ADDRESS BY ARCHBISHOP IGNATIUS A. KAIGAMA, CHANCELLOR, VERITAS UNIVERSITY, ABUJA, DURING THE 13TH CONVOCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY, ON THE 9TH NOVEMBER, 2024.
PROTOCOLS
I most heartily welcome all of you to the 13th convocation ceremony of Veritas University, Abuja, as we celebrate the end of a long but very rewarding academic journey. It is not just the culmination of years of hard work by these graduating students but the beginning of a new dawn, full of opportunities and challenges.
We happily pride ourselves in Veritas University, as producing well-rounded graduates who are not only academically sound but are morally outstanding because of the virtues internalized by them. With a conducive environment that creates room for dedicated attention to study and a holistic formation programme, parents and guardians, from far and near, are eager to bring their children or wards here as admission becomes increasingly highly competitive.
Those graduating today bring unquantifiable joy to us and a renewed hope that our young people who don’t give into frustration and misguided behavior, will turn out to be the hope of a rich harvest for Nigeria.
We thank God that these students have received a well-rounded formation in the course of their studies here. We are aware of the tremendous sacrifices made by you their parents and guardians, especially during these very tough economic times, to ensure that the students achieve their aims of being graduates of various disciplines. The Vice-Chancellor and all staffers of the various faculties have conscientiously guided these students to the very end of their studies. Those students who chose to cooperate fully are today taking home the fruits of their labour.
No doubt, each of these students must have faced unique challenges that were personal to them but in these challenges, each of them learnt resilience, adaptability, and most importantly, critical thinking. In our rapidly changing world, these skills are very germane.
From the small mustard seed that Veritas was at its take-off campus in Obiehi, Abia State, the University is rapidly turning into a giant oak tree, consistent with the dream of its founding fathers which was to build a University that will rank among the best in the world, with students who can favourably compete with the very best. I am happy to note that the University has been bringing home laurels in the various competitions that it has participated in.
It is providential that the convocation lecturer today is Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State. I remember vividly that during a brainstorming session held at the Pope John Paul II Centre, Abuja, before Veritas University was relocated from the temporary site in Obiehe in Abia State to its permanent site in Bwari, Abuja, one of the experts invited to brainstorm on the nature of the University was Professor Charles Soludo, the current Governor of Anambra State, who in his submission, clearly and emphatically talked about a Catholic University that is uniquely Catholic with a distinct academic and spiritual identity/nature. I am sure the Governor will be nodding his head in appreciation that his vision is being actualized by the management of Veritas University.
I wish to repeat what I said some years ago to graduating students of this University, quoting from St Bernard of Clairvaux who said, “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.”
Education is much more than acquiring knowledge. Its importance lies in its transformative ability for both the individual and the community. As graduates of Veritas University, you must strive to be pacesetters in our communities especially in this era when there is an abundance of Information, yet there is an acute shortage of wisdom. You are not only educated, you are equally ethically well rooted, and the combination of these should provide you with the tools to impact the society positively. I expect that you will be positive ambassadors of this great institution. You must exude the Veritas confidence and the moral rectitude of Veritas.
In conclusion, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the graduating students. Now that you have all worked diligently to reach this point, go forth with confidence and purpose. Always remember that education is not a destination: it is a lifelong journey; continue to learn, and strive for excellence.
I extend once again cordial greetings and gratitude to you our special guests, and all of you who have taken time to be part of this momentous occasion, I ask God our Father in heaven to bless and provide for each and everyone of you, and for you graduands, as you step into a society faced with multidimensional challenges, we pray God to give you the wisdom to discern, to know and to do “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…”(Phil. 4:8), as you navigate the uncertain waters in our nation in this new chapter of your lives.
May God guide, protect, bless, and provide for you, all the days of your life.
