Matriculation Speeches

CENTRAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE MATRICULATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT PROFESSOR VICTOR P. Y. GADZEKPO, FGA DURING THE 10TH MATRICULATION CEREMONY HELD ON 20TH AND 21ST DECEMBER 2007.

Mr. Chancellor Registrar, Central University College Deans of Schools Lecturers Students Matriculants Parents Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me welcome all of you to the tenth matriculation ceremony of this our noble university. Today’s gathering is to formally and publicly admit fresh men and women into the rights and privileges of Central University College as we have just witnessed. Such a ceremony offers the opportunity for us to give information to the public about developments, achievements and concerns of the institution.

DEVELOPMENTS: Central University College has finally got approval from the National Accreditation Board to start the Environment and Development Studies programme in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Seven students were admitted to the programme and were matriculated this evening. The number of students admitted to the school each year is on the increase. This shows that our University is fast becoming a preferred choice. This year the University admitted 2833 students into the various programmes from level 100 to level 300. These include 79 international students from the United States of America, France, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Guinea, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 550 students of this number are at the Miotso campus and they will be matriculated tomorrow.

As usual the female/male ratio still remains in favour of the women, that is 46% male and 54% female. The following programmes are offered in the university: School of Business Management and Administration (SBMA): BSc. Administration with the following options: Accounting, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Banking and Finance, Agribusiness Management, Management Studies.

School of Theology and Missions (STM) B.A. degree in Family Counselling, Christian Education and Church Administration. MA and M.Phil. programmes in Theology.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has commenced the newly accredited programme in Environment and Development Studies. This is in addition to B.A. French, English and Economics. This faculty is now in its third year. The programmes have been made flexible such that students are free to combine their course offering for example French, English with any other course. This flexibility will be extended to all programmes in the University.

MBA SCHOOL The Pioneer students in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme are now in the third out of four stages in their programme. The 18-month programme has the following options: Finance Human Resource Management Marketing Management and General MBA

I hope most of you will take advantage of the MBA programme after completion of your current studies. Our programmes as you realise are worker friendly as provision is made for all categories of students. We offer programmes in the following sessions:

Morning, Afternoon, Evening and Weekend.

Community Service: The Board of Regents at its last meeting decided that every student must be involved in one form of community service or the other during his or her stay in the University. It will be part of the requirements for graduation. This is to inculcate the sense of patriotism, good citizenship and leadership in our students. This community service may involve offering helping hand to students in deprived Basic Schools in the form of assisting them with their homework or helping market women with new ways of doing things. The Academic Board is working out the details which will be made know to all of you soon. Mr. Chancellor, I am happy to announce to you that the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has this year approved the donation of a number of computers and photocopiers to the University in addition to books and journals for the library. Last year they donated 30 computers, 10 printers, 2 heavy duty photocopiers, 3 air conditioners and books worth 150 million cedis to our University College. The total cost of all these items came to GH¢75,000. We want to use this opportunity to let the government know that we very much appreciate this gesture. We look forward to receiving more support from her. Now that we are preparing to offer Science programmes, Science equipment for Biology, Chemistry and Physics Laboratories would be very much appreciated.

Achievements The University has completed the first phase of its permanent campus at Miotso and has since 19th September 2007 moved the General Administration of the University there. We have 550 students also pursuing business programmes there. For us this is a great achievement and we are grateful to God for it. It is the greatest thing that had happened to us in recent times. Hostels have been provided for the students outside the campus.

Reading Rooms Reading rooms have been created for you students on the first floor of the main mataheko building. We have employed a number of Library staff to help you with books in the reading rooms. Please take advantage of this.

Science Programmes The University is determined to offer Science programmes. In this vain we have submitted curriculum document to the National Accreditation Board to offer

Doctor of Pharmacy, Bachelors degree in Nursing, Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Bachelors degree in Physician Assistantship Studies and Architecture. We have put up a state of the art Science laboratory and have acquired a number of science equipment for this purpose. The National Accreditation Board has paid a visit to our permanent campus at Miotso and has sent subject panels to assess the Doctor of Pharmacy, Nursing and Civil Engineering programmes. We hope the team for the Physician Assistantship Studies and Architecture Programmes will visit soon. We are hoping that these programmes will be accredited early enough for us to admit student into them. This will be a direct response to the recent call by H. E President Agyekum Kufuor and Otuomfouo Osei Tutu II that private Universities should introduce Science and Technology into their programme offerings.

Matriculants Congratulations to our matriculants. You are looking very smart in your SRC cloth. You look pretty and handsome this evening/morning. You must be very proud to be students of Central University College. We are also very glad that you made this institution your preferred choice. Tell more of your friends to come and join us. You have heard a lot about the University’s principles during your orientation but for the purpose of emphasis, I would take this opportunity to remind you that the philosophy of this University is founded on Christian principles and values. Our emphasis is on training devout, well-grounded leaders, executives, analysts, entrepreneurs, and industrialists who would meet the challenges of our time and serve as positive influence in society. We cannot achieve this if we do not address your moral and spiritual needs alongside the academic needs. We are all aware that government has removed Religious and Moral Education from the schools’ curriculum. The University therefore has a greater responsibility to take up the task of inculcating in you good moral values. You cannot train the mind alone and leave out the morals. Such individuals will be of no use to the society. I therefore call on private Universities to take up this challenge in inculcating good moral values into the lives of their students. We at Central University will accept the challenge to work on the moral character of our students to make them transformational leaders. This can only happen if you our students give us the chance to do so. When we correct you it is because we love you. This should make you better citizens for Ghana. To achieve the aim of character development, we have put several structures in place. Various preachers are invited to minister the word of God to you during Chapel service every week on the various campuses. This is to edify you spiritually. You are to read a number of set books in your Christian Ethics class. You are to pay attention to the characters in the books and apply them to your lives.

We desire that you to conform to all the rules and regulations of the university, as you signed the covenant when you were admitted. We are very particular about the dress code and wish that you would all dress appropriately and decently to school and even outside school so you can serve as role models for others. Skimpy and short blouses, spageti straps or bear backs, very short skirts and very tight trousers for example are not allowed on our campuses. It has become a fashion these days for the young men to put on earrings and braid their hair. Some even grow dreadlocks and wear trousers with holes in them and some dirty looking jeans. These are all not considered appropriate dressing for this university. In case you signed the covenant of the school without reading the content, please look on the notice boards where they have been posted and do well to abide by the principles and values spelt out in it. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Even though we would not expect you to look as beautiful and immaculate as you do today, as future or even present Business Executives it is our desire to see you dressed at least close to what you have done today. Let us also support the government’s initiative by putting on African costumes on Fridays as most of you have done today. Another sore point in educational institutions is examination malpractice. It is our hope that CUC students would dare to be different in this area. Please do not indulge in any form of examination malpractice because if you are caught, there is a very heavy price to pay for it. As students of Central University College, we are trying to inculcate the virtue of integrity in you therefore examination malpractice must not be mentioned among you. Mr. Chancellor, this brings me to my next point that affects integrity. We are currently checking all the admitted students’ SSSCE or WASSCE results with the WAEC office to ensure that what the students brought for admission are correct. Any student discovered to have faked his or her results would be withdrawn from the University and handed over to the Police for Fraud. My dear students, especially the youth, mobile phones are tools that are useful but their usefulness depends on how you manage them. They can be a nuisance and can waste your time if you do not know how to manage them well. The time you use to read and send text messages on the mobile phone can be used for your books. It is important that you pay particular attention to your studies and take them seriously in order to make the grade. Any student with more than two E’s or a CGPA less than 1.0 is automatically withdrawn from the university. Last academic year 22 students were withdrawn for non performance. It is compulsory for all of you to study French. This is to make you more marketable in this competitive era.

It is important that you take note of deadlines set for paying school fees. We are a private university as you know and as such school fees are important to us as it is our only source of income for the day to day running of the University. If you have any difficulties that need to be addressed by the school authorities, please do not hesitate to approach the Students Affairs Coordinator or his representatives on all the campuses. He is a father and would give you a listening ear and advise you on what to do. The Chaplain’s office is also available to you for counselling in case you need that. Finally, let me remind you of the matriculation oath that you have just taken. By taking the oath and signing the matriculation register, you have made a faithful promise on your honour to abide by all the contents of the oath. Remember, students of Central University College are leaders of tomorrow and as such you are very special. We expect the best of behaviour from you. Congratulations again on your matriculation and a warm welcome to this noble institution. Enjoy your stay at Central University College and make the most out of the opportunity. May The Lord bless you while you are here at CUC May He help you in your studies May He protect you on this campus May He open doors for you in the future. May He grant you good health in the coming year. AMEN

I wish all of you well while you study in this university. Let me take the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year in advance.

May the Lord bless us all.

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MATRICULATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT PROFESSOR VICTOR PATRICK YAO GADZEKPO, FGA DURING THE 7TH MATRICULATION CEREMONY HELD ON 17TH NOVEMBER, 2005.

Mr. Chancellor

Registrar, Central University College

Deans of Schools

Lecturers

Students

Matriculants

Parents

Brothers and Sisters

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me welcome all of you to the seventh matriculation ceremony of this wonderful university. It is beautiful to see the matriculants dressed smartly and looking their very best for the occasion. We hope you will keep this standard of dressing throughout your stay in the university.

Mr. Chancellor, matriculation ceremonies are usually held to formally and publicly admit or receive fresh students into the rights and privileges of a university, even as we have done today. The ceremony also gives us the opportunity to give some information to the public. I would therefore like to crave your indulgence to say a few words about Central University College.

Mr. Chancellor, Central University College, over the years has concentrated its programmes in two schools: the School of Business Management and Administration (SBMA) and the School of Theology and Missions (STM). The School of Business Management and Administration offers the following degree programmes: B.Sc. Administration (Accounting Option, Marketing Option and Human Resource Management option) B.Sc. (Banking and Finance) B. Sc. (Agribusiness Management) B. Sc. (Management) BA (Secretaryship)

The School of Theology and Missions on the other hand offers a degree programme in Theology. The School also runs MA and M.Phil. programmes in Theology.

In responding to the demands of the time, Central University College has introduced new programmes, which started from this academic year. The new programmes in the School of Theology and Missions are as follows: BA (Family Therapy) BA (Christian Education) and BA (Church Administration)

These new programmes are unique. We believe they will be of great benefit to present day churches.

The School of Business Management and Administration is in the process of introducing an MBA programme. The MBA is a 15-month programme with the following options: Finance Human Resource Management Risk and Insurance Management Marketing Management and General MBA and Health Care Economics and Management

We are currently seeking accreditation from the National Accreditation Board to commence this programme. We hope to start in January 2006 by which time we expect to have received accreditation.

I am happy to inform you that the National Accreditation Board has given accreditation for the commencement of a third faculty called the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

This faculty is made up of the Department of French, Department of English and the Department of Economics. These Departments will offer degree programmes in French, English, Economics and combinations with other courses. We as a university now have three faculties. We are indeed grateful to the National Accreditation Board for the prompt attention they accorded our request to start

the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. We are hoping that these programmes would be over subscribed within the coming years.

Mr. Chancellor, this year the University received a total of about 2000 applications. Admission was offered to 1500 candidates. Out of this number a total of 1154 students reported and registered for the programmes. Included in this number are 10 international students.

This number is made up of 44 % males and 56 % females. The male to female ratio in our university is an interesting one. The percentages are the same as that of last year. Perhaps we need to put measures in place to encourage more male students to apply for our programmes.

23 students were admitted into the new faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The following is the break down of students admitted into the other two schools: Morning School - 375; Evening School – 412 and Weekend School – 410. For the first time we have a number of students showing interest in attending the weekend session, which we think is a very good sign.

Now let me turn to the matriculants. You must be very proud to be students of Central University College. Let me take this opportunity to remind you that the philosophy of this University is founded on Christian principles and values. Our emphasis is on producing devout, well-grounded leaders, executives, analysts, entrepreneurs, industrialists and scientists who would meet the challenges of our time and serve as positive influence in society. We cannot achieve this if we do not address your moral and spiritual needs alongside the academic needs. We have put several structures and measures in place, to address these needs. We expect you to avail yourselves of these structures and make good use of them.

These days the youth in our society are loosing their values. Through the Internet and too much watching of unproductive movies on television, the youth have acquired strange values, which leave much to be desired. This has made our young ladies take delight in wearing skimpy and short blouses, very short skirts and very tight trousers. They dress to expose parts of their bodies, which under normal circumstances should be covered. This provocative dressing is part of the moral canker that has made its way into our society. We at Central University College frown on this. We do not expect you to dress in that manner. We expect you to conform to the dress code that you have signed and be a role model for others.

It has also become a fashion these days for young men to put on earrings and braid their hair. Some even grow dreadlocks and leave their trousers to hang at their buttocks, calling the style “Oto Fister”. Such fashion is totally unacceptable on our campuses. We have empowered the lecturers and staff to drive you out of the lecture halls, offices and campuses should you contravene the dress code.

Mobile phones are tools that are useful but their usefulness depends on how you use them. They can be a nuisance and can waste your time if you do not know how to manage them. The time you use to read and send unnecessary texts on the mobile phone can be used for your books.

As students of Central University College, what ever you do must be of good report.

It is important that you pay particular attention to your studies and take them seriously in order to make the grade.

Remember that if you do not make the grade you will be withdrawn from the university and all the money, time, energy and other resources would have been wasted.

It is compulsory for all of you to study French. This is to make you more marketable in this competitive era. However difficult the study of French may seem, you should be steadfast and apply yourselves to it. To facilitate the learning of French, we are in the process of setting up a ¢500 million language laboratory. This language laboratory is almost ready. It is located in the Stone house just behind this dais. It will be commissioned once it is completed hopefully before the year ends. You will appreciate the study of French when you graduate from the University.

Finally, let me remind you of the matriculation oath that you have just taken. An oath is a formal promise made or a solemn declaration made on ones honour. By taking the oath and signing the matriculation register, you have made a faithful promise on your honour to abide by all the contents of the oath therein. We expect you to abide by them.

Remember, students of Central University College are leaders of tomorrow and as such you are very special to us. We expect the best of behaviour from you.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on your matriculation and to welcome you warmly to this noble institution. Enjoy your stay at Central University College and don’t just pass through the University but allow the University to pass through you.

I want to wish all of you well while you study in this university.

May the good Lord bless us all.

Amen.

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SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE CHANCELLOR - MATRICULATION 2001

CHANGE OF DESTINY

The future of Africa must be totally different from its past. We who are here have been called and have enlisted into a process of changing the destiny of our continent particularly of our nation Ghana, and it is heartening to note that in the last elections, the two major political parties all campaigned on the need for change. That indicated that we had come to a point in our own realization that where we are headed was not very promising and that we needed to head in a totally new and different direction. The NDC campaigned on the need for progressive change, which seemed to me like the campaign of the other parties in our pre-independence era for self-government in the shortest possible time, and the NPP campaigned on positive change, which seemed to me like selfgovernment now.

The people of this nation have become very impatient with our own underdevelopment and as a result we are ready to make the necessary changes that will be required to bring about the difference that we desire.

WHY YOU ARE HERE For those of you who have become part of this University, over four hundred of you chose to be students in this place. In making that choice you were also aware of the cost of being in this place; and I do not think you made that choice out of convenience; but I am convinced that you made that choice out of a sense of purpose and mission. You wanted to belong to a place that you felt your life would be well-shaped to face your own personal hopes and aspirations, as well as contributing to our nation’s endeavours.

OUR MOTTO

The Central University College has as its motto three words: FAITH, INTEGRITY and EXCELLENCE. In making the choice to be part of this University, you committed yourself to those three cardinal truths on which this University is built. “Except the Lord builds the house they labour in vain that build it,” and the need and the burden of our human efforts, with our faith in God, are translated into responsible actions in our day-to-day choices.

FAITH IN GOD

Our faith in God must not become what Karl Max termed as the “Opium of the people”. Our faith in God must not obscure our response or deaden our alertness to the demands in our community. Faith must not make us so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. Faith in God must produce works. Scripture says faith without works is dead. So when we introduce you to faith in God, we are not introducing you to nostalgic religion. We are introducing you to a vital relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ which must result in an improved quality of life. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself has said that he had come so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. The abundant life of Jesus Christ is not a life that is seen only in its longevity, but life that is seen in its quality improvement and quality deliverance. So our faith must produce works, and our faith must demonstrate the God we serve and worship. If the Lord is good, then our works must be good. If the Lord is merciful, our works must be merciful. If the Lord is mighty then our works must also be mighty.

INTEGRITY

We are also committed to integrity, which of late has become a political word that is used without real practice. Integrity simply means a life that is complete, whole and total where what we do in private and what we do in public are all in agreement. Integrity means that we live an upright life and a righteous life, a pure and wholly life. That means we commit ourselves to moral integrity to live life, overcome temptations that come our way. There is the temptation to fulfill your own personal desires instead of living for a higher ideal that God demands from us. There is the temptation to fall into that which is very easy for you to do instead of struggling to do what is difficult for you to do. Temptation always calls us to go lower, while God calls us to go higher. Temptation calls us to yield, while God wants us to stand firm. One of the reasons why Africa is where it is today is because of the immoral leadership we have had for a very long time. Leadership that has elevated corruption of virtue, corruption of character, corruption of choices, corruption of decisions which has resulted in massive mismanagement of our national resources. If we are going to correct the mistakes in our society we need a generation of leaders who have moral uprightness; who can resist the pressure of public office; who can resist temptation and stand firm for what we believe in, which is in the will of God.

MATRICULANTS

You who are being matriculated today are going to have to inculcate this disciplined Christian life into your life. You cannot come to school here and fornicate at the same time; you cannot come to school here and commit adultery at the same time; you cannot come to school her to steal and use profanity and get drunk and defile your body with smoke and tobacco. You cannot come to school here and still live a wayward life, because we believe that character is what is needed to build the future of Ghana.

COMMITMENT

So you are committing yourself to integrity, and as you know, you are going to sign an oath today. If you break that oath you will also “be broken” and you will be asked to seek for your future elsewhere. We are going to try as much as it is in our power as God enables us to demand from you that which is noble; that which is upright and that which is right. So integrity is the cornerstone of our school and it is not only demanded from students but it is also demanded from Faculty and Staff. Leaders must show the way.

EXCELLENCE

We are also committed to excellence. That talks about a desire to go beyond that which has been normally accepted performance. Excellence means you are ready to go beyond the accepted performance limit in order to create new performance opportunities for yourself and for the places you have been working. Ordinances, mediocrity, acceptance of that which is positivity is not accepted here. I believe that ordinariness is even a sin against God, because God is extraordinary and created us to do things that are in his nature.

A CHRISTIAN’S PEFORMANCE

A Christian who performs averagely does not please God with his performance. A Christian must be one who commits himself to above-average and beyond average performance, and I trust that in your performance you will seek to do that. We are going to try your excellence through your academic performance.

You will be taking lessons, and we will be requiring you to respond to questions as you learn.

CONSEQUENCES OF CHEATING

Some of you will be tempted to cheat, and to copy questions on handkerchiefs, in your clothes, on pieces of paper and in other forms. When we catch you, we will teach you how to be upright. If we don’t catch you, life will catch you, because one day you will be demanded to produce what you’ve learnt, and if you didn’t prepare, you will be holding an empty certificate that does not have the backing of your own performance. Remember, nobody will respect your certificate and so you can validate your own certificate by your own performance. So don’t cheat yourself.

CONCLUSION

Give yourself the opportunity to try yourself and to demand the best for yourself. So you have come into a school where your faith will be strengthened, where character will be demanded from you; an excellent performance will also be demanded from you. And in that demand I trust that you will fulfill our expectations, your own expectations and above that God’s expectations. We hope that your stay in this school will be a joyful one. You will have the opportunity to grow your gifts and talents.

Yesterday when I met with the student body, I said that I was very confident that within the next twenty years one of you will become the President of this Country. And when you do, I will come and take a picture with you and frame it in my home. I will shake hands with you, the President, and I will not wash my hand for three days. I want to see you in future and be proud of you. That is the only reward we need; to see that the seed we sowed has borne good fruits. I want to see you in future that you did greater than I did; that which those of us teaching you have never dreamt of doing. The children must be greater than the fathers. That is how society develops. So I wish you God’s best, the fulfillment of your vision, the fulfillment of your dreams, and the realization of your personal ambition in life.

Thank you.

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SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE VICE CHANCELLOR.REV. DR. E. K. LARBI 13th January 2001

The Challenges Of Leadership

“As we mark the third matriculation exercise of this university today, we are again reminded of the goodness of God. It was indeed. Because of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. … The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the one who seeks him" (Lam. 3: 22-23, 25). Our experience as a university community has abundantly demonstrated that God is faithful.

Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen, Africa is starting this century with several challenges. Most of us are painfully aware that Africa is not making much progress in her development agenda. The bulk of our problems border on bad leadership. The crisis of leadership is the greatest threat to an African renaissance.

The African Dream

As the moments tick away into years, the question that should occupy the minds of all well-meaning Ghanaians, and Africans for that matter, is whether or not Africa can claim the 21st century. This question has largely to do with Africa’s development agenda. A recent study commissioned by the Breton Woods institutions provides us with the following dark picture:

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CENTRAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CAROLS NIGHT 18th & 19TH DECEMBER 2007 PRESIDENT’S CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE

Mr. Registrar, Academic and Administrative staff, students, guest choristers and all here present… The celebration of the birth of Christ is the biggest celebration in the lunar calendar and by accident or design it comes at the tail end of the year. The season of Christmas brings people together, giving them the opportunity to say thank you to friends, relatives, loved ones and all others for support and services rendered throughout the year, and to wish each other well for the coming year. It is a time when people give gifts and exchange greeting cards as well as share with the less fortunate or even with friends and loved ones, what has been provided for them by the almighty God. I wish to use this yuletide which is a season for appreciation, reflection and soberness to say thank you to all staff of this university for the support they gave and continue to give throughout the year 2007. No amount of success could have been chocked by the University if it were not for the relentless support and cooperation given by the hard working staff. A special hand of appreciation is extended to those who accepted to relocate from Mataheko to the permanent campus in Miotso since last September. We acknowledge that it was a very bold step taken and a painful sacrifice made by you all, having to report for duty at 7:00 am each day, traveling for 3 hours to and fro as well as getting home late because of the traveling time with all its attendant problems. Through the turbulent days, when school reopened in October, you were again saddled with a lot of problems that surfaced as a result of our unpreparedness for the year. But who completes a house before moving into it. Whilst we are in our own house with our roof on our heads, we put the other structures in place. We believe it is a sacrifice worth making. In the long run, we shall all be remembered for the role we played and sacrifices we made as the pioneers to the Promised Land, Miotso. The STM staff also relocated from Mataheko to Dansoman campus and this was very gracious on their part, considering the inconveniences involved in change in any form. For those who are left on the Mataheko and other campuses, we do appreciate the manner in which you are holding the fort and comporting yourselves, keeping the flame of the University burning. We are very grateful to you all and sincerely hope that you would keep up the good work so that the good Lord will continue to bless and reward you in all that you do for in all good deeds, it is the Lord who rewards. Mr. Registrar and all here present, Christmas is also a time when people take stock of their lives. Stocktaking is a very important principle that promotes growth and development individually as well as collectively. When we examine our lives we would find out where we fall short of the expectations of Christ, to enable us rectify our mistakes and determine to work hard not to repeat those mistakes. If we do not identify our weaknesses, how then can we rectify or amend them? Regular examination of ones life leads to maturity making us increase in our successes and work on our failures to turn them into successes.

Hence at the end of each year, we make resolutions to do things that we did not do or vow not to do the things that we have been doing which we ought not to have done. In our case in Central University College, as students and staff, we need to check how we related with our superiors, our subordinates, our peers, our students and visitors who came to the University in the past year? Did we support each other to make work easier, or appreciate and encouraged each other to make us feel useful or we undermined, frustrated or discouraged others when they put in extra efforts? Did we speak ill about our colleagues and our peers, insulting them behind their backs or delay their work by slowing down the process when things got to our desks or did we call to advise them or guide them drawing their attention to their mistakes or helping them solve their problems when they were in difficulty? Did we insult our students and blackmail them to give us what you wanted or else…………… or did we treat them like our brothers, sisters or our children guiding them and helping them when there was the need? What about your customers/clients, the public who visited our campuses? Were we disrespectful to them and treated them with contempt or we were helpful to them making them feel comfortable to the point that they wished to come again and do business with our University? How about our attitude to work in the year? Did we work lethargically without any form of commitment? Were we late to work most of the time? Did we meet our deadlines? Were there things we should have done but did not do? How about our academic or our study lives? Were we regular and punctual at Lectures? Did we cheat in the examinations? What about assignments? Did we do them diligently without copying from friends? How about our spiritual lives? Were we faithful with our quiet time? What about prayers, Bible study and morning devotion? Did they form part of our daily activities? Was chapel service important to us?

If our answer to any of these questions is not favourable, then we must reexamine ourselves, do a SWOT analysis by identifying our strengths, using it to overcome our weaknesses, resolve to grab every opportunity that comes our way in the year 2008 and ensure that we use all our might to resist any form of threat that would attempt to come near us to be a hindrance to our progress. There is still hope for every one of us. This hope came to all mankind, with the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which we are celebrating at this time of the year. This hope should lead us to greater heights in the coming year. In all that we plan to do this Christmas season, whether to go to the beach, or night clubs, or eat good food, or visit friends or relatives, or go to church, we must remember the essence of the celebration of Christmas which should be Christ centred and ensure that we do nothing that would displease Him. We must make sure that whatever we choose to do will be of good report and the Lord Jesus will not be ashamed to associate with us at the end of the day. Let us remember that He is the only one who can change our lives for the better so if we have any habits we are trying to break, let us call on Him to help us get rid of those old ways that are hampering our match forward. On this note, on behalf of the Board of Regents, Management and on my own behalf, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a bright and prosperous New Year.

Professor V. P. Y. Gadzekpo, FGA PRESIDENT