The Acting Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Dr. Salisu Ogbo Usman has called on newly admitted students to be focused, determined and committed to their dreams.
The rector gave the charge in his address on Friday at the 27th matriculation ceremony of the Polytechnic held at the convocation arena of the main campus in Lokoja on Friday.
He charged them to pursue their dreams without allowing their family background and or any forms of affiliation to discourage them.
The rector admonished the matriculants to draw inspiration from his humble beginning in the course of their academic pursuits.
“My mother is a petty trader, and my father is a subsistence farmer. Both of them lacked the opportunities to be enrolled for western education because of the handicaps of their parents. My mother, being aware of the huge educational gap in our family was determined to change the course. She used the proceeds of her petty trading to send me to school. Today, I have attained the pinnacle of academic qualification which is a Doctor of Philosophy.
“In the same vein, if class and backgrounds are the sole prerequisite for appointment as Rector of this great institution, my name might not have been listed amongst the first 100 candidates from my Local Government Area alone. Rather, it was the act of benevolence and avowed determination of His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello to provide equal opportunities for all Kogites irrespective of class, ethnic and religious affiliations to showcase their innate talent, competence and garnered experiences that brought me to this level.
“My background, age and the barrier breaking inclinations of His Excellency should therefore reinvigorate your hope, build your confidence and boost your aspiration as you journey through this great Institution and beyond,” he said.
Dr Salish urged the students to shun cultism and other social vices, warning that the institution will that outlawed activities will attract sanctions.
“You should be informed that the institution has zero tolerance for all vices including cultism, examination malpractices, fighting, cybercrimes, violence, gangsterism, stealing and indecent dressing. We reiterate that while noble acts attract rewards, all vices equally attract heavy sanctions.
“Cultism, for instance, is completely prohibited on our campus. Accordingly, all the security architecture of the Polytechnic has both overt and covert prohibitive mechanism to deal with the cultists, their sympathizers and their sponsors. Stay safe and stay free of cult-related life. Report any luring moves from any quarters to the security unit.
“Similarly, the Polytechnic encourages students to dress modestly and in accordance with acceptable standards. Therefore, undue exposure of body parts that may appear offensive to the sensibilities of others will be severely sanctioned.
“In line with our core mandates, therefore, we have put necessary arrangement in place to polish you with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable you meet up with the earnest expectation of the outside world. Accordingly, while class room learning facilities are abundantly adequate, we equally have different trades and skills acquisition facilities in our entrepreneurship centre and our ambitiously aggressive ICT development initiatives to make you all-round graduates,” he added.
In his goodwill message, Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones commended the Acting Rector for the remarkable transformation of the school within a short time.
The Commissioner added said his ministry will collaborate with Kogi State Polytechnic on its upcoming initiative which aimed at inspiring pupils.
In separate remarks, the Kogi State Commandants of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Idris Fika and his counterpart from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Mr. Maigari Peters assured the Polytechnic of their readiness to partner with the institution in the area of security of lives and properties.
The Polytechnic matriculated 9,033 students; 6,708 into the Nation Diploma (ND) and 2,325 into Higher National Diploma (HND) programs of the institution.
