The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has told fresh graduates that they should not hesitate if they need to leave the country for greener pastures, a development popularly referred to as Japa.
The Pro-chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of Veritas University, Abuja, said this on Saturday.
Bishop Kukah, who spoke at the graduation ceremony of the university in Abuja, said: “I encourage young people who want to leave Nigeria to please feel free to leave.
“The country is big enough.
“We can assure you that by the time you settle down in the United States of America or wherever you have gone, you will discover that Nigeria needs you.
“And for those you left behind, our hope and prayer is that they will be competing at the same level with you.
“We have everything that it takes to turn the corner.
“We are Veritas University will continue to inspire and shape the new generation so that the change we expect in our country is not the change we expect from politicians.
“It is the change that will come with a big intellectual understanding of the complex nature of this country.
“So every graduate who walks out of the portals of Veritas will be truly equipped mentally and intellectually to conquer Nigeria.”
On their journey into the future, Kukah told the graduates to remain focused and remember the school they were leaving behind.
He said their teachers should also strive to be role models for the students, adding that the days of the reward of teachers being in heaven was gone.
He said: “The quality of help and support you will get from the alumni will be determined by how they left this university.
“As you prepare to spend a new chapter in your life, I encourage you to remain focused on your dream.
“Do not forget your alma mater because you are standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before you.
“Do not forget the sacrifices you have made.
“This is why we also appeal to teachers to become sources of inspiration because the quality of help and support you will get from the alumni will be determined by how they left this university.
“If they leave this university feeling sorrowful, they are not likely to look back.
“So we want to encourage you, parents, to please endeavour to serve as models and mentors to these young people.
“Remember it could have been done anywhere.
“It’s not by accident that they are in Nigeria.
“I have a personal experience of coming late to catch a flight to Sokoto.
“I was the last person to get on the plane.
“Miraculously, the plane continued to wait and when I got to the aircraft, the pilot was waiting at the foot of the plane.
“I tried to take my seat and knelt to greet me.
“I was quite embarrassed because I had never seen this gentleman in my life.
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“But he said: ‘Well, Bishop, I have to kneel and greet you because you are the one who recommended me over 10 years ago for the job as a pilot.’
“We never know as teachers.
“Do not fall victim to the claim that your rewards are in heaven.
“Your rewards are actually here and they will also be in heaven.”
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