Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the founder of the American University of Nigeria and former Vice President of Nigeria, received an honorary Doctor of International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy & International Relations on June 30.
At the prestigious commencement ceremonies in Geneva, Switzerland, GSD President, Colum de Sales Murphy, cited Abubakar “for his exemplary leadership as Vice President of Nigeria; for his democratic and courageous resistance to the militarization of national politics and his rightful insistence that political opposition not be treated as enemies of the state but rather, respected for needed loyal opposition; for excellence not only at the highest political levels but as an entrepreneur and a role model in the business arena; for his dedicated fostering of development and education as evidenced in his visionary and historic founding of the American University of Nigeria; for, this, his deep-seated understanding of democracy, its spirit and its principals, and therefore, for his exemplary statesmanship – of benefit to Nigeria and indeed, to Africa as a whole.”
After thanking President Murphy and the GSD Community and congratulating two distinguished colleagues who also received honorary degrees, Abubakar described his life-long commitment to education.
He said: “As a little boy growing up in a small village in North East Nigeria, I could not have imagined myself standing before you today to receive an honorary doctorate degree from this prestigious school, in this city of diplomacy, in this prestigious country.
“I never dreamed of a day like this.
“Education is what has helped me to make the modest achievements that I have made in business and politics and the contributions that I have made in improving the lives of others.
“And education is what has informed my determination to give back to society, especially through education. Education’s centrality in the improvement of the human condition is one reason why public policy must seek to always improve the quality of and access to public education everywhere in the world, especially in the developing countries such as mine, Nigeria.”
Abubakar’s daughter, Maryam Abubakar, a 2010 AUN graduate, also received her MA in International Relations from GSD during the commencement exercises.
The Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
GSD is a private university based in Geneva, Switzerland, committed to offering excellent education to highly qualified students who are focused on the theoretical and practical underpinnings of International Relations and Global Governance.
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