President Muhammadu Buhari has urged university
graduates in the country to utilise their energy for entrepreneurship,
innovation and creativity.
Buhari gave the advice
in his address at the 11th Convocation ceremony of Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
Awka on Friday.
He said government was
striving hard to put in place enabling environment for the sustenance of the
entrepreneurial spirit of the people and challenged the graduands to key into
the engaging opportunities.
Represented by the
Minister of State for Education, Prof.Anthony Anwukah, the president described
education as the “fulcrum through which the socio- economic development of any
society could be leveraged”.
He said world economies
were not sustained by public sector jobs alone but by entrepreneurial-driven
small and medium scale enterprises.
The president assured
that the Federal Government would continue to give priority to education,
particularly the university education.
“University education
and other tiers of education should indeed go beyond the transition of
knowledge and skills.
“Universities should
also strive to inculcate values, tolerance, respect for the rights of others,
respect for constituted authority and the rule of law and order.
“Patriotism and the
need not only for competition but also for collaboration and team work, among
others,” he said.
Buhari called on the
graduands to deploy the knowledge and skills acquired for the advancement of
the country.
In his remarks, the
Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, said 6, 550 graduands
were conferred with first degrees, 288 with post graduate diplomas, 846 with
masters degrees and 203 with Ph.d.
The vice-chancellor
said that 7, 887 graduands were conferred at the ceremony with various degrees.
He said the institution
had taken steps to enhance the employability of the graduates of the
institution, either in self-employment or paid employment.
“The University,
through its Chike Okoli Centre for Entreprenueral Studies, has entered into
collaboration with the ABInBev Hero’s Foundation on the kick start programme of
the Foundation.
“The intent of the
programme is to instil a culture of entrepreneurship among youths in South-East
by encouraging them to develop and nurture ideas into sustainable business or
expanding existing businesses”.
Ahaneku said the
institution was furthering its linkages with universities and other relevant
organisations to enrich the academic content of its programmes.
He congratulated the
former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani, former Nigerian Ambassador to South
Africa, Alhaji Shehu Malami and Managing Director, Mp Infrastructure, Mr Clem
Nwogbo who were decorated with honorary doctorate degrees.
He said the awardees
had distinguished themselves through their unwavering commitment to selfless
service to the country.
Also speaking, the
University Chancellor and Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, commended the
Federal Government for the financial assistance and other support given to the
institution.
The News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nnamani was conferred with honorary degree of Doctor
of Public Administration (DPA); Malami, Doctor of Public Administration (DPA)
and Nwogbo, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).
Responding on behalf of
the honorary awardees, Nnamani commended the institution for the award and
promised that they would continue to contribute their quota to all facets of
the economy, especially the education sector.
He expressed
satisfaction with the infrastructure development of the institution and urged
its management to maintain the tempo.
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