 Speech Delivered at the 8th Graduation Convocation of the Nimba University held on August 17, 2024, in Sanniquellie, Nimba County, Liberia
Our distinguished members of the Board of Trustees of the Nimba University
Mr. President, Faculty and Staff of the Nimba University
Our beloved graduating class of 2024
Parents and well wishers
Members of the Fourth Estate
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me first extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the graduating class and the Administration of Nimba University for considering me among their choices for graduation keynote speakers, particularly during the first year of the Rescue Mission administration. This choice and offer are very historic to me because 12 years ago, I was appointed to the Board of Trustees of this college during its first financial crisis. I felt challenged by the decision of my then lawmaker, Hon. Worlea Saywah Dunah to have asked me to join the team, counting on our role in establishing the Liberia International Christian College (LICC) in Ganta. This task to serve as the Keynote Speaker inspired me in so many fronts: to reflect how a child of a handicapped woman from Duo-Boe, with no education, no inherited wealth, would raise 7 children without a husband and all her children acquired education. I am here to reflect on how a little beginning by a diamond digger in someone’s living room in Gwealay would spark at the national level on foreign and financial front to become one of the planners and negotiators on national and global development policies for our nation. This occasion also gives me the opportunity to reflect on the journey of this noble institution, from Nimba County Community College (NCCC) to Nimba University (NU).
Before I go further, shall we stand in silence to honor and remember our leaders who once served this College but have lost their lives: Dr. Marcus G. Dahn, Dr. Augustus Kwaidah, Dr. Johnson Gwaikolo, Mr. Boan and other who died in the service to our nation.
While you would be glad to hear great political speech, I am humbled to share my story with many of you, students and graduates, who are preparing for future leadership and national reforms. I know most of you might be the first-generation college student like me who would imagine going the extra mile to break the cycle of poverty in your family and set the stage for the next generation. Let me say a big thank you to this graduating class and encourage you that this ceremony should serve as a tipping point and a steppingstone for your highest academic achievement. My dad and mom didn’t acquire elementary education but it was their vision to see all their children pursuing higher education. They could only write Dan and Mahn but my dad wrote the future career of all his children on the birth cards that he placed in his treasury box, which I read when I was in the first grade. He had anticipated me becoming a medical doctor and two of my sisters becoming nurses. One of my brothers would have become a lawyer and the other a military man. That little sheet, the birth registration card, inspired and prepared me in my academic journey to enter college despite the passing of my father when I was 5 years. My mother and my uncle, Rev. David K. Dunah nurtured the educational call in me, which was penned by my father before his death, and it got me propelled by the great love from members and leadership of the United Liberia Inland Church to have come this far. One of the many individuals who helped along the way is also working here at the is college, Mr. Simeon Wadahn and I want to recognize him in a special way. My ambitious educational achievement of having three master degrees you heard from the introduction derived from what I call “Nurturing the Call”. On this note, let me share my life story with you the graduates under the topic: Nurturing the Call for National Reforms.
In the academia and professional environment, it is often good to look for a role model, and in my field of economics, you have to come out with a model to explain how your theory will be applied and tested. Let me share some thoughts on how we nurtured our democracy and how the call to political leadership in Liberia made it to this level. In Liberia, many people were more interested in political leadership and those whose ideas were more acceptable to the public became popular due to the social, political and economic condition of Liberia. You would hear about many movements in Liberia’s democratic space which many Nimbaians were involved, including the great True Whig Party (TWP) with Jackson Fiah Doe, Scott Toweh etc, Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL) Dr. Marcus G. Dahn, D K Wonsehlea, Saye Kidau, Samuel Sei Dokie, Harry Yuan, Moses Duopu, etc; the Movement for Justice in Africa (MoJA) Dr. Nya Taryor, Dr. Korto, Cllr Gongloe etc. These movements produced many people who became national politicians and followers because of nurturing call for better political system and leadership. Here in Nimba, many young people would like to be another Jackson F. Doe, Dr Nya Taryor, DK Wonserlea, Saye Kidau, Samuel Dokie for their activism and leadership. These people have gone and may we remember them as the champions for change our political system.
These powerful men nurtured the call for political and social justice in Liberia, which has provided space for multiparty democracy and political participation. When you nurture a call, you set the pace for yourself and another generation. What is important now is for our generation is to nurture the call for national and societal reforms. Working towards building a vibrant, productive and inclusive society to respond to the needs of current and future generations. The earlier generations made sacrifices for the peace and democracy we enjoy today. What are more important now are reforms in our governance architecture to ensure good governance, sound leadership, accountability, transparency and mentorship for the next generation. We need the appropriate reforms that will promote good governance, private development with a financing mechanism that will propel the younger generation to become middle class and enable us to sustainably manage our country. We have to nurture the call to becoming business owners, school proprietors, clinics and hospitals owners, researchers in mining, geology, agriculture, etc., to increase production and productivity in our economy.
This generation has more opportunities than the generation mentioned earlier because of the free democratic space, access to secondary and tertiary education across the country, proliferation of information on the internet and radio stations to empower us in our decision making, the road and energy infrastructures to facilitate movements of goods and services, and the ability partner with people outside of Liberia without leaving your country, and the opportunity to think outside of the box to investigate issues for creativity and innovation to start your own non-profit organization for reforms and development. We can say that this generation should nurture the call and be challenged to do more with the available opportunities. We have to surmount challenges with ambitious goals by nurturing the call for individual development and local, county and national development. We have the capability and capacity to bridge the inequality, poverty and educational gaps. We sit here today to graduate more students in mining and geology, nursing, education, business, agriculture, etc right here in Sanniquellie and not in far Monrovia. In our academic setting, we have access to technology to enhance our curiosity to dig more information without going away from your campus.
We all have the responsibility to bridge the generational gaps and build generational wealth through the skills, talents and education that will help to build new Liberia. Currently, Liberia is preparing its national development plan that will take us to the end of two important development goals, the national vision 2030 and the global sustainable development goals 2030 and the aspiration of the African continent through the African Agenda 2063. These are ambitious goals that will require ambitious generation to close the gaps in our development stages. This will depend on the cardinal role each of us will play in nurturing the call for reforms, the actions we pursue in achieving our individual and collective goals. We are all responsible to play our individual roles as graduates, students, faculty and administration of NU. Modern development is associated with nurturing the call for excellence and partnership.
To our graduates: nowadays, global development is driven by innovation and creativity; becoming intention in whatever you want to pursue, planning in competition in your class, community and national level; making yourself competitiveness in whatever you do. Be positive in your thinking that you are in the best position to institute reforms beginning with yourself, your family, friends, and community. You will need to set yourself apart and distinguish yourself in whatever activities or programs you are associated with. The earlier generations had people who stood their ground to make sure the social and political rights on the citizens were protected. They were intentional about getting people involved in decision making through activism, political participation and working with the people to understand their roles and responsibilities. Upon graduation, you have to engage in activities that will sharpen your intellectual horizons and come out with new thinking about your families, communities and the country. President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Sr. Has told us that this is not business as usual, meaning we have to reform our minds, and bring in more creativity and innovation to champion reforms and change our society. It is not time to cry baby on every situation but form a team to surmount the challenges in our communities, counties and the nation. When you are government officials, you have to set yourself apart to do what others are doing to improve lives. You are a servant of the people and should work to improve the living standard of the people.
We have to build self-identity in the midst of generalization that government is corrupt and therefore as official of government, you have to go with the flow and do what others are dong wrong. Nurture a call to identify your strength and build on your weakness for people to know you by what you stand for. You need to set yourself apart from the others. When you were going to classes, you didn’t allow yourself to fail in any course, for which, you are here today to receive your degree. You went extra mile to study your lessons, other scored “A”, some scored B and C. You worked so hard to complete your degree and you will be identified as a bachelor degree holder.
Look for your role model in the society to measure your performance and set your goal to reach him or her. You can even become more professional and advance than your role model in life. You need to place yourself in the right position to be a change maker and for people to remember you. We have many positive cases around here.
- In the business area, you would see on the stage Jungle Power CEO, who is now the only Liberian power distributor and has raised the bar for energy sector. You have Prince Howard, Pharase Dekpah and many others who found their identify and establish businesses to make Nimba one of the attractive destinations in Liberia. Government depends on these people’s revenue to make development possible. To you the business students, you have to set with some of these CEOs and entrepreneurs in this county to model your plan for the future.
- In the education sector, you will remember the late Jackson F. Doe, upon graduation from college, he came and served as the principal for sanninquellie high school, became education minister and built several schools across the country. The late Dr. Korto became CEO and collected $2.00 per student to construct the County Education Office here in Sanniquellie. I was in the 5th grade and made contribution to this building.
- In the health sector, you will see many doctors who are building clinics, hospitals and laboratories to service health demands in our communities and the nation.
To the teachers and the Administration, we thank you so much for your hard work and commitment to set yourself apart to teach and train another generation. We acknowledge your role in changing lives from teaching, and your lifestyle as well. When you follow the crowd to become late in classes and start to exchange grades for money and sex, you are not a good role model mentioned earlier. We encourage to you see yourself as the matches that is lighting candles to burn. When you don’t kindle the fire, it wouldn’t burn...your light and lifestyle gladiate through the life of your students. We are all faced with the challenge of correcting the mistakes and wrong doing in the society and we should take stands to erase these wrongs. In the past few months, I have come to see the reality of serving with low salary in the midst of wealth and plenty money. You will be tempted to facilitate and collude in transactions but you have to resist the temptation and think about the greater good of the society, to think about the sick people in the hospital without medicine, students in the villages who are learning under the trees, the poor people who are living in the swamp with flood passing through their mat and cannot find food to eat; you have to think about a young girl who is selling her body to live and feed her parents; you have to think about classroom teachers who are volunteering without pay and nurses who are working 12 hours without any better pay.
Before I take my seat, let me encourage all of us Liberians to learn to understanding our society and the community we live. You need to set yourself apart for societal reforms, making time for yourself to do tangible things that you will be remembered for. Work with families, friends and communities to establish business, farmers cooperatives, schools, health centers and counsel people who are going through difficult challenges. We are living in a difficult situation but it requires leadership; we have toe lead through difficult situation to be called a change maker. I am reading a book titled “my prisoner, my friend”, written by a man who was a prison guard for Nelson Mendalla. The relationship that the prison guard established with Mendalla led to him working with Mandeba in his government. Let’s us learn to put human face on whatever we do because tomorrow more opportunities and you cannot tell when a prison will become a president.
Thank you!
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