12th Convocation Vice Chancellor's Speech

The Narrative of Our Evolution to a Formidable Innovative and Entrepreneurial University in Nigeria

Protocol

Holy God, we praise thy name; 

Lord of all, we bow before thee! 

All on earth thy scepter own, 

All in heaven above adore thee. 

Infinite thy vast domain, 

Everlasting is thy reign.

With my soul wrapped in the incandescence of this song, I welcome each of you to this 12th convocation of Godfrey Okoye University. I welcome particularly our fresh graduates as well as their parents, siblings and friends who have travelled from far and near places to be present here today. I am profoundly grateful to all of you for extricating yourselves from a thicket of duties in an endlessly and increasingly complicated human space to attend this ceremony. God bless you all. 

It is with a deep sense of gratitude to God and to each of you that I address this assembly today. It is important to mention at the beginning of this address that twenty six (26) students made a First Class out of 546 students who took the final examinations in various programmes of our university. My dear fresh graduates, you are joining over four thousand graduates of Godfrey Okoye University who are spread in all continents, in various countries, institutions, businesses, industries, companies and offices of the world. You have become part of the globally emerging human family called the GO Family. What a privilege to be a member of such a colourful and successful family!

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our journey to this 12th Convocation has been an incredibly beautiful narrative of our evolution in innovativeness and entrepreneurship. During the period of our pregnancy with this university, we articulated our philosophy, mission and vision vividly. Every document and architectural design was made to agree with our philosophy, mission and vision, including the song of our collective soul:  our famous GO University Anthem. In addition, we raised the well-known Godfrey Okoye University question “where is the evidence?” in the spirit of our philosophy, mission and vision and to guide our epistemic journey to innovativeness and entrepreneurship. The burning desire for innovativeness has made us do things that placed us as the first in twenty three areas of university activities, as our scorecard shows. Since I presented our scorecard in our 8th & 9th convocation two years ago, I will go straight to unveil the narrative of our evolution to a strong, innovative and entrepreneurial university, spreading its tentacles in the following thematic fields:

1. DNA Learning Centre Africa (Forensics and Aquaponics)

In 2009 as we were taking our first steps as a toddler in university education, we were fired by such an ambition that can only be revealed by an infant prodigy. Although still in infancy, we were incredibly self-conscious, guided by the light of our philosophy, mission and vision. We were conscious of doing things differently, innovatively, and in an entrepreneurial fashion. The contact with Prof. George Ude, a great biologist at Bowie State University (USA), gave us the opportunity to fire the first shot in the biological sciences. Biological sciences focused research on DNA sequencing and barcoding, discovering rare plants and animals that had never entered the world DNA data bank. In collaboration with the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory our young scholars were taught how to do research in biological sciences. They were taught innovativeness in research and application of research results in STEM businesses. Our DNA Learning Centre became the centre for the training of Nigerian and African budding scientists, winning a lot of grants and prizes. Today this innovative approach in biological sciences has drawn the attention of the Enugu State Government under our great Governor Peter Mbah. The Enugu State Government, having noted the progress and uniqueness of our DNA Learning Centre, the first of its kind in Africa, is collaborating with our university for the expansion of the facilities of the DNA Learning Centre for paternity tests and forensic analyses. By this time next year, this main campus of our university will have become the centre of all kinds of paternity tests in the Southeast of Nigeria. By this time next year, our main campus will have become ready to supply all data that can help security officers fish out criminals in Enugu State through forensic analyses of crime scenes. By this time next year, our DNA Leaning Centre will have been expanded to become one of the biggest science cities in Nigeria, offering all sorts of research services to our state, Nigeria and Africa. In addition, our DNA Learning Center (DNALC) has developed the first AI compliant website and a DNALC Nigeria mobile App for any science or research training institution in Nigeria.  Thus, as in the X app, GO University has the DNALC App for everything DNA.  Also our DNA Learning Center (DNALC) has carried out the following researches: (a) ‘DNA Barcoding of the Distribution, Diversity and Phylogenetic Relationship of Ants’; (b) ‘Unweaving the Microbial Diversity of Freshwater Bodies in Enugu through Metagenomic Analysis’, (c) ‘Comparative Analysis of Nutritional, Medicinal and Genetic Diversity of Mushroom Species from Enugu and Ebonyi States, and (d) ‘Comparative Analysis of Aquaponics Effluent on the Growth Performance of Select Vegetables in Hydroponic Systems.

2.GO University College of Medicine 

Godfrey Okoye University College of Medicine was conceived with a clear innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. We wanted a College that would produce brilliant, innovative, entrepreneurial, spiritual and disciplined medical doctors. We designed our activities to promote our vision. We also found the embodiment of our vision in the top medical professors of our College of Medicine like Prof. Dr. Frank Akpuaka, Prof. Dr. Amechi Katchy, Prof. Dr. Cajethan Nwadinigwe and a host of erudite scholars in the medical field. Since hard work and discipline are the foundation for realizing our vision, we put a lot of emphasis on working assiduously and around the clock. As part of our innovativeness in medical training, we have exposed our students to trainings in our DNA Learning Centre so that they will not only be good medical doctors but also great scientists. Our students of Medicine also participate in the GO University programme called Student Training for Entrepreneurship Promotion (STEP). The result of our innovative and entrepreneurial approach to medical training is that our students came first in a competition organized for medical students of universities in the Southeast in July this year. Another reason for joy is that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has approved our College of Medicine for MBSS (Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery) examinations. The implication is that in this academic year the first set of our medical students will write their second MBSS examinations. If we continue like this, God willing, our medical students will graduate after six years of studies.  Another good news is that the National Universities Commission has added another feather to the cap of our College of Medicine with the approval of the Department of Nursing Science headed by Prof. Chika Ugochukwu. Furthermore, we are expanding our teaching hospital at Transekulu with a deep sense of creativity and innovation so that our medical students can continue their clinical training there with the same spirit of innovativeness and entrepreneurship that they have drunk deeply in the College. As Alexander Pope writes: “Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring…”

3. STEP Programme and Incubation Centre 

STEP stands for Student Training for Entrepreneurship Promotion, and it originated from a collaboration between Makerere University Business School in Uganda and Leuphana University in Germany. Over time, STEP has established partnerships with various universities and vocational training institutes in South Korea, South Africa, and East Africa. Notably, its association with Godfrey Okoye University marks a pioneering initiative in West Africa and Nigeria.

The establishment of STEP has been an incredibly enriching experience for both staff and students. The success of Godfrey Okoye University STEP under our Directorate of Entrepreneurship headed by our scholar Christopher Uwakwe has attracted a lot of attention from our German partners, especially Leuphana University. The Directorate has added an innovative project, the incubation hub, to promote our STEP programme. Finally, the STEP-S TTT International Workshop, which took place in our university in September, and with great exhibition of professionalism by the Master Trainers, was a very enriching experience.

4. Institute of Caregiving Education

The Institute of Caregiving Education (ICE) is an unambiguous expression of our consciousness that community service is one of the three key roles of a university. As we have realized through careful observation and research how unprofessional and inexperienced caregivers in Nigerian homes are, we have mounted a programme of caregiving to fill this gap in Nigeria. The Institute oversees the training of those who desire to work in homes in Nigeria and overseas. In addition to the core curriculum of caregiving, we have brought entrepreneurial training into the programme as well as the opportunity for industrial experience in our Godfrey Okoye University Teaching Hospital. The result of this innovative approach is the high rate of employability among all participants in the programme. A year ago one of those who finished in the Institute and moved over to Canada received a certificate of commendation from the Canadian government. We congratulate the Director, Associate Prof. Dr. Blessing Ude, for making this GO Uni certificate programme a huge success. 

5. Our School of Postgraduate Studies 

Our School of Postgraduate Studies has evolved from complete in person mode of lectures to fully digitalized hybrid mode of lecture and seminar delivery. The result is that our PG School now attracts many students from Germany, Austria and other foreign countries who are attracted to our programmes because of hybridity in lecture delivery and expertise of our professors. We also insist that our PG students publish part of their projects in good journals as evidence of the solidity and relevance of their research. Our PG School now has a total of forty three (43) programmes including a master’s degree programme in Law. Part of our innovation in our PG School is the inclusion of communication in the English language to improve the writing, reading and speaking skills of our PG students as well as a programme in entrepreneurship.  We congratulate all those who have rounded off their programmes in our PG School and are part of this convocation, especially our first PhD product, Dr. Ogechukwu Ngwoke. 

6. Go University Computer Village

To make our computer science programme a huge success we have built a computer village with smart lecture halls for our computer science department. It is our hope that our computer village will inspire our young students in digital skills. It is now compulsory for all students of our Computer Science Department  to get professional certifications from global certifying bodies like google, Microsoft, Meta, Udemy, Coursara, etc. before they  graduate in Computer Science. Many of our students have indeed already got international certifications in different areas of computing. The Department of Computer Science is also collaborating with a company to host an annual hackathon with the aim of harnessing the best skills among our students. Besides, the Department is collaborating with an Austrian IT firm in the area of green AI. Also Ogbe Somtochukwu, emerging as the best overall student in a hackathon programme organized by the Directorate of Competitions, has developed a facial recognition attendance system.

7. Directorate of Competitions 

The senate of our university has approved the establishment of the Directorate of Competitions. The Directorate under Mrs. Uchanta Chukwu explores available university competitions, helps students to register for them and prepares them for competitions. Since the establishment of the Directorate our university has done incredibly well in national and international competitions. Our teams (Team Storm and Team Emerald) performed very well in the DebateCoolit Competition Sponsored by the Enugu State Government this year:

1. Best Participation by a School/Institution (Godfrey Okoye University).
   1. Most Creative & Interesting Debate Team (Team Emerald).
   1. Best Single Debate Performance (Aguigwo Gerald Somtochukwu from our College of Medicine).
   1. Two of our debaters, Ebenyi Chinecherem (Faculty of Law) and Adibo Tiffany Chiemelie (Department of International Relations), are among Enugu’s top 15 debaters and will represent the state in national debates.

The establishment of the Directorate is an innovative idea that has helped us achieve all these. We congratulate Mrs. Uchanta Chukwu and her team of staff on all the achievements recorded by the Directorate. 

8. Professional Examinations 

Godfrey Okoye University has continued to emphasize professional programmes and examinations to enhance professional and entrepreneurial skills of students. All our programmes involve one form of industrial training experience or the other. Industrial Training (IT) is not limited to natural science students in Godfrey Okoye University but embraces all our programmes. This partly explains the high rate of employability of GO graduates. Through the professional trainings and exposure to their future professional colleagues some of them secure employment before graduation. 

9. General Ability Test 

The senate of Godfrey Okoye University approved General Ability Test for all final year students of Godfrey Okoye University. This is the first of its kind in any Nigerian university. The idea is to help students prepare for various interviews for scholarships, visa applications or admissions for further studies. Such interviews are usually based on quantitative and verbal reasoning as well as ability to think outside the box. We in Godfrey Okoye University prepare our students for competitiveness and success in life. The result is that our graduates are passing interviews of all categories and getting good jobs as well as full scholarships for further studies. For instance, Emmanuel Mbahaotu (our graduate) emerged the overall best graduating student in his University in Russia and got research funding worth 300 thousand dollars this year for his PhD in Medicine, specializing in Cardiology.  Also our graduate Scholastica Ogbodo got a full scholarship and graduate assistantship this year to study Physics in the United States of America.

10.GO University Prize on Innovativeness and Entrepreneurship  for Staff and Students 

The senate of our university has also approved various prizes for innovativeness and entrepreneurship for both staff and students. This is to ensure that our students and staff remain innovative by getting recognition for their work and effort. The Directorate of Entrepreneurship, the Directorate of Competitions and the Computer Science Department are responsible for selecting the candidates for the award of these prestigious prizes. 

11. Strategic Collaboration and Exchange  Programmes 

We have continued our programme of strategic collaboration and exchange of staff and students. In the month of September I renewed our collaboration with Johann Kepler University in Austria and also discussed areas of collaboration with the University of Arts (Austria). Through our membership of Africa-Uninet (based in Austria), we are collaborating with eighty universities outside Nigeria. It involves collaboration in research as well as exchange of staff and students. This explains why we always have foreign students and staff in our university. This has also helped students to get exposure in their programmes, which in turn makes studying abroad (or in other universities within Nigeria) easy for them. 

12. Grants and Awards

The Directorate of Entrepreneurship (DOE) in partnership with Leuphana University, Mount Kenya University, and the University of Venda won a 4-year grant worth 90 million Naira for implementing sustainable entrepreneurship in the global south. It has won another 12 thousand Euro for the implementation of the STEP and STEP-S project. Under this project, student teachers from our Faculty of Education and the Institute of Ecumenical Education have been mobilized with EUR 5,000 (eight million Naira) as seed fund for their STEP-S micro businesses. An additional EUR 4,000 (seven million Naira) has been earmarked as payment for faculty members who have been inducted as STEP-S Trainers. The STEP-S project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service.  In addition, a staff of our university, Rev. Fr. Dr. Somadina Ibe-Ojiludu, was selected for the prestigious 2024 Global Scholars Academy of Harvard Law School Institute of Global Law and Policy, and was listed in the EU and AU-anchored Roster of African Transitional Justice Experts. Also, Globethics, a Geneva-based international non-governmental organization which possesses a consultative status in United Nations’ ECOSOC, celebrated a staff of the university for his 50 years as a publisher, Professor Christoph Stueckelberger, a Swiss, who is a professor of Ethics in our Faculty of Management and Social Sciences. Besides, we have won two grants from Africa-UniNet, each worth twenty five thousand Euros in collaboration with Enugu State University of Science and Technology (led by Prof. Martin Anikwe) and University of Graz (Austria) respectively. 

13. Programmes and Accreditations

We have a total of eighty-three programmes (40 undergraduate programmes and 43 postgraduate programmes as well as three certificate programmes, Sandwich and JUPEB.  The PG programmes include the newly approved programmes LL.M. (Law), PGD & M.Sc. (Sociology), Ph.D. (Management) and Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies). All existing programmes are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission. We have also maintained our position in all official ranking platforms as one of the best ten private universities in Nigeria and one of the best 200 universities in Africa. 

14. To Our Fresh Graduates 

To you my dear fresh graduates I write this letter as my final word as you leave this university. I would like to address you as Grad 2024

Dear Grad 2024, 

I write this letter today as my parting gift to you. On 16 March 2024, I wrote a similar letter to your younger academic siblings on the occasion of their matriculation. Today I write to you with the consciousness that you have a better view and understanding of university education and do not need sweeteners given to academic fledglings for the bitter food of tearing experiences in a university. You have continuously been fed with all sorts of transforming experiences, without being transmogrified. 

You have had the experience of waking up early, doing your chores and leaving the hostels to avoid the frightening faces of frowning or scolding student affairs officers. You have gone through the hustle and bustle of lectures, workshops, lab experiments, and so on. You have probably had enough pouts and sighs as the loud GO bell chimes, inviting you to the common midday prayer. You have surely got used to queues in order to hand in your attendance after the prayers. You have had the experience of a rumbling tummy announcing hunger, forcing you to hunt for some culinary delights. You have had the experience of hurrying back to your hostel to prepare for night prayers and studies. Surely, the experience of hastening back to your hostel to avoid being locked out is not alien to you. Nor is the voice of the seemingly omnipresent Father-Vice Chancellor calling you on phone when you sneak out of the hostel, and asking: where are you? 

You may have also had the experience of a noisy, unruly or unfriendly roommate. You may have had a pulsating heart as you enter the examination hall amidst unsmiling white-cassocked or Roman-collared external invigilators. 

Of course I know some of you have had the thrill of listening to excellent lectures by some of your seasoned lecturers and professors. You have surely enjoyed such moments of happy celebrations during the Unity Week, Faculty Week or Christmas celebrations. You certainly have enjoyed the serenity of your university which is insulated from the rather irritating hiccups of our geopolitical space.  You have certainly enjoyed those special relationships and friendships you have formed here. You have widened   your social space with a good number of friends and colleagues. Some of your friends have become like siblings to you. Some

of you have formed good relationships that may lead to lifelong friendship or even marriage. 

I have no doubt you were immersed in all sorts of experiences in our STEP programmes and other certificate programmes offered by the university. I am convinced that you have learned a lot from the STEP programme and now know how to create jobs and become successful employers of labour or even translate your ideas into financially beneficial ventures.  Grad 2024, I see in you the leader who is crazily ambitious like your Vice Chancellor. Having been shown the real ingredients of success, you will certainly not settle for anything less than a successful life. As I wrote to MAT 2024 during the 15th Matriculation, so also I write to you. Be big dreamers. Big dreamers become big achievers. I have always dreamed big and this is the source of the energy that drives me as you must have realized. Dream the seemingly impossible. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best presidents Nigeria has ever produced. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best governors in Nigeria. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best National Assembly members in Nigeria. Have a dream that one day you will be known as one of the most intelligent persons in this country. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best computer scientists, data analysts, software developers, computer engineers in the world. Have a dream that one day you will be the best TV or radio presenter ever.  Have a dream that one day you will be one of the most innovative professors in the world. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best scientists, mathematicians, medical doctors, engineers, accountants, economists, political scientists, psychologists, sociologists, teachers, philosophers, linguists, historians, music composers, literary scholars, architects, diplomats, security experts, lawyers or judges in the world. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the most successful businessmen or businesswomen in the world. Have a dream that one day you will be one of the best in whatever profession or good thing you choose. Have a dream that one day the world will recognize you as a person with brain and brawn. Have a dream that one day you will prove to humans that it is possible to be morally sound and successful in life. Have a dream that if God calls you to a clerical state or religious life, you will be known as a saintly person. Have a dream that one day you will be a Nobel Prize winner. Have

a dream that one day the whole world will hear your voice. Have a dream today. Have a dream tomorrow. 

Finally, as I end this letter, I urge you not to forget that your identity as a GO is glued to this God’s Own University. It is an identity of spirituality, hard work, deep sense and understanding of cultural and religious differences, and sense of dialogue and understanding of the connectedness of human epistemic experiences expressed in what we call courses or fields of studies. Please do not forget the everlasting and evergreen GO Uni question: Where is the evidence? Also let these unforgettable words of Gandhi continue to ring like a bell in yours ears: “Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle.“ (Mahatma Gandhi, 2 Oct 1869-1948). I ask God to bless you with a successful, healthy and happy life through Christ our Lord!

Yours sincerely

Father-Vice Chancellor 

15. To GO Alumni 

I thank all of you for staying connected with your alma mater. Some of you have sent your siblings to Godfrey Okoye University. (There are some families that have all their children in Godfrey Okoye University.)We thank you all for your financial support and for making your university well known within and outside Nigeria. In order to encourage you, we have decided to continue to honour in our hall of fame those of you who are outstanding in performance and financial support to your alma mater. We congratulate our graduate Mr. Gosife Eze, the National President of Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria, who has been appointed by the Vatican as a member of the International Youth Advisory Body (IYAB) of the Decastery for the Laity, Family and Life. This is a confirmation of the quality of the training of our students based on our three core values of dialogue, hard work and spirituality. In addition, this year we inaugurated the Alumni Association of all our foreign students. These students who were in our university for exchange programmes are supporting the university from their various countries and have continued to make tremendous contributions to the progress of our university. We thank Ms. Meggy Kantert, our Foreign Liaison Officer, for coordinating their activities. 

16. To our honorary doctorate awardees

I congratulate you on the award of honorary doctorate degrees of our Catholic university. We have chosen you after a rigorous process of selection through our committees and after serious enquires about your person and character. Please remember that your award is coming from a Catholic university. Do not tarnish the image of this university. I ask God to bless you as you explore ways of supporting our university and thus become our great ambassadors. God bless you!  

17. To Parents and Guardians 

I express my profound gratitude to each of you for entrusting us with the task of educating your child or ward. You have made tremendous sacrifices to pay the fees of your child or ward. At a time when the Nigerian narrative has been dominated by a plot twist of political intrigues and hypocrisy, hyperinflation and cancerous economic conditions of incalculable dimensions as well as existential angst, supporting your child or ward to come to this point of graduation is a feat that must be commended by all, especially by this university. We thank you and pray that God may keep you alive to reap the fruit of your labour and sweat. As you travel back to your different destinations may the angels of the Lord Jesus Christ go before you and behind you. 

18. Gratitude to All

Finally, let me thank all of you for attending this convocation,  especially those who helped in making this ceremony  a huge success: the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, the Auxiliary Bishop of our Diocese, the Governor of Enugu State  and all Government Officials, Local Government Chairmen, Curia members, Chancellor and Archbishop of Abuja,  Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees and Chairman and members of the Governing  Council, the Senate and the Academic Board, principal officers, convocation lecturer and great benefactor of our university  Mr. Everest Nnaji (Odengene), Austrian Ambassador to Nigeria (Mr. Thomas Schlesinger represented  by the General konsul of the Austrian Embassy, Mr. Christian Redl, accompanied by our Prof. Dr Chigozie Nnebedum (who drives our relationship with the Austrian Embassy and our collaboration with universities in Austria), the Foreign Liaison Officer Ms. Meggy Kantert and friends of  our university from Europe and America (especially Dr. Dave Miklos), all marathon runners, press men and women, security officers, members of the ceremonies committee, all members of staff of our university and GO University Group of Institutions, members of Godfrey Okoye University Alumni Association, members of Parents Forum, GO Choir (led by our Music Director Eric Mbaeze), fresh graduates, Student Council of Honour, students of GO and IEcE, children and pupils of Godfrey Okoye University Creche, Nursery and Primary Schools, students

of  Godfrey Okoye University Secondary School and all our guests and friends. Thank you all! 

Your Excellencies, Your Lordships, erudite scholars, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, sweet is the beginning and sweet will be the end of this occasion. The plot of our narrative continues to twist and grow with tentacles in all imaginable directions, making our narrative an incredibly fascinating narrative of hard work and God’s tremendous grace. Thank you and God bless you all! 

Rev. Fr. Prof. Dr.  Christian Anieke

Vice Chancellor