REMARKS BY

THE CHIEF SERVANT, DR. MU'AZU BABANGIDA ALIYU, OON, (TALBAN MINNA) THE GOVERNOR OF NIGER STATE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20^TH VALEDICTORY CEREMONY OF ADESOYE COLLEGE, OFFA; ON SATURDAY, 11^TH JUNE, 2011.

PROTOCOL:

Theme: Destiny and Freewill

2. It is indeed a priviledge to be here today on the occasion of the 20^th valedictory ceremony of this wonderful College, Adesoye College, Offa, an institution that has been established on excellent foundation and that has remained committed to the pursuit of excellence in all ramifications since its glorious beginning in January 1987. I am pleased to be here with other people from different walks of life – parents, teachers, school administrators and educationists, who have come to share the excitement of students of this College, especially the sixth form students who have completed their studies and are prepared to move on to another phase of their lives. I am here not only because of Muawiyah but because the Principal honoured me with an invitation to speak to the graduating students.

3. Today is a tribute not only to your Principal, Mr. Bradley Sailes who has led this school to where it is today, but also to your Proprietor, Chief Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye who conceived of the idea to establish this centre of excellence. I first met Chief Adesoye in 1980 when we served on the Board of Kaduna Polytechnic. That was where I noticed his love for education and strong concern for the growth and development of our youth and indeed his patriotism. Today is also a tribute to the teachers, parents, students and all supporters of this College for the invaluable contributions to the development of the College.  We cannot repeat too often that education is the foundation of development and the key to our competitive advantage as a nation. I therefore congratulate everyone involved with the growth, development and sustenance of excellence of this college. We must pay extra attention to the education of our children as individuals, parents and indeed all levels of government.

 4. I am therefore delighted to take this opportunity to share some of my personal experiences in my educational growth with this distinguished audience, to discuss with our graduating students on the nexus of Destiny and Freewill, which I believe, are constantly shaping our lives in different ways and at different times. There is no doubt that one of the most fascinating debates of humanity remains the debate about the role of destiny and freewill in our lives. In fact, different schools of thought – religious, astrological and psychological - have postulated strong arguments for and against the concept of destiny and freewill over time. I do not want to bore you with a detail review of literature in this direction. What I believe will be of interest to our graduating students is to demonstrate how events in our lives are manifestations of what our creator, Allah (SWT), the All-knowing has pre-planned for us and how, at the same time Allah allows our freewill to confirm that which He has planned for us.

5. It is common nowadays to find our young people starting off in their educational career on the wrong footings because as parents some of us want to achieve our life goals and ambitions, or indeed live our lives through our children, even when they may not show sufficient interest or willingness to take to such paths. A parent, for instance, may wish to be a Lawyer, a doctor or an engineer but because he could not actualize that ambition may now turn to ‘force’ his child to take a particular course, against the will of his child, thus laying a foundation for confusion in the educational growth of the child. I believe parents should only guide children to freely choose their educational paths, so that Allah’s Will may come to pass. This is very important if we consider the fact that we are always at our best when we are doing those things that we are happy with. Indeed, what one may study may not necessarily be his main career; but whatever we study should help us lead a fulfilling life.

6. As a child, I recall that I was always fascinated by some role models of the time – Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna Sokoto; Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, hence when I was asked, in 1969, at my primary school leaving interview what I wanted to become, I proudly said ‘a Teacher or Lawyer’, simply because I drew inspiration from the lives of especially Sir Ahmadu Bello (a Teacher) and Chief Awolowo (a Lawyer). But Allah’s Will had to be done, and today I am very proud that I went to a Teachers’ Training College, to the College of Education, to the University for a degree in Education and that I had a very fulfilling career as a Teacher before destiny beckoned on me to try other things in life.

7. Young people should be encouraged to follow their heart’s desires and pursue their goals with determination, commitment and faith in the creator of the universe, Allah (SWT), whose ultimate desires will always come to pass. I recall that while in the Teachers’ Training College in Sokoto, between 1970 and 1974, I wanted to become a prefect or the Head Boy, but realized that my small stature (don’t mind how I look now, the credit goes to my wife) may inhibit my selection, so I opted to become the President or Secretary General of virtually all the Clubs and associations in my School, thus making me one, if not the most influential student in the College at the time. Whereas we may feel somewhat disappointed some times, when we do not get our heart’s desires, ultimately what God designs for us will come to be, no matter the challenges. In my belief system, it is imperative that you get what has been destined to you but you can get extra if you beg your creator and work hard.

8. Whereas, we can have our plans, our aspirations and our expectations, we may really not be able to work against our destiny. Again, my experience after College; I am priviledged to be born into a family of educated parents, and to each child in the family education remains a fundamental obligation of the parents, and the obligation of the child is to ensure that he does well in school. I have an elder brother, well educated and a thorough-bred professional, who felt that given my talents and academic temperaments I should have been an Architect. My elder brother would go all the way to encourage, persuade and even coerce me to fill a form he had acquired for me, for admission into the University for a Degree in Architecture. Not only did I refuse to fill the form until it expired, I was avoiding him, until the opportunity came for me to become President of the Students Union of the College of Education Sokoto (1975-76), where I was much happier with myself, since that was my freewill and what I really wanted to do. But that didn’t stop Allah’s will for me to eventually get to the University and to have a political career later in life, when in my final year in the University in 1983 I contested and won election into the Federal House of Representatives to represent Chanchaga Federal Constituency, until the National Assembly was sacked in December 1983 following a military coup.

9. Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen, without the coup of 1983, what appeared then as a setback in my political career, I probably would not have become a seasoned civil servant, rising steadily between 1990 and 1999 from Chief Political Affairs Officer to become a Federal Permanent Secretary, nor would I have gone to acquire both the Masters in Public and International Affairs and Doctorate degree in Strategic and Security studies from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, between January 1985 and December 1989. Indeed, even after returning from the USA, I was still very keen on teaching as a career but I had to forfeit my desire when I was faced with the decay and collapse in the system. Little wonder, therefore, that I give highest priority to education as the Governor of Niger State. Perhaps, destiny was preparing me for the present position, in which I have a better chance to make the much needed difference in the society. I thank God for all the blessing and guidance in my life, and for making His Will to be. When I thought I was having a fulfilling career, working diligently and patiently, praying to God to become the Head of Service of the Federation, Allah had designed for me to become the Chief servant of the people of Niger State, an opportunity that came on April 14, 2007 when Nigerlites gave me their mandate to be the Governor of Niger State, a feat they repeated by revalidating the mandate on 26^th April 2011, for a second term in office.

10. My formal relationship with Adesoye College started with the admission of my first child Jamila in 1992, who graduated in 1998 (now a Medical Doctor), Ibrahim in 1994, graduated in 2000 (now an Engineer), Farida in 1998, graduated in 2004 (B.Sc Neuro Science and now in Medical School), Muawiyah in 2005 and is among the graduating class of today, while Jala’l admitted in 2008 will join the senior class this year if he passes. Mu’azu, my namesake, who is the fourth child refused to come to Adesoye College and opted for Science Academy, Kuje in FCT and is now in the University.

11. I got married in 1978 at the age of 23 (twenty three) years to the current madam Chief Servant of Niger State (Hajiya Jummai Babangida AliyuY; that was immediately after my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos State. I got married earlier than some of my elder brothers and as a young man could have been thought of as a potential polygamous person, but I have remained monogamous for over 30 years, during which we have never had a misunderstanding that would require a third party – but again, the credit goes to my wife who is more patient and indeed very tolerant. Many of my brothers and friends who could have been described as monogamous before marriage became polygamous after marriage and their style of home-management appear to convince me to remain monogamous (destiny or free-will or a combination of the activities of both variables) You could say I have chosen Adesoye College or that my children have been destined to attend Adesoye College; either way required deliberate decision and concerted action.         

12. At this juncture, therefore we should remind ourselves, especially the young ones who are about to venture in to the real world, which is often not as rational as it may appear, that the ultimate purpose of life is to try to discover what brings greater degree of happiness not only to ourselves but to others. The more we develop compassion, sympathy, empathy for and concern about the well being and happiness of other people, the more we attain inner happiness and tranquility within ourselves, and the more our own sense of well being is boosted. This automatically removes our fears, our apprehensions and our insecurities and propels us to cope with whatever challenges or obstacles we may be encountering. That is the foundation of servant leadership and the ultimate key to success in everything we do.

13. As the graduating students step out into the wider world in pursuit of their academic career and other endeavours, as may be destined by God, competence, commitment and good character must remain the building blocks of whatever they do, so that whatever God has planned will come to pass in His own glory. However, never just sit down there and expect manna from heaven because it has been destined, get up and work towards your destiny willingly with prayer to your God to guide you properly. May we all benefit both here and in the hereafter, amen.

14. I thank you all.