President Bola Tinubu has been instructed by a university dean, Prof. Michael Ikupolati, to ignore unwarranted criticism and concentrate on objectives that will give birth to a new Nigeria.
Ikupolati, who is also the Provost of the University of America, made this statement on Saturday in Abuja during the university’s convocation event.
while pleading on Nigerians to allow the president the chance to calm down and find solutions to the problems the nation is presently facing.
“We should give the current president some time to adjust. He has begun what is referred to as the foundational component of economic or national growth.
“Nobody can see the building when you are laying the foundation; all you can see at first is people working, and that is exactly what is occurring right now.
“We can’t see the beauty of what he is doing, but I can tell you that he is leading a foundation for the geometrical growth in the economic development of Nigeria if he does not derail and focus on the future,” he added.
He asserted that any leader who clings to the past too tightly will fail to see the future; however, if they can keep their attention on the future, their purpose, and the welfare of the populace as a whole, they will be able to do great things.
Therefore, I counsel the president to ignore unwarranted criticism and instead concentrate on the objectives and view Nigeria as a single entity so that he may put measures in place for the sake of growth.
You can see that the nation has been damaged for more than 63 years; therefore, it will take some time to reconstruct.
He must also employ competent individuals who can deliver on their promises and who are eager and able to complete the task at hand.
“If you can simply acquire them, we will be able to move forward. We need leaders who have the willingness and ability to perform.
The Pareto Principle states that you only need 20% of your resources to accomplish 80% of your goal, so if he can associate 20% of Nigerians with technocrats, he will be able to accomplish the goal, the speaker continued.
According to Prof. Prince Gamaliel, the institution’s president and vice chancellor, the United States introduced it to Nigeria to help with the country’s labour need.
Gamaliel stated that Nigerians needed to have an unmatched education, and that instead of letting students rely just on their diplomas, it was important to make sure they had the abilities necessary to change their life.
“We are making a contribution to Nigerian society, and leadership is one of its most critical necessities. After Nigeria gained independence, we abandoned its educational system in favour of what I’ve dubbed “indigenization of education.”
“To advance Nigeria, we have now brought it back. Due to the fact that all politicians are educated in schools, every issue affecting Africa, including Nigeria, starts there.
“If they were given better tools in the classroom, they would emerge as better leaders, but if we didn’t do well in the classroom, what we see outside is what we produced in the classrooms,” the teacher said.
“We must provide them with an unmatched sound education, not just certificates, but also the necessary life experience. We are here to teach individuals the skills, he continued.
The Convocation Ceremony’s chairman, Dr. Simeon Obida, urged the government to make education mandatory, reasonably priced, and available to all Nigerians.
Obida urged Nigerian authorities to improve educational institutions, particularly in the field of research, to improve the activities of learning and teaching. (NAN)
