WDU Convocation; Ex-Militant Emerges Best Graduating Student
Ben Dunno, Warri
A repentant militant and beneficiary of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, amnesty program, Mr. Ebiwari Shadrach, has emerged overall best graduating student for 2022/2023 sessions of the Western Delta University (WDU), held last weekend in Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government area of Delta state.
In his speech at the occasion, the graduand thanked God for the men he gave the idea to initiate the Amnesty scholarship which he said has opened the door for him to achieve his academic and career goals.
He was full of praises for the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and his successors, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for continuing with the programme which had impacted on many lives.
Ebiwari challenged his fellow 2022/2023 graduands of WDU to “work on their weaknesses and provide solutions to
societal problems as they embark on a new journey”.
He then appreciated the Presidential Amnesty Program itself because the scholarship has put him a step closer to his goal.
Eighteen graduating students from the 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023 session of Western Delta University (WDU), Oghara, Delta State, have bagged First Class Honors class out of the 426 graduating students
Two Honorary Doctorate degrees award recipients, Mr. Oritsedere Otubu, Chairman, Eko Disco, (Business Administration) and Mr. Igho Okotete, Chairman of Pioneer Global Resource and Integrated Energy Ltd, (International Affairs and Diplomacy) pledged to construct an auditorium and a science laboratory respectively for the institution.
Also, the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamballi, Dr Ajoritsedere Awosika, Ambassador Kim Young Chae were conferred with Honorary
Degrees of Doctor of Public Affairs, Science, International Affairs and Diplomacy and Business Administration, respectively.
Prof. Antonia Okoosi-Simbine, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) delivered the Convocation lecture titled; A
People – Centred Governance Process in Nigeria: The Role of
the Youth at the 11th – 13th combined convocation ceremony.
She called on the graduands to make good choices that will shape their lives.
According to her, “the challenges facing Nigerian youths are multifaceted but interrelated. They include limited access to quality education, unemployment, underemployment, poverty, corruption, insecurity, a poor health system, culture, cultism, and drug abuse”,
She noted that the average youth seek refuge in drugs to weather the challenge, saying that while the Nigerian population is predominantly
young, the young people have not been adequately catered for over the years.
Prof. Okoosi-Simbine, therefore urged the government at all levels to engage youths in
socio-political activities to foster a people-centered, inclusive, accountable, and responsive system and that “over two-thirds of the population is under 30 years old. Youth involvement would ensure an appreciable degree of representation in political and policy decision-making”.
She urged the graduands to engage themselves with important things because “the onus lies with you to take the bull by the horns”.
“The key is responsibility and initiative, deciding what your life is about and prioritizing your life around the most important things. The choices you make are pivotal in shaping your future self”, she admonished.
The University Visitor, Chief Onanefe Ibori, appreciated the Emir of Zazzau for physically attending the convocation ceremony despite his
busy schedule, noting; “your humility is worth emulating”.
He then urged graduates to improve themselves in the face of adversity and called on the management to stick to its academic and educational plan to be a model for other institutions.