The speech at the Valedictory Session of graduates of Physiology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University at Okofia, Nnewi, where I represented Mr Peter Obi.
Three days ago, on the 26th, His Excellency Mr Peter Obi was a Guest Speaker at the 6th Annual Lecture of the Board of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria at UNIZIK. As he left, he mentioned he would phone me about a function on the 28th, which he was struggling to plan to attend.
However, he did not call back until early yesterday morning, around 3 am. He referred to the event he mentioned, the 2024 Valedictory Session for Physiology Graduates where he was invited as one of the keynote speakers and requested I should represent him as it had become clear he would not make it. He reminded me how the event was initially scheduled for a different date, and how he was en route to attend before receiving the news of its postponement.
Next, I needed to inquire about the message he wished to convey to the new graduates, reminding him of his role as the Guest Speaker. We spent the next hour on the phone, with me diligently noting down his message. As I relay it to you now, please understand that I am merely a mouthpiece, repeating the words of the master for the enlightenment of the new graduates, who, through this very act, are being sent into the world to contribute their knowledge towards making it a better place.
Judging by the looks on your faces, most of you are still in your early twenties. In popular parlance, one might say “nyabinghi anya” or “Akwobeyi beans akwo.” When we say this of you, it means that you are still in the march of your lives. And the person speaking through me, Mr. Peter Obi, is already in the June of his life. Therefore, he speaks to you from his rich experiential pedigree – he has seen it all. He is speaking from the pedestal of wisdom.
As I discussed with him regarding the message to be conveyed, I recall a beautiful piece I read in the eighties as a young Seminarian, written by the then Mr. Hyginus Aghaulor (now a Priest). It was entitled “Arrow in the Quiver.” Fr. questioned: “Have you ever seen floods and the consequent erosion demonstrate their anger? The only grammar meaningful to them is destruction. But construct gutters, and you would have tamed the irrationality of the floods; build dykes, and their destructive instinct would be turned inside out. It becomes an opportunity. The once insane floods would then be channelled to irrigate the thirsty vegetation on the plain. Life flourishes!”
We all resemble floods at various points in our upbringing. Some of us were raw savages entrusted to different educational institutions to be refined into human beings, especially now parenting has gone to the dogs. Good institutions do their utmost, but poor institutions exacerbate matters. Regarding Nigeria, despite criticisms of academic institutions, Nnamdi Azikiwe University remains one of the finest. Therefore, you are fortunate to have been educated there.
Upon your graduation, you are conferred or have been conferred with the degrees of this University, which, like degrees everywhere, attest to moral and academic achievements. You are now released into the world to contribute to its enrichment. Thus, you are sent forth as a finished product, an ambassador of this institution.
Schools are expected to exert civilising effects on students. This is what you are expected to demonstrate. From experience, it is evident that throughout your life, the umbilical cord between you and your alma mater will not be severed. I asked Mr. Peter Obi why he believed this. Let him speak directly to you: “Did you follow Hilda Bacci when she entered the Guinness Book of Records? She was widely celebrated. As you may recall, I was among those who visited her.