It gives me great pleasure and delight to speak to the graduating students of this great Institution- Premiere Academy Abuja. On 12th November 2012, I stood in this hall to speak to students as part of the career day programme of the Academy. At the ceremony Mrs. O.S Ige, the Guidance Counselor, spoke on behalf of the management as to
why the programme was scheduled for me a lawyer, speaking, I recall she narrated why many students during career counselling showed no inclination to read law in the University, she thought that there were talks by many non- lawyers that, there were too many lawyers roaming the streets, they were called “charge and bail”. She believed that with my presence, the students would be able to make up their minds as to their future in the profession.
I recall after my address and presentation so many students wished and showed intention to wear silk (the dress code by Senior Advocates of Nigeria) like they saw me wore at the ceremony. I recall Mrs. Ozigbo N. E a guidance counsellor in her vote of thanks prayed that someday, I should come again. That wish has now become manifested today and I believe many of such students who were persuaded by the programme are lawyers practicing at various places today within and outside Nigeria.
One other reason why I agreed to be part of the programme, then, was because my son Eric Ooreofe Awomolo, passed out from this Academy. He is today a graduate of Electrical Engineering, undergoing his Master’s Degree programme in “Renewable energy solutions” in United Arab Emirate.
Let me welcome parents, guardians, friends and well- wishers who are here to share in the joy of this programme. I congratulate you students in particular for the joy of today and wish that your dreams come true, sooner.
To the Founder, members of the Board and Management, teachers and other professionals, connected to nurturing, mentoring and guiding these children. God will bless you richly.
The journey of life is not a dash but a marathon, with many years only known to God, with rivers, bends, valleys, hills and curves, sometimes smooth and some other times rough. Along the route are many distractions, attractions, motivations, discouragements, disappointments and all that make life worth living. One thing that is certain is that there is God, who created all beings, He never changes, and He is everything, He is all knowing, all possible and no man can measure his capacity, capabilities and He has no limitation, He is ever so available, reliable and does not enjoy sharing His Glory withanybody. I want to avoid going into religion which philosophers describe as the “opium of the people.”
Just something above your age, I chose to be a lawyer. I believed in 1973 that my passion was best expressed as a Legal Practitioner. I had confidence in my ability to be, I was determined to cross as many rivers as were on the way to achieve my aim. My determination to reach the pick of my career was achieved in 1992 when I became an SAN.
The Legal profession is one of the earliest profession in the creation of God. If you say God is a law maker or a judge, you may be right. The lawyers pride themselves as being associated with the creation of heaven and the earth by God. Every religion agrees that God decreed “let there be light” and there was light. That was a decree, a law, and it was obeyed and no one has altered or amended it since then. The light drove away darkness and no scientist has shown or proved the limits of the law.
The title of my speech to you today is ‘More Rivers to Cross’
As a young boy, I grew up in a rural setting. I went to a local primary school established by the Anglican church communion in 1943. It was called Saint James Anglican Primary school.
One of the attractions at the time for going to school as young boys of my age, was to be a member of the “Boys Scout of Nigeria”. It was the only elite club at the time.
Robert Baden Powel and his friends established it in 1908 and grew rapidly all over the world
It was an avenue to bring up children in good character, discipline, endurance and learning. We were trained in drills, marching orders, camping outside the village in a secluded environment. We wore Khaki Nicker and Khaki short sleeves with a special Boys Scout badge, whistle, beret cap- green ties and heavy customized belt. If anyone was shown to be lazy or unable to obey simple instructions, he would be dropped and put to shame at the school morning devotion.
On scout camp and before camp fire, boys were prepared with songs and dancing. It was at such occasions that I learnt the song titled “One More River to Cross”. We sang to this chorus after one strong assignment and about to begin another. Camp activities were stressful. It was a song to strengthen and encourage the boys to be prepared for another challenge which may be short or long. The MOTTO of Boys Scout was “Be Prepared”
The song was usually a challenge to our ability to stay awake, double our enduring ability and be prepared to follow the Scout Master, who usually was many years our senior.
Your Next River to Cross
Upon your graduation from the Academy, I am almost sure that the next river to cross is getting admission to a University or polytechnic for higher education.
So your next river to cross is coping with the challenges of a young person of your age in a peculiar academic environmental, with its multiple challenges which is the next level of your growth and development. I am hopeful as I stand here that most of you will get admission to the University or such higher Institutions within and outside Nigeria.
Let me assure you that there is buried in you, great potentials, ability and capacity to be successful and great in the World. The university is a place where every student is free, and the freedom is such that you require strength of character and discipline. Teachers in the university who are professors and Doctors of their Discipline are called lecturers. By their names they are only there to lecture you on the courses. They may give assignments but they are not like your teachers here who have obligations to monitor your daily movement or how much attention you give to your class work. You have to find your way for almost everything. It is a river to cross for you to keep a pace with your lecture hours, volume of books to read and timeous delivery of your assignments. You have social activities to share your time and attention with.
You are measured only by how well you cope with the course work and what is your GPA, at the end of the semester examination.
One more river to cross is how you live your life; how much attention you give to your health. It is important to know that you are your own master. Several times mosquitoes will bite you and if you are not careful, you may be bitten by scorpion or such reptiles. How about food? You have to choose what and when to eat. No one regulates all these. Have you ever heard of formula 1.0.1, 0.0.1, 1.0.0?
Some of your mates will come from rich families and many from poor families, many from broken homes and yet some from over indulged homes. Many come with a baggage of culture and other strange practices. Many come with diseases and ailments that have the capacity to affect you. How do you cross the river depends on your choices. Let the word of God be in you, and remember the rivers to cross to become a successful person depends on your ability, capacity and character to scale through and not be swept away by negative influences, or peer pressures.
I am sure you have heard of Yahoo, yahoo boys and girls. Avoid them while crossing the rivers. You have also heard of “marks for sex” phenomenon. There is much to talk about this.
Today, Nigeria and the world at large are infested with so many social vices; and it is also worrisome that most of our youths have lost the virtues of hardwork, honesty, punctuality and a sense of morality in general. This being the case, the inference one can draw is that most of the institutions that mould characters and moderate social conducts have failed in their duty to mould the character of the young ones. The families have also failed. Therefore, during your stay on campus, your lecturers and support staff will, through their exemplary lifestyle and moral suasion and preachment, take you through a rigorous but rewarding moral training coupled with academic excellence. You must make yourself ready.
One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, as you cross the river in single solitary, monumental moment in your life, is to decide, without apology, to commit to the journey, and to the outcome. Ease up on yourselves. Have some compassion for yourself as well as for others. There is no such thing as perfection, and life is not a race. As you get older, the only thing that thins out is time, because time is a thief but it also leaves something in exchange. With time comes experience- and however uncertain you may be about the rest of the world, at least about your own work you will be sure because it is the thief of time.
When the challenges come, I hope you remember that deep within you is the ability to learn and grow. You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up, draw on it when you need it. In that process, you will figure out who you really are- and you just might become the very best version of yourself.
Dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It is hardwork that makes things happen, it is hardwork that creates change. Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Work hard but be smart. Everything is handed to you but nothing is easy. You are not owed anything. Nothing is too small or beneath you. If you want to get ahead, volunteer to do the things no one else wants to do, and do it better. Be a sponge. Be open and learn.
As tough as things may be, I am convinced you are tougher. I see your passion and I see a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course. Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path. Unless you are in the woods and are lost and you see a path, then by all means you should follow that. Be true to yourself and everything would turn out fine. Life is not easy for anyone. Sometimes you don’t see the challenges immediately, but whatever comes your way, give it your all. Dare to be all you can be.
Perhaps the most worrisome happening to our youth today is abuse of drugs. Have you heard of cocaine, marijuana, tramadol and such deadly drugs. Never give them a trial, never fall to offer from your room mate, class mate, sports mate or such associate for a trial. A try will not convince you but cause you to sink in the river or consume your dreams.
It is a great thing to be at your age. You are at an age when you can follow all your dreams or change them! You get experience as you go along, you may dislike it and turnaround another way. Unfortunately, for some of us adults, we have regrets and wish we could be young again, that is, ‘turn back the hand of the clock’
The world is more malleable than you think and it is waiting for you to hammer it into shape. That is what this graduation of yours is. So go forth and build something with it. This is the time for bold measures and this is the country and you are the generation!!
As you get ready and determined to cross the next river, Permit me to give you some useful tips that would most probably give you the edge to cross with happiness as you get admitted into higher institutions
- Be Organized
You have time at your disposal now so, organize your school activities before they get busy. Register for your courses, pay all necessary fees on time, get your library card and buy any item you may have forgotten to bring from home. Time management is key to academic success. The best students are not necessarily those who are brilliant, but those who use their time effectively. So organize yourself, set your priorities right, make a schedule and plan your activities logically in order to have good control of your time.
We are at a time of the social media and many online stuff like WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Skype, endless messages/sms and so on. Be careful that you don’t waste your time on these. They are clear time wasters! Be warned.
- Attend Lectures, you paid for it.
Lectures and lecturers are there for a reason; they provide you with value- added content. It is true that some of the content may be available online , or in a textbook, but in most cases, lecturers will help to draw connections between different contents and/or provide a valuable context to the material that might be in the textbook or on the net but beware of plagiarism. It is a literary theft. Copyright laws protect writer’s words as their legal property.
Most lecturers take a lot of pride in lecturing, and work hard to make the lectures engaging, interesting and thought- provoking. You will soak up an amazing amount of materials by just being in class for lectures and paying attention. I understand now that most lectures are interactive, so you must be present and add your voice. Attendance in classes are marked also and given a certain percentage. A student who scores low in attendance may not have a good grade.
- Network
The basic truth is that, the University is like a bag filled with random objects. You should be expecting different kinds of fellows, but networking with the right kind of people can go a long way in helping you achieve your goal. Today, you need to put almost as much efforts into building relationships with your peers, as you put into your studies. This can be a great asset in your job hunt after you graduate. This is relatively easy if you adopt the right mindset and take consistent action. Remember to get to know your lecturers too! However, do not associate with bad characters. Be mindful of the type of friends you keep. The Holy Bible says “Bad company corrupts good manners” or “show me your friend and I will tell you the kind of person you are”
- Ask Questions
There is no such thing as a stupid question. If you are confused about a concept, or failed to get a point or discussion, you must ask questions for clarification. Although, it takes boldness to ask a question in a large lecture hall, it is important to try. If you are confused, it is highly likely that other students are also confused. You are therefore helping yourself, and your peers, when you put across your questions to the lecturer. Some of your questions may even challenge your lecturers and they are happier for it.
- Study Strategy
In order to take control of your commitments, write out a personal timetable which will help you to study on your own. Spend at least 2 hours in the library everyday, after your lectures. It will help you update your courses, and for law students, this will enable you to update your notes and report your cases as they are given to you and you will also discover latest cases/authorities to support the legal principles. Keep copies of all written work, back up your computer and keep your discs in a safe place. Many of you will do extracurricular activities or gain leadership positions but don’t jeopardize your work as that is the primary purpose you are in the Higher Institution of learning.
Let me conclude with some quotes from Late Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa:
“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb”
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
Therefore as you continue in your quest for more knowledge and more exploits, crossing more rivers, I wish you all the best in your endeavours.
Congratulations and see you at the top!