The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Prof Mohammad Sani Haruna, yesterday tasked academics to use their talent and know-how to solve African problems.
He said that many African nations need help to overcome their socio-economic challenges.
According to Haruna, education is no longer about theories, but using skills to address problems.
He said that since jobs are no longer waiting for graduates, they have to be creative, pointing out that if education is properly applied, Africa can be the best continent.
He made the submissions while delivering a commencement lecture for postgraduates in multidisciplinary sectors at the 9th Convocation of the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja.
He said: “ I understand that the graduands are from Cameroon, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Cote D’ Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria.
“These eight countries like many other African nations need your talent, your ideas, your solution, your innovative thinking, and your solution to hunger, starvation, poverty, diseases, self-inflicted wars, poor and deteriorating infrastructure, drug addiction, joblessness, security challenges, and import oriented economy, amongst others.
“It is how much of your talent, know-how and training that you can figure out and deploy to attend to these African problems. That is your value addition and not your degrees. It is your attitudes and not aptitude that will matter.
“Besides these socio-economic challenges, the continent of Africa has the most records of corruption, ethnicity, and religious intolerance.
“You are leaving to systems that have history and tendencies of discrimination, marginalization and corruption as stated earlier, but you are our hope. Use your education to eradicate these and improve Africa to greatness to be the best continent.”
Haruna asked the graduands to wake up to the reality of the rising unemployment.
He said they should be creative because they have the training and talents to succeed.
He added: “AUST degrees are not about the theories or the education, but what you are able to do that exemplifies the skills you have learnt in the classroom and the research which takes education into utilities and practices.
“There are no jobs waiting for you in your countries anymore. You are graduating at the most difficult period of our history. The reality is your lives will not be a straight path.
You will fail at one time of your life; you will lose, there is no doubt about it; but every failed experiment is a step forward.
“If you don’t fail, you are not even trying. To get something you never have, you have to do something you never did. Thomas Edison was said to have conducted over 1,000 failed experiments before succeeding in one trial to invent the electric bulb.
“A popular American proverb which is similar to one in my native language says: If you hang around a barbershop, sooner or later you are going to get your hair cut.
“The point is that every one of you, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. Remember that nothing is impossible to a willing heart. An Anonymous says impossibilities are only to be found in the dictionary of fools. Undoubtedly, the best way to figure out your direction is through failure. Even when you are successful, there could be vicissitude in your life.”
Notwithstanding, he charged the graduands to be hopeful of succeeding in their endeavours.
Haruna said: “So, you are what you think about. When you leave AUST, never be discouraged, never hold back, give everything you got, be honest, take risk, be open to life, be open to ideas, views, new opinions and be good ambassadors of the university.
Success is yours for the taking, but in order to win – success in life, three things are necessary – You must want to succeed, You must learn how to succeed, You must persevere till success is yours. Remove the ‘T’ in your CAN’T and you CAN succeed.
“One characteristic peculiar to human beings is hope. Hope requires intelligence and ability to think about the future and enable mankind to raise itself beyond the trials and tribulations of the present. The formula is to hope, think, believe and try all with tenacity of purpose.
“With greater self-confidence, you would be a different person in every part of your work life and career. You could deal more effectively with the inevitable problems and difficulties that arise in day-to-day affairs.
“You would work continuously in terms of solutions, and you could turn any solution to your best advantage. Whatever the outcome, you would not be too sorrowful or too hilarious. There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so – Williams Shakespeare.
“In any case, do not remain in a comfort zone. Keep improving because doing the lower while the higher is possible constitutes the greatest tragedy in a man’s life. It is also said a man who is tired of learning is tired of life.”
