Protocol
In a way it is difficult to
believe that this is the 10thFounder’s Day of this dream we call
AUN, the American University of Nigeria, Yola. The years have passed rather
quickly. But they have been very memorable, challenging and rewarding
years. That we have turned this wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, so
to say, into this high quality centre of learning, character moulding and
community service is truly amazing. I thank all those who have contributed in
one way or another to the immense progress already made here. In that
period we have transformed many lives not only of the students and staff who
have traversed these campuses but also those in the local community and beyond.
The journey has certainly
been bumpy. We have faced numerous challenges, with each year bringing its
unique challenges. Looking back, however, I am relieved that we have braved
another challenging year since the last Founder’s Day. The insurgency in
the North East, which has had devastating effects on thousands of people, tested
our resolve – but it also confirmed that we the AUN community can respond to
mistrust and cruelty with care and love. The national elections earlier this
year created uncertainty – but they also restored hope for our democracy, and
the values we stand for as a country. The change in government has raised high
hopes and false fears – but it has also given all and each of us an opportunity
to play our part in the collective effort needed to re-build our nation.
Looking ahead, there are
still plenty of clouds, but they pale in comparison to the silver lining on the
horizon. Insecurity is still pervasive, but the terrorists are no longer
growing in strength, thanks to the sacrifice and commitment of the security and
intelligence services, the decisive leadership of the senior defence staff and
their Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, and the support and
cooperation of the local communities and regional allies, including Chad,
Cameroon, and Niger.
The economic slowdown that
our country is experiencing comes at the worst possible time, but it also
forces us to re-balance our economy and to put our public finances on a broader
and more sustainable foundation. Our government’s fight against corruption is
disrupting business as usual, but it is a boost for Nigeria, and for the bright
and hard-working students in our schools and universities. With the
inauguration of the federal cabinet just this past Wednesday
greater confidence is likely to be reposed in our economy by investors both
local and foreign. This will breathe much needed life into the economy and get
more people gainfully employed.
These are all part of the
change that the new government and ruling party promised Nigerians. However,
change doesn’t just happen – it is the product of the hard work of
extraordinary men and women. We must contribute to that enterprise of changing
our country for the better for the benefit of everyone.
I'm grateful to all those
who decided to tackle the problems we’ve almost come to tolerate. The governors
in this zone have helped in tackling the insurgency crisis and have been
advancing infrastructure development under very difficult circumstances. I
salute them. Here, in Adamawa, we see that it is possible to build and repair
roads, that hospitals can be assessed and re-stocked, and that school teacher scan
be screened and redeployed where needed. I’m sure that before long, we’ll once
again travel and trade without fear, that public services will improve, and
that we will even be able to joke about the bad old days when little worked,
and when it seemed that no one cared. And I know that once we get to that
point, someone will talk of the AUN’s fierce and fearless leader – thank you,
Margee– and remind us that some people did care, and many tried to make things
work. And many of those are right here at AUN. I thank you all.
I'm proud that the AUN
community has stubbornly refused the logic of conflict: amidst the turmoil, and
defying the odds, academic life went on; research continued, courses were
taught, exams were held, and degrees were awarded. The Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative
demonstrated that everyone can make a difference: by investing in the provision
of knowledge and skills, by helping families reunite; and by reminding
ourselves that misery is not an option.
I'm humbled by our students'
and staff's defiance of the politics of fear, and I would like to thank them and
their families, the board of trustees and all friends of AUN, for keeping the
AUN dream alive.
We must all be courageous
and embrace peace. Fear does not develop a society. Violence does not build
schools and hospitals. Conflict does not construct roads or build factories.
Together we can and we shall overcome the fear and mindless violence that
threaten to hold us back.
Of course it won’t be easy.
Winning a war is hard, but keeping the peace will be harder still.
Once the fighting ends, we
must heal. We must re-integrate victims and enable them to live their lives
unburdened by the past. Those who were displaced need a home, whether
they return to their villages, or stay
in Yola. And we must confront the truth about what happened, deliver justice,
and restore the rule of law. We must reconcile, and as if this weren’t enough,
we must also move on: Life before the terror was no doubt better, but it was
nowhere close to being good enough. We can learn useful lessons from our
experiences with insurgency in the Niger Delta and the reconciliation and
reconstruction that followed. Let us remember that the victims of this
insurgency include some of those who have tormented us. The reconciliation
process has to include those who lay down their arms, renounce violence and
seek rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.
Just like the insurgency
itself which spanned borders, our efforts at peace, reconciliation and
reconstruction must span borders as well. In
Nigeria, we must strengthen the economic, commercial, and political ties among
the different and diverse states that make up the North-East, and between the
North East and the rest of the country. In the same vein, we must turn
the wider conduits of fear into pathways to opportunity. Just as we cooperate
with our neighbours in Chad, Cameroon and Niger in the fight against
insurgency, we have to work with them to put the North East on a path to
development.
We need
well-managed open borders that encourage trade in goods and services, that
attract investment, and that allow us to look beyond the oil we may or may not
find in the Lake Chad basin. Even if crude oil rents would help us pay
for basic infrastructure and services, we cannot afford to repeat the errors of
the past. We need productive jobs, and this means we need functional
agricultural value chains, light industries, and access to regional markets. We
must resist the temptation to think that restoring what we had before the
insurgency is all we can ever hope for. We must think bigger, dream bigger
dreams, and we must move forward. An economically dynamic north east with rich
and vibrant social and cultural life will keep our youth here, attract more diverse
talent to the region and deny insurgents a fertile ground for recruitment.
One of our biggest
challenges will be to demonstrate that there is nothing wrong with western
ideas, and that western education is good. No culture contains only good
aspects or aspects that can all be transplanted elsewhere. We must
embrace those elements of Western culture, including Western education that
will help us move forward as a society. For instance, education is the key to
unlocking opportunity, prosperity, and progress. In Nigeria, education can and
should be this key. Should we reject the advances in science and medicine, or
the modern means of transportation and communication or the immense advantages
of the massive amounts of knowledge available on the internet, just because
they came from the West? Let us not forget that the West borrowed from other
parts of the world, including Africa, to get to where it is today. So the West
does not have exclusive ownership of even the things we call Western; they
belong to the human race.
Dear friends, I am sure we
all agree that our youth are our most valuable resource, and that education is
the best way to mobilise and empower this resource to sustain economic,
cultural, social, and political development. I think we also agree that we have
done a poor job of managing other valuable resources, and that we have suffered
as a result.
Let me be clear: nothing
justifies the mindless violence and destruction by those who wrongly believe
that God wants us to close our hearts and minds, to wind back the clock, and to
live in fear and misery. But our failure to value and reward education explains
why some of our youth think they have nothing to lose. Thus, they sometimes
think that violence and other forms of criminality offers a better option. We
can urge them to drop their guns and pick up tools for other kinds of
productive trades. But they are more likely to listen if we teach them how to
use those tools, and if they can make a living using those tools in those
trades.
Ladies and gentlemen, a
little more than a decade ago, when we broke ground for this campus, our vision
was to build a state of the art education facility in a part of Nigeria that
desperately needed a boost. When I look around now, I know that we are on the
road to achieving this vision. Of course, there is still a lot to do; like any
other top university, AUN will always be a work in progress. But today, the
American University of Nigeria is an extraordinary and an amazingly welcoming
island.
We have built this island knowing
that it can never replace a public education system; knowing that it is an
alternative for a fortunate few – and hoping that it would be an inspiration
for everyone else. I still hope this will happen, but we must think harder
about the ways to ensure that our University does not become a bastion of
privilege, but a beacon of hope. Although we know too little about our young–
because the absence of reliable statistics–we know that too few finish school,
that those who do rarely learn enough, and that our public universities seldom
advance knowledge.
I don’t say this because I’m
proud that we’re doing better, but because I’m worried about the gap between
the education and the recognition students get at AUN, and the education and
the recognition they get elsewhere. Because I’m worried that we may squander
our human resources, much as we squandered our petroleum resources.
My dear friends, I have a
dream that our Academy and our University will continue to grow and prosper,
but in my dream, they are surrounded by thousands of public and private schools
and universities that share our civic commitment, that emulate our thirst for
knowledge, and that compete for the best and brightest students. Because those
students they deserve to have a choice, and because there are too many problems
for us to solve, and because we can’t solve them and have a future unless our
youth believe they can build one.
Ladies and gentlemen ask you
to support not just AUN, but education reform. We must persuade federal, state,
and local authorities to provide universal, free, and valuable basic education;
we must convince lawmakers, teachers, and unions to encourage competition among
schools; and we must encourage government and the private sector to give public
universities the leeway, and the ways and means to catch up with their
international peers.
Let us have this type of
island all over the north and all over Nigeria. And let us ensure that no youth
is left behind.
Thank you.
Remarks by Atiku Abubakar,
GCON, former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Founder, American
University of Nigeria, Yola, at the 10th Founder’s Day Celebration
of the University, at Yola.
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