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Gen. Lucky Irabor, the Chief of Defence Staff, has advised Nigerian students not to allow their quests for an egalitarian society to run counter to having a secured sovereignty.
Irabor spoke while unveiling the Ken Saro-Wiwa Peace and Leadership Centre at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event also featured launching of the Unity Wall located within the Students’ Union Building.
The building, which included relaxation, seminars and leadership workshops centres was, before the renovation, in a deteriorated state for students union activities.
NAN reports that the renovation was a collaboration between the Students’ Union Representatives, the university management and a committee led by Irabor.
The Chief of Defence Staff signed on the newly launched Unity Wall within the renovated Ken Saro-Wiwa Peace and Leadership Centre at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Irabor said: “We can only have an egalitarian society within a sovereignty and the sovereignty of our nation must not be under thread.
“If your quest for egalitarian society runs counter to having a secured sovereignty, then there is a problem,” he said.
Irabor said that his team, as alumni of the institution, felt a very compelling need to give back to the institution which made a lot of impact in their formative lives.
The CDS said that they identified the students union building as the starting point toward building capabilities and capacities.
Irabor said that the students must be at the forefront, if there should be change in the way things were being done both at the leadership and the led levels.
“We believe that if there is to be a physical change within our environment, those to focus on are the students themselves.
“This is because not only are they the drivers of the change that we desire in our nation, there is need to build leadership capabilities and capacities from the institution,” he said.
The CDS said that the renovation was a starting point as well as link between the alumni and the leadership of the institution in problem solving efforts.
He said leadership was key to the progress of any establishment, adding that the students’ leadership needed strong mental capacity to lead others well.
“You can only make a change by the virtue of what you are able to think. Our creative ability is what is going to make impact going forward.
“If the larger students’ body must have a direction, then of course, the executives of the students’ union must equally have the mental capacity they need to lead them well.
“We want to begin to see how problems could be solved in such a manner that value is brought into the way we do things,” he said.
Irabor appreciated the leadership of the university as well as the students’ union for the honour accorded him and his team,
The Ken Saro-Wiwa Peace and Leadership Centre was renovated as part of the activities to preserve the contributions of Ken-Saro Wiwa to peace and unity in Nigeria.
NAN also reports that the newly launched Unity Wall was a map of Nigeria which allows everyone who wanted united Nigeria to sign their name.
The students union executives said they wanted the Unity Wall to serve as a tourist centre as well as testimony that students of the university believe in a peaceful and united Nigeria.(NAN)
