How Atiku transformed Adamawa community, by Margee Ensign

We are deeply honored to have 57 pioneer staff.

Today we celebrate our 10th year. The AUN community is thankful for your prosperous hard work and commitment to your University. We thank all of you for helping to establish this University.  As Abba [Tahir] said, today is remarkable. — our 10th anniversary of AUN founding. Here at AUN, one of our slogans — where student’s dreams become Africa’s reality. That is not just a slogan. Look around you. What you see is part of Atiku Abubakar’s extraordinary, visionary dream.

Having grown up here, one of the first regions of Nigeria, our Founder looked at this empty field and dreamed of a great university rising in it; a university that will train the future leaders of Africa, a university to lead the way to a more peaceful prosperous and just Nigeria, a university at the cutting edge of development, not only for this region of Africa, but for the whole continent. It was an astonishing dream. He looked at Yola, the impoverished capital of Adamawa State and dreamed of a prosperous community with electricity and running water, and education and employment and hope for all. He looked at Nigeria, soon to be the world’s third largest country, so rich in human and natural resources and he dreamed of a reformed and modernized country probably leading Africa in the 21st century. He dreamed that the graduates of AUN will take their place as leaders of a new Nigeria in business, education, and government.

With his continuous generosity, the hard work of our faculty and staff, and our students with the support of our Board of Trustees. So many of these dreams are finally coming through. From the first entering class that studied at the AUN Academy across the street, to the opening of the award-winning Robert Pastor Library and e-Learning Center–the finest e-Library on the continent. The race has been purposeful–a race to the future, a race for the future. From the beginning our Founder has dreamed of a university whose teaching methods are those from the United States. But he also saw that AUN needed to be at its very start, a new kind of university. It was to be uniquely African–a university whose task is to lead Nigeria and Africa to a new future, a Development University.

All of our students have computers and learn to use them. They take courses in entrepreneurship. They are challenged — to think for themselves and learn to be problem solvers. They learn leadership skills until our community service program goes out into our local community and learn firsthand the real problems facing Nigeria. From the very beginning AUN has thrown itself into the project of sustainable development. In order to bring prosperity and preserve and enhance our natural environment, [AUN] has become deeply involved in the peace-making project in this our very troubled part of the world. It has shared digital resources with other colleges and universities, helped to teach poor children to read and write, taught computer skills to local, unemployed youths, helped women find ways to support their families. So now I would like to share with you a picture album of the development of our University–a look back of the extraordinary years. It begins with our Board of Trustees. [A slideshow shown here.]

Those beautiful pictures show the hard work, courage, and motivation that it took to establish and build AUN in those early years.

Our past gives us foundation but, as always, it is to the future that AUN looks for. Our past is just a foundation for great things ahead. In spite of the turmoil of our region, this University has persevered and it will continue to thrive. We will continue to provide safety, the finest university education in Nigeria, and to attract to our campus, increasing numbers of students beyond Nigeria’s borders. We will continue to show your responsibilities to that of Peace Development University expanding our Peace Sustainable Development effort. We would continue to involve our students in the real work of development in this part of the world as the fundamental part of their education. We will continue to share our priceless digital resources. We will continue to develop and expand our educational programs, building on the solid academic and student life foundation laid down by you, the great and committed people in this room. We will continue to dream new ambitious dreams. We will continue to strive to fulfill the dream of our Founder, Atiku Abubakar, for a  better world.

Welcome to the American University of Nigeria Founder’s Day. Happy Birthday, our Founder, and Happy Birthday, AUN.

Being a speech by President Margee Ensign on the occasion of the 9th Founder’s Day and 10th Anniversary of AUN held on November 15, 2014.