to the World Economic Outlook as projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 2018, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) adjusted rates is $5,929.20. This places us at number 137 on a list of 187 countries. By comparison, however, the adjusted GDP per capita for Singapore is $93,905.50. The difference is clear, and it is even more so, when we consider the fact that Singapore and Nigeria were virtually neck and neck in terms of macroeconomic statistics during the 1960s. Five decades later, we are playing catch up. Singapore, on the other hand, is being celebrated as one of the four Asian Tiger countries with highly developed economies powered by entrepreneurship.

The Asian Tigers, namely, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan — are countries that have achieved high levels of economic growth driven by exports and rapid industrialisation, such that they now line up with the richest and most developed economies globally. Over the last few decades, the Asian Tigers have jumped ahead of most African countries, leveraging on the boom in emergent technology and globalisation, and have propelled themselves forwards to become the economic powerhouses that they are today. In 2017, the last of what I would call ‘The Fab Four’, South Korea, overtook Japan in GDP, making this highly successful quartet of countries second only to China in economic might. From all indications, there is no stopping the Asian Tigers; Hong Kong and Singapore are major financial centres, while South Korea and Taiwan are global manufacturing hubs for automobile and electronic components as well as information technology. For us in Nigeria, the impact of a country like Taiwan is all too plain to see when you walk into Computer Village or Ladipo Market in Lagos.”