L-R: Vice Chancellor Prof Ekwuazi, Prochancellor His Excellency Peter Obi, Chancellor and Proprietor, Dominican University Very Reverend Modestus Ngwu OP Prior Provincial, Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Nigeria and Ghana Province and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Dominican University Chief Dr Anthony Idigbe SAN.
By Ed Malik, A | December 11, 2022
ed@ddnewsonline.com
Prominent legal resource, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN; has charged the graduating students of the Dominican University (DU), Ibadan, to be confident as they face life after school days, saying the training they have received has equipped them adequately to achieve their dreams as they enter the next phase of their lives.
Chief Idigbe, who is the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the university, gave the motivation to the graduands while delivering the foundation lecture of the institution, titled, “Making an Impact: Birthing the vision of Dominican University, Ibadan”, at the temporary campus of the university, in the Oyo state capital, on Saturday December 10, 2022.
He said that the intrinsic value of the education they have received is that, it has imbued them with a culture and passion for excellence, stating that if they can carefully apply the school’ lessons in a larger society, that no one can hold back their dreams from becoming reality.
“Dominican University has simply been the platform for you to stand on to achieve your highest potential. You can be whatever you want if you are ready to work hard! I urge you to believe in yourself, believe in God, the source of your strength, and believe in this University, your partner in progress. Whatever you sow here, you may reap in Heaven! You have received the education”, he said.
The BOT Chairman said as the first ambassadors of the institution, they owe it a duty to be eyes of the university in the outside world as they have imbibed its motto which is Veritate Libertas (freedom in truth), stating that they have been trained to have critical minds towards providing solutions to the challenges facing the society.
*So, the Board of Trustees is not afraid of your honest assessment, for that is the least we expect from you if you are to fulfill your mandate as the vanguards of a new Nigeria we envisage. Part of your training is to have “critical minds” sharp enough to cut through any façade in the fabric of the contemporary society we are building. We expect that your eyes are strong enough to see what is wrong with the “institutions” of society (old and new) if you are to be part of the solution.
“We will keep refining our tools until we achieve a perfect mould. We are partners in a joint mission: to build a better society that you and the generations yet to be born will be proud of. Therefore, remember that by this graduation, you have become our first ambassadors. Do your best to make us proud despite our imperfections.”
He explained to the young graduands that a solid university education is a precursor to achieving immense possibilities in life, urging them not to give up on their dreams like he did despite the setback he suffered with the death of his father immediately after he was called to Bar in 1983.
“I had to start life immediately. But I never gave up on my dreams. Over the last 39 years, I have managed to achieve two LLMs, one GPLLM, an MBA, one Ph.D. and three certificates and postgraduate diplomas from some of the world’s best universities such as UNILAG, ESUT, Robert Gordon University Scotland, University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Harvard Business School and Emeritus Business School In conjunction with MIT and Columbia Business School. I am also licensed to practice law in Nigeria (1983) and Ontario, Canada (2016). I only obtained a Ph.D. in Cross-Border Insolvency Law in November 2021 and the Emeritus Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Business in November 2022”, he said.
The senior advocate espoused that the standards that the institution has set forth will remain a reference point and eloquent testimony to that ‘can-do’ spirit in every student who will pass through its doors, emphasizing that if they can dream it, they can achieve it as long as they work hard; values which is aptly captured in the core philosophy of the university: I-RISE.
“There is hardly any Nigerian youth (Including each of you here) who does not have a story to tell of his/her (your) struggle to overcome hardship, poverty, or other near-impossible life conditions to make it in life. The story of the humble beginnings of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph the Worker, proprietor of this University, and of this University, resonates with yours to become a single but powerful narrative of how humans can overcome all odds to be what they are destined to be. DU is a living metaphor that says, “Yes, you can rise from the ashes of the humblest beginnings to the highest possible dream that your potential can lay claim.”
He reminded the graduands and students that the vision behind the university is to become a center of innovation in the African continent, adding that its Governing Board puts a premium on excellence while the BOT also wants excellence as a pervasive culture in the institution.
Chief Idigbe assured that as BOT Chairman, he envisioned the focus in the university in the next five years will be on grooming a new generation of leaders who are passionate not just about service and success in their chosen field of endeavor.