Develop mindset to achieve greater heights — President Mahama
The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has advised Ghanaians, especially graduates, to develop a mindset that they can achieve anything they task themselves to do without giving up.
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He said all the nations and brands of products that Ghanaians looked up to and admired did not reach where they were currently with their citizens doubting that their nations could achieve such greatness.
“And so both as individuals and citizens, let us have the belief that we can do anything and we must not give up because we tried the first, second and third times and failed; we must continue trying to make it,” he stated.
Speaking at the 17th congregation of the All Nations University College (ANUC) in Koforidua on Saturday, the President said, “We live in a world today where we must think outside the box and refuse to accept the mediocre, failure of which we will be passengers in life.
“We must be innovative and consider how we could do things differently in the shortest possible time and in a most efficient manner.”
In all, 354 students who pursued degree programmes in Oil and Gas, Biomedical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Computer Engineering, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship and Biblical Studies graduated.
Mr Gyde Feiry Clins Bahonda, who obtained First Class in Oil and Gas, emerged the overall best student.
‘Embrace entrepreneurship, innovation’
The President said with the current economic crisis facing the world today, it was time graduates embraced entrepreneurship and innovation to enable them to take advantage of opportunities existing in the private sector to create jobs for themselves and others.
“This is because out of the 26 million Ghanaians, only 600,000 people are employed in the public sector, and this means that majority of jobs created are in the private and the informal sectors.
“As graduates, you will be narrowing your perspective to aim at coming out to work in the public sector because only 600,000 are on the public sector payroll of the government,” he said.
Congregation at the ceremony
‘Take advantage of opportunities’
He said the former practice where some well-known firms attended graduation ceremonies of universities and picked brilliant students to train for employment was non-existent today.
The President advised graduates not to rely on their certificates in their search for jobs, since that alone could not automatically qualify them for jobs, saying, “It is the value that you add to the certificate you have earned that will make you an asset to whoever is to employ you.”
The President commended the President of the ANUC, Dr Samuel H. Donkor, for his innovation in establishing the university that had trained many Ghanaians and foreigners.
“Dr Donkor’s novelty to set up a private university in 1996 is a novelty that served as a precursor today when the government and the private sector are partners in providing tertiary education,” he stated.
Dr Donkor said the innovative programmes of the institution had impacted tremendously on education in Ghana and other African countries.
President John Dramani Mahama congratulating Mr Gyde Feiry Clins Bahonda on being the best student in Oil and Gas.
A former Director of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Dr Norman Cook, who was the key speaker at the event, advised the graduates to eschew self-doubt and aspire to greater heights and excel in their careers.
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. William Otoo Ellis, commended the ANUC for setting the pace for other private universities to follow.
He appealed to the management of the university to continue to maintain the high standard of training achieved so far.
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