The Vice-Chancellor of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, has charged new students of the university to take their studies serious and adopt the three principles of embracing curiosity, cultivating resilience and maintaining focus.
Prof. Adedimeji gave the charge while addressing the pioneer students of the University at the maiden matriculation ceremony held on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at the University Hall.
In the address, entitled “Three Principles, Six Stories”, the Vice-Chancellor also advocated for the need for them to imbibe faith, trust, hope, confidence, love and positive attitude as their operational blueprint.
Explaining the need to embrace curiosity, the Vice Chancellor noted that the pursuit of knowledge is not confined to textbooks or lecture halls. “Ask questions, even the ones that seem unanswerable. Challenge assumptions, even your own. Explore disciplines and books outside your comfort zone, and dare to see the world through different lenses. Some of the most profound discoveries in history began with a simple question: “What if?” So, let that spirit of inquiry drive you,” he said.
He also emphasised that cultivating resilience means that when challenges appear insurmountable, people should remain strong. “In those moments, remember that resilience is not the absence of failure but the courage to rise after every fall. Thomas Edison once said, ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ Let your setbacks be stepping stones, whatever they may be, not stumbling blocks. You are stronger than you think, and every challenge you overcome will shape you into the person you are destined to be,” he noted.
The Vice-Chancellor also stressed that to maintain focus, students must keep their eyes on the ball of their primary assignment in the university and be focused on their dreams.
“In a typical multiple choice question (MCQ), the type of examination that JAMB organises, there is only one key but there are many distracters. The task of the examiner is to distract you from the key and test your capacity to separate the wheat from the chaff. Your focus or key is your academics, your studies. Don’t let friends, desires and problems distract you,” he stressed.
Describing African School of Economics, Prof. Adedimeji said that the university is not just a place of learning, it is a community of thinkers, innovators, and leaders. “It is a sanctuary for curiosity, a crucible for creativity, and a launchpad for ambition. You have chosen to be here, and we have chosen you because we see in you the spark of greatness,” he submitted.
The pioneer Vice Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University urged the matriculants to always remember that they are part of something greater than themselves and that their admission had made them to become part of a legacy of excellence, a tradition of innovation, and a commitment to making the world a better place.
“The future is not something that happens to you, it is something you create through commitment and efforts,” he intoned.
In his lecture, “Education: The Pathway to Success in Life”, the Chairman of the institution’s Board of Trustees, Prof. Michael Maduagwu, challenged the notion that money opens all does insisting that education does. He therefore enjoined the students to imbibe the culture of reading saying that the university provides an opportunity for reading widely.
“You cannot afford to confine yourself only within your course. That would be too narrow. You have to expand your intellectual horizon through reading. Today, with the computer and internet, there is an explosion and availability of information at your fingertips. There is virtually nothing that you would be looking for that you won’t find on the Internet. With regard to your individual courses, do not wait for your lecturers; you need to research and study ahead of them, so that lectures will become like revisions or clarifications of what you did not quite understand while studying on your own.”
Prof. Maduagwu also tasked the students on time management, telling them that if they don’t plan their time, time will leave them behind. Citing Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, he said, “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.”
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