GHS NYASOSO EX-STUDENTS CELEBRATE THEIR SILVER JUBILEE+10 IN NYASOSO FROM MAY22nd-24th

GHS NYASOSO EX-STUDENTS CELEBRATE THEIR SILVER JUBILEE+10 FROM MAY 22nd – 24th 2009 IN NYASOSO
By
Jerry Ehabe Nnange-Masango

In the life of humans, institutions, associations, organisations and nations, there is the tradition of commemorating or celebrating certain periods. Most institutions fall in the bracket that celebrates 25, 40 and 50 years interval of existence called silver, ruby or golden jubilee. GHS Nyasoso, under the auspices of NEXSA, was supposed to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1999 but for some managerial inadequacies at the last minute. This failure had an attendant effect in that thereafter, the Association fell into inactivity. The moribund Association thus became overweighed by the debt of not celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Alma Mater. Renascent in 2007, the Association charted a road map that comprised, inter alia, the paying of the debt by organising the celebration of the botched silver jubilee 10 years after.
From 22nd – 24th May 2009, Nexsans from far and wide and from all walks of life, stormed GHS Nyasoso their Alma Mater in their numbers to pay that debt by celebrating 35years of existence dubbed Silver + 10 Jubilee. While the 22nd was for arrival and preliminary shows as showed in the programme of activities and, 24th for farewell and departure, the D-day itself of 23rd started as early as 7:30 AM when Nexsans resplendent in their uniform (“ashuabi”), processed from the village to the campus in hierarchical order of admission. 31 batches in all distinguished themselves with sign boards during the procession and photo sessions.
After the breakfast and photo session, the ceremonies officially began at 10 AM under the chairmanship of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of the Division (Kupe-Muanengouba), while the Directors of Ceremonies were NEXSA’s Public Relations Officer, Ebong-Pende Divine and the Vice Principal of GHS, Mr. Nkwelle Alexander. The inscription on the wall “Your presence is re-assuring: your actions like a soothing balm” welcomed delegated and guests into the hall. Prayers were offered by PCC Nyasoso Rev. Pastor Ngomo Dibo and NEXSA’s Buea-based PCC Pastor Ndando Nelson. Underscoring the fact that NEXSA “has gone through thick and thin”, the duo drew inspiration from Jeremiah 31:17 “there is hope for your future says the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country” in the prayer they offered. This was then followed by pouring of libations (i.e. traditional method of praying to God) that was done by the traditional chiefs of Nyasoso I and II. They asked God to bless Nexsans for thinking of their Alma Mater with a view to bringing back the lost glories.
It was essentially a two-phase ceremony that comprised the prize-award and the Silver + 10 Jubilee activities. The prize-award was preceded by priceless speeches and discourses. Though all the talking was important to the students, of invaluable import to them were the two discourses delivered by Nexsans as well as the two presidential addresses that sandwich them; from the Home Chapter President and the National President respectively. The speech of the Home President, the discourses and the speech by the National President in that order, and like those in a similar occasion exactly one year ago, were coincidentally not only brain ticking and conscience pricking but also had a common message, DISCIPLINE, without the different authors knowing a forehand what the other prepared.
1974 (1st Batch) Class Epie Zachary Mesue, addressing the audience in his capacity as the President of the Home Chapter (i.e. Nyasoso) and host of the occasion, delivered a welcome cum history lesson cum wake up call speech. Drawing from his experience as pioneer student and 20 year serving teacher in his very Alma Mater, he made the audience laugh, sob and shed tears and as he delicately negotiated various turns and twists in his speech.
Picking the cue from the President of the Home Chapter, Diaspora Ewane James Sumelong from Botswana, who had come home purposefully for the Jubilee, presented the first discourse entitled Learning, Living and Cheating. When the physically rotund 1975 (2nd Batch) Class NEXSAN mounted the lectern and read out or rather spoke out his discourse in rsp, the rotundity of his intellect was obvious to one and all. He clinically diagnosed the why, the when and the how of cheating, exposed its nefarious effects while prescribing a treatment for it. If you have been living strictly by the adage “the end justifies the means”, this discourse debunks that fallacy. More importantly, after the discourse had hovered over the heads of the target population, the students, like a good sermon it landed on NEXSA where the phenomenon of cheating is a cankerworm.
The 2nd discourse came from 1979 (6th Batch) Class Ebong Balbina Mesue. This much more than a pretty face holder of a PhD, in a second successive time in the history of NEXSAN sponsored graduation/prize- award ceremony, invoked her Muse of creative writing, to painstakingly make available not only for the students but for humanity as a whole, a compendium of well-articulated maxims on Discipline worth having for keeps.
The National President’s address concluded speeches from Nexsans while going ahead to expound on the meat of the occasion. It is a speech that touched on all the nooks and crannies of our Association and pricks our conscience about our duty to ourselves instead of rendering lips service. Here it ties very well with Ewane James’ discourse on cheating.
These speeches and discourses are attached here for you to relish. Requests are rife that these “papers” should feature in the 3rd edition of the NEXSAN Magazine; the 2nd edition called Special Edition as it was dedicated to the Silver +10 Jubilee was launched during these ceremonies.
The S.D.O’s address came at the hills of the National President’s speech. He said he was pleased and happy to be part of these ceremonies and wished he was a NEXSAN. He talked of the change of budgetary head from construction of classrooms to renovation of buildings and the execution of the renovation which was evident on the chapel, administrative block and refectory. He however said there was much to be done and called on Nexsans continued partnership because Cameroon has moved from “l’etat qui fait tout to l’etat entrepreneur”.
The other speeches by the Principal, the PTA and the Girls Senior Prefect will be posted online after you have digested the first batch of speeches mentioned above.
As it has become the tradition of GHS Nyasoso, the award of prizes kicked off with the award for Discipline and the novelty in it this time around was that there was a prize for discipline for each of the 5 first cycle classes instead of one for the whole school as was the case last year. A curiosity about the laureates of the prizes for discipline was that they were all girls! As far as the other prizes were concerned, another novelty this year was that there were only the first prizes unlike last year where there were first, second and third prizes. A third novelty this year was that instead of pooling all the prizes like last year, special prizes were awarded according to the wish(es) of the donors. These special prizes ended the prize-award exercise. These special prizes were:
From Mme Tembe Anne: Best economics student Form V.
From Mrs. Gladys Inoni:50.000 FRS (Fifty Thousand Francs) CFA to the best all round Form 5 male student that did 5 years in Nyasoso.50.000 FRS (Fifty Thousand Francs) CFA to the best all round Form V female student that did 5years in Nyasoso. Also,100.000 FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA was given to best all round Upper Sixth student that did 7 years in Nyasoso.
NEXSA did award prizes of NEXSAN ashuabi (uniform) to members of staff too as follows: the Principal, the Vice Principal, the Secretary Grand Jimmy and the longest serving academic staff member. NEXSA equally awarded ashuabi to the chiefs of Nyasoso I and II. Meanwhile, Bume Ada Olive Ngolle redeemed her pledge at the fund raising gala by donating a brand new Pentium 4 computer to the school. On the wall of the chapel was a promise the students had for NEXSA. It read: “With marvellous prizes from NEXSA, we shall be responsible future leaders and ‘the sky is our limit’”.
Various stages of the ceremonies were lightened with pauses ballets, choral singing and traditional dances during which Nexsans, overwhelmed with joy sprayed the actors with banker notes.
At the end of the ceremonies in the chapel, the S.D.O. led the planting of the tree near the administrative block to symbolize the green recovery of the lush greenery of the school. It is worth noting here that though in a penultimate preparatory meeting in Nyasoso, the Nat’l Exec earmarked 100.000FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA planting of trees and flowers, Ewane James upon arrival from Botswana and in the ultimate preparatory meeting he attended in Buea donated 100.000 FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA cash on the spot and asked that the previously earmarked money be put back to the coffers to assist in other aspects of preparation for the jubilee! In Nyasoso during the Jubilee celebration, he equally donated 6 packets of beautiful flowers seeds to the school.
In the football match that followed suit, the staff again edged NEXSA by 7 goals to 6 after penalty shoot outs following a full time 60 minutes virgin draw. The NEXSAN team had one female player on the squad in the person of BUME ADA OLIVE NGOLLE; she even missed scoring two goals, one in the early first half and another in the early second half.
The occasion wrapped up with a gala dance in the newly renovated chapel which the NEXSA National President, Lt. Col. Sone Ajang Joseph, had on a personal note transformed to a semi-modern night-club with gadgets he hired all the way from Douala.
24th May saw delegates bidding farewell and departing to their various destinations while being hopeful that since we have gone thus far, the celebration of the ruby in five years time would be a possibility. But Great Nexsans, why don’t we think of transforming the celebrating of the ruby from a possibility to a probability! How? By ceasing to be ceremonial Nexsans and refraining from paying lips service.


Secretary General –Nexsa

A Thank you for contributing to the Diaspora Scholarship Initiative and towards a successful Jubilee +10 and Graduation and Prize Award Ceremonies

Thank you to all for your contributions

The Jubilee +10 and Graduation and Prize Award ceremonies have come and gone and while we wait for the Secretary General of the association to send out his elaborate report of the event as he has always done in the past, I want to herewith, thank members of the Diaspora who participated through our small but organized effort to make the events a reality. And to those who decided to participate directly with the Home Front rather than with the Diaspora Executive, we say to you thank you as well. The Diaspora initiative was based on achieving two goals; (a) to contribute towards the ceremonies, and; (b) to raise funds for the Diaspora Scholarship Initiative. Even though the amount we raised was disproportionate to the number of members we have in the diaspora, we still achieved our goals with the few members that participated.
Even though the ceremonies have passed there are still enormous responsibilities we all owe to our alma mater. Each of us should regard our participation in our alma mater events with pride, as a philanthropic act which, as you know, is a gracious mechanism in nation building. In the months ahead, the Diaspora leadership shall elaborate on the Diaspora Scholarship Initiative which is geared at providing supplementary or partial financial aid support to needy children. We shall be counting on you for your support to make this project a success. Secondly, we shall be counting on all of us to pay our annual dues which I have asked the Nexsan Diaspora Executive Committee (NDEC) to adjust the amount due to the current hardship that most families are facing and also because we intend not to over-burden members with institutional projects as they have other responsibilities.
Before I elaborate or mention the names of those who contributed to the success of the Jubilee +10 event and how the money was spent, I beg to emphasize that this is not to ridicule those who did not contribute but it is an attempt to be transparent. We did ask individuals to make three types of contributions: Jubilee+10--$20.00, annual membership dues $100.00 and Diaspora Scholarship initiative—a minimum of $20.00 annually. The following contributed to the events: Mercy Manga ($220.00), Assumpta Ebung ($120.00), Irene Ejelle Koge ($50.00), Sheila Time ($50.00), Evelyn Epie ($50.00), Jackson Nanje ($120.00), John Epie ($120.00), Polycarp Mbongwo ($100.00), Divine Koge ($50.00), Dr. George Besong ($100.00), Henry Ekwogge ($50.00), Mathias Fowung ($100.00), and Dr. Mazami Tanji (80.000FRS)
(a) The National Executive Committee of the association levied each nexsan five thousand francs (5,000 FRS) towards the financing of the Jubilee +10 and the Graduation and Prize award ceremonies. And out of the more than three hundred (300) Nexsans in the Diaspora, a disappointing fifteen (15) members responded to the call to make this historic event a success. Each member was levied a sum of twenty ($20.00) dollars. The total amount that Nexsans in the Diaspora sent as their contributions to the event is 100,000FRS.
We all understand how difficult times are these days with the ruffled up economy making it difficult to come up with this small demand which was a request made for many months preceding the event by the National Executive Committee. We also understand that other family obligations might have prevented some from responding to the call from our alma mater for help. We also do understand that during the period that financial request was made by the Diaspora Executive many who were active in the e-group all of a sudden became inactive.
(b) The Diaspora Scholarship Initiative is a pilot project that we in the diaspora intend to make it a model one. The idea was conceived by a few members of the Georgia branch who thought giving some disadvantaged children the opportunity to go to school is prudent. The idea was echoed by Dr. Mazami Tanji in London who has been looking for private opportunities as Mrs. Mercy Esambe Manga to sponsor some disadvantaged children. We are quite grateful to these two especially and the rest of you who have responded to this overture resoundingly. Initially, we had anticipated sponsoring six (6) students this academic year beginning in September but donors decided to increase the numbers from six to twelve (12). The PTA shall select twelve students from the current Form One (those going to form two) through Lower sixth (those going to Upper Sixth). The selection shall also be a girl and a boy student from those selected classes. So, therefore, the incoming Form One and the Upper Sixth shall not benefit from this overture.
So far, we were fortunate to raise the total sum of 450,000FRS and the money was sent by the Diaspora Treasurer, Mrs. Assumpta Ebung Alobwede to Mr. Ewane James Sumelong, the Diaspora representative at the Jubilee +10 in Cameroon last Thursday who is expected to open an account at ECOBANK in Cameroon with the signatures of the National President and the National Treasurer. If and when that is done, it shall be made public to all. The total disbursement for this academic year shall be 300,000FRS. In general, the total amount that was sent by Diaspora members, that is for the scholarship and Jubilee +10 ceremonies was 551,000FRS (450,000FRS for the scholarship fund and 100,000FRS for the Jubilee+10 ceremonies).
We are extremely grateful to those of you who contributed and to those whose checks are still on the way. The Scholarship Initiative shall continue and we are therefore pleading with all of us to appeal to our inner consciences to contribute to this fund and to sustain this lofty initiative. The treasurer shall be contacting each and everyone for our annual donations.
Thank you all very much and may the Almighty God continue to provide us with abundance.

Jackson Nanje
Veep Diaspora

A Desparate Plea by a Nexsan for Help

Great NEXSANS. I salute you all. I went, I saw and I wept. The Silver Jubilee+10 and Graduation and Prize Award ceremonies went on well, it was in deed memorable, but I cried when I went around our beloved campus. Our paradise in the jungle is gone!!!
Girls, there is no economic center!!!
Girls and boys, there are no flat pavements
Stones, stones, stones all along the campus
There are no flowers oh!!!! I wept
Grass, grass, grass everywhere
Farmland all along the right side of block Six(6)
No window-pane, no beds few desks oh!!! I wept
Ah! girls and boys all is not yet lost
We can do something. Can’t we?
Let us team up behind the association's leadership and do something
Class of 1975, can’t we?
Oh yes, we can with the Nexsan spirit.
Through God's help, we can.

Anne Tembe
1975 Class.

The piece below is from another Nexsan echoing the plea of Anne Tembe himself an eye-witness to the dilapidating structure of our alma mater.


Great Nexans, We can do something by taking actions; that is, assisting financially. Not just the numerous exchange of ideas and writings as it happened before the just passed occasion. Let's take it a challenge especially to diasporas. Let's say not less than 100,000frs each, but more than that will be welcome.

Njume Henry Kolle (8th batch)

__._,_.___

Commencement Address by Dr. Balbina Mesue on May 2008 Graduation and Prize Award Ceremonies in GHS Nyasoso.

Graduating into a Successful Life
(A Paper presented on the occasion of the Graduation / Prize – award ceremony in GHS Nyasoso on 24th May 2008)

     This presentation is done to help stimulate your minds and to set you thinking not only about your present success but your success into adult life. Some people go on through secondary / high school successfully while others drop out on the way. The question is – where do you want to belong? With those who have gone through and come out successfully or with those who dropped out and stayed down there?
So far your education has been done in stages. The main purpose of primary education was to give you a basis for education in general – a herald to learning on another level. In secondary / high school the emphasis changes. There is so much to learn that you have to be offered, and to accept, what ever most people can agree on as a fact – and this is where your teacher comes in. He chooses, interprets these facts and comes out with sensible explanations so that you don’t feel terribly puzzled about them. Teachers also act as a model of what you expect to be when you leave school. “Children”, it is said, “have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”. Teachers therefore do their very best not only to be heard but to set good standards for you to imitate.

     Apart from taking your studies seriously (and this is mandatory) so that you can succeed, many other options count, like developing your talents in a safe and caring environment like Nyasoso. The paradox of education is precisely this; that as one begins to learn and become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he/she is being educated and tries to make that society better than he met it. You can make your present society better by exploring the options that are available to you in your school – in both the curricular and extra curricular activities beginning with the very basic activities like joining the school’s sport teams, playing in the school band, taking the lead in a school play, or writing in a school magazine. Yes, I mean writing, because even though we are brought up in a society where very few want to read what you have written, you still have to cultivate the talent if you don’t have one or develop it if you’ve got one. You have to strive to develop an independent mind although it is nearly impossible to become an educated person in a society so distrustful of the independent mind. Writing should give you the independence and the experience you need in life. Experience, it is said, is a private and a very largely speechless affair. Something no one can take from you.

     To succeed in life you should try as much as possible to develop your talents. Every person has specific gifts, talents and strengths. William Mathew, a writer, said “one well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged is worth a 100 shallow faculties.” When you graduate from here try as much as possible to do what your heart tells you. Deep down inside you, if you are a musician, make music, if you are a footballer, play football, if you are a teacher, teach and if you happen to become a street sweeper, (which I don’t hope for), then sweep them properly. Do the best with whatever you are doing. The hardest battle you will face in adult life and never stop fighting is to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you someone else. The easiest thing to be in the world is you and the most difficult to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position. Some of the most discontented people you know in life are those who are trying to do something they are not supposed to do. To succeed in life, dare to be yourself. The former US president Abraham Lincoln said” whatever you are, be a good one”! A great artist wrote this “my mother said to me “if you become a soldier, you will become a general, and if you become a monk you will end up as a Pope.” Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso!” Resolve to be yourself, always!!

     Nurture your talent for writing if you have the gift or cultivate one if you haven’t. The greatest significance of the present student generation is that it is through them that the point of view of the subjugated is finally and inexorably being expressed. Writing helps in another domain. With enough practice it can lure you into a profession. Of course, the price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an immediate knowledge of its ugly side. However, when you discover the ugly side to a chosen profession try not to quit. Storms, they say, come for a reason, but they also come for a season. If you discover the reason, you can grow wiser and when you outlast the season, you grow stronger. You never accomplish anything worthwhile in life if you quit because only losers quit.

     Another successful link into the future will be to start thinking about a future career. Do you feel as if there is a huge gap between you and your future career destination? Then you have to overcome the fear of making a decision. You probably feel secure now because your decisions are still made for you by your parents and teachers. How do you overcome the fear of starting when you need to make your own decisions? You reach big goals by taking smaller steps! Edmund Burke, a British statesman and philosopher once said, “Nobody makes the greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little”. If you don’t decide what is important in your life, someone else will decide it for you. A wise person makes his own decisions; an ignorant one follows public opinion. While it is tempting to think that the amount of time required is still too long, those days and years will pass and pass quickly. When the time comes, try to fight fear. Fear, is a poor chisel to carve out your tomorrows. If you are looking at your future from a position of fear, then your view is inaccurate and distorted. It is never safe to look into the future with the eyes of fear. One of the greatest discoveries you can make in life is to find out that you can do what you were afraid you couldn’t do. Try to conquer fear. Don’t put water into your own boat. The storms of life will put enough in on their own. Trust yourself and God and take the first step when the time comes for you to make a decision.

     In trusting yourself you have to overcome life-limiting thoughts. What do I mean by life-limiting thoughts? They are those thoughts that squash your self-esteem. Self-esteem has to come from “self”. That is why it is difficult to believe the good things people say about you when you can’t see them in yourself. Labels tend to stick. When we are young and our parents and teachers say things like “he’ll never be smart”, “she will never get far in school” “he is so slow” we tend to carry those life-limiting thoughts around for the rest of our lives. Fortunately, you alone can know your potentials. Others can stop you temporarily, but you are the only one who can do it permanently. There are thousands to prophesy failure for you! So buckle up, push up your shirtsleeves and tackle that thing that “cannot be done” and you will do it. The bookends of success are commitment and consistency. Without commitment you will never start. Without consistency you will never finish. Getting started is the hardest part.

     In future, think big. Go farther than you can see. Dare to think unthinkable thoughts and dare to see where no one is looking. Like they say if the shoe fits, do not wear it – you are not allowing room for growth. Successful people know about the ineffectiveness of “living within your means”. Actually, “means” means “average” and when you decide to live within your means, you have decided to live an average life. Do this: know your limits – your means, then ignore them and forge ahead. Act bigger, believe larger and associate higher. Your outlook in life determines your outcome. So make your plans BIG. But in everything you do put God first.

     In your adult life you will find that the road to success is always under construction and success and growth are unlikely if you always do things the same way you have always done. Can you count how many people you know who are literally on the same place today as they were 5years ago? They still have the same problems, the same alibis, the same opportunities. They are standing still! You have enough room to grow, to learn and to improve. Try to learn from everyone. From one person learn what to do and from another learn what not to do. You can learn more from a wise man when he is wrong than from a fool who is right. Wise people sometimes change their minds, fools never do. It is a sign of strength to make changes when necessary. Changes come with learning and learning goes with reading. Only hungry minds can grow so cultivate the habit of reading. W. Fusselman said “today a reader, tomorrow a leader”. It’s fun to keep reading. Reading leads to learning and learning brings life into your life!

     For you to succeed in life there is need for you to communicate. Communication makes the world go round. Being able to communicate effectively is what gets you through each day, both now and in your professional life. Communication is very important if things need to work effectively. A man was walking down the street when he saw another man struggling with a machine in the doorway of his home. He volunteered to help and the owner was very happy. After several minutes of fruitless struggle the man said to the owner “we’ll never get this machine in there” to which the owner replied in amazement “in”? I’m trying to get it out!! There was no communication between the two people from the beginning. Your success in life depends on your ability to communicate effectively.

     Another chance for you to succeed in life is to invest in relationships: Being connected to others is one of life’s greatest joys and so life’s best comes when we invest in solid relationships. Some of the most lasting relationships are the ones that are formed while we are still in school. Natural talent, intelligence, a wonderful education – none of these guarantees success. You don’t win fame, recognition or advancement just because you think you deserve it. Someone else has to think so too. An old adage says: “if you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl, but when you associate with eagles, you will learn how to fly to great heights”! Think! You become like those with whom you associate closely – for the good or the bad! Anytime you tolerate mediocrity in others it increases your own mediocrity. Like it is said, “if you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas!” The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. So start investing in solid relationships because you will need real friends to celebrate your life’s achievements.

     Talking about life’s achievements, repeating the same lessons over and over means you are not learning enough. Study those who have succeeded where you want to succeed, in order to know what to do. Someone once said “learn from the mistakes of others; you will never live long enough to make them all yourself”. To climb to a successful height some of these guidelines may be useful
Don’t shrink away from the people whose experience and expertise are greater than your own. We all struggle in certain areas but if you shrink away, your insecurity may be misinterpreted as arrogance.
Don’t try to impress people by seeking to be their intellectual equal. If you find yourself in a discussion that intimidates you, listen carefully and ask questions. Talk only about what you know and listen attentively to what you don’t.
Don’t come to class unless you have done your home work. And by class here I mean every thing that is a challenge in your life. When you start going higher in life, prepare your speech, your wardrobe and your mind. Consult a trusted friend who understands where you are and where you need to go. If you can’t find one, then read until you grasp the basics. Thank God for the internet with its every available subject!

Talking about consulting a trusted friend; in life you will find that there are about three kinds of friends:
     The users – those who reach for your strengths but carefully avoid your weaknesses. When trouble hits your life, the users distance themselves. Don’t hold them against it. They are just insecure and self-serving.
     The cautious: these are in the majority in life. When you are in trouble, they will wait to see if you get out of it. And even then, they will keep their options open. Before they accept you, they will first check to see who else does.
     The committed; an old adage says “in the good times our friends know us, in the bad times we know our friends” Even a handful of committed friends are good for you. Protect these relationships through life and they will help you reach your goal.

     And if I’m not succeeding you may ask. Then think about this. There are about three success myths that ensnare us and which you will come in contact with as soon as you enter adult life.
We believe success is the result of opportunity. That is, being in the right place at the right time, so we wait. People who do nothing more than wait for opportunity are neither able to see it nor seize it when it comes.
     We think that success comes from having leverage, that is, the ability to influence what people do. So we work for it by looking for ways of manipulating people.
We believe that success comes from connections, so we strive to make them. People who believe in connections think “they would have made it” if only they had been born into the right family or met the right person. Knowing good people has its rewards, but connections alone won’t improve your life if you are off track, that is, if you don’t work hard.

     Hard work should however go hand in hand with integrity and character: Character is the real foundation of all worthwhile success. People who work hard on their image than on their integrity don’t understand when they suddenly fail in life. In ancient China the people wanted security against the barbaric hoards from the North, so they built The Great Wall. It was so high that nobody could climb over it and so thick that nobody could break it down. So they settled back to enjoy their security. During the first 100 years of the wall’s existence China was invaded three times. Not once did the enemy break down the wall or climb over it. Each time they bribed the gatekeeper and marched right through without a problem! The Chinese were so busy relying on their wall that they neglected to teach their children integrity!
     Image, or the outward look, promises much and produces little, integrity never disappoints. Someone once asked the question “would your reputation recognize your character if they met in the dark?” Your integrity or lack of it always has consequences. Integrity should help you make the right choice in your life anytime. There should be no inconsistency between what you appear to be in life and what your family and friends know you are, whether in good times or bad times. Socrates the great philosopher once said, “the key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be”. He was right!

     So graduates, the world is at your door steps. Successful people in life don’t necessarily have to be more educated. They just have to have enough enthusiasm. Fire cannot be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in your daily work lightens effort and turns even labour into pleasant tasks and this includes preparing for your exams. Nothing in the world will help you succeed as the knowledge that there is a purpose in your life. Good luck!!

Prepared and presented by
Balbina Mesame Mesue Ebong (PhD)
NEXSAN 6th batch (Class of 1979)