Being the Text of an Address Delivered by the Rector of Benson Idahosa School of Basic and Applied Studies, Dr. Mark Ighile at the Matriculation Ceremony of the Institution. Saturday 3rd February, 2018.
Title: You Have What it Takes
Principal Officers of our great school
Members of the Academic Board,
Staff and Students of the Benson Idahosa School of Basic and Applied Studies
Our Great Matriculants
Dear Parents and Guardians of the matriculating students
Gentlemen of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all, to the 2017/218 matriculation ceremony of our great institution. I like to specially congratulate our new students, who have just performed the rite of statutory entrance or passage into our great school. The essence of matriculation is to create a platform for those newly admitted into the school to become officially bonefide students. This matriculation therefore, is the formal starting point of a two-year journey. It is the ceremonial commencement of a process to stardom. You have started well and by the grace of God you will end well in Jesus name.
I celebrate you for making Benson Idahosa School of Basic and Applied Studies your choice of institution for academic technical and vocational studies. You are coming in at a time when it is no longer fashionable to brandish certificates without practical knowledge. You are coming in at a time when employability has become the norm, in other words you don’t just look for job but you become employers and also employable. You are coming in at a time when the State Government, the Edo State Government and other non-governmental agencies are in the process of commencing collaborations with your school. You are coming in at a time when your school is privileged to be coordinating all the Innovative Enterprise Institutions in Edo State. In other words Benson Idahosa School of Basic and Applied Studies is on the cutting edge of a major breakthrough.
It will interest you to know, our distinguished students that virtually all our programmes are accredited by the regulatory body National Board for Technical Education and two more programmes are in the pipeline and ready for resource verification. If you have a brother or a friend who is interested in Petroleum Geoscience and Electrical Electronics, please prepare the mind of that person because any moment from now in the next few months we will start the two additional programmes.
The theme of this matriculation programme is “You Have What it Takes”. My beloved students, you have what it takes to succeed, you have it takes to excel, you have what it takes to get to the top. The symbolic admission that you have just witnessed is a power bank for your stardom. A moment ago you were admitted, that is an empowerment; that is a validation; that is an open cheque to the topmost top that you will attain. There is something in you that is looking and waiting for expression. There is a talent in you that must be tapped for distinction. There are skills in you that are waiting to be nourished.
I see you become the Presidents of this Nation, I see you become great Entrepreneurs, I see you become Ambassadors of this Great Nation. There is a lion in you and you must wake it up now so that you become a wonder to your generation. The environment that you have found yourself, the environment of Benson Idahosa School of Basic and Applied Studies is committed to building a brand of Excellence in Technical, Vocational and Professional Education and Training, thereby equipping the young and adults with skills and knowledge that would meet the increasing demands for technical manpower in the various sectors of our nation’s Economy.
My dear bright, promising and loaded students, one thing is to be empowered, another thing is to be visioned. Let me ask on behalf of the Governing Board, the Management and Academic Boards “what do you see? What are you seeing?” What do you see of yourself in the next two, five, seven, ten, twenty years? It is important for you to reflect and picture into the future because you cannot become great when you don’t have the picture of greatness. Do you see yourself as a giant, a victor or a grasshopper? Do you see yourself as a change agent or one who plays second fiddle? I like to conclude this address by reenacting what God said to Abraham in Gen. 13:14 by urging you to look at the North, look at the East, look at the West and look at the South.
Look at the various opportunities waiting to be tapped in Innovative Agriculture, Banking Operations, Film and Television Production, Paralegal Studies, Early Childhood Care Management, Computer Software Engineering, Petroleum Geoscience and Electrical Electronics. The more you see into all these and beyond these and tap into them maximally, the more you become Champion in your generation. Final words, remember “Matriculation is the beginning, the ultimate is Convocation. There may be distractions on the way, but remain focused. I look forward to releasing you to your world at graduation”.
I like to specially appreciate the Parents/Guardians of our Students for believing in us and sending your wards to our school. With God on our side we will surely justify the confidence reposed in us. Together we shall celebrate our children.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for your listening attention.