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Plans are ongoing by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to make a law that will ensure financial grant for members of the public who will take up the responsibility of conducting researches that will aid the government discover background knowledge on key areas of development.
Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon (Barr) Onofiok Luke disclosed this yesterday a one-day Students Mentorship Summit in Uyo, organised by the Chairman of the Joint Campus Committee in Akwa Ibom, Comrade Akwaowo Clifford Ukpong.
Addressing a cross section of students who gathered for the summit, Barr Luke said that the decision of the legislature to make the new law is to encourage citizens’ contributions to the government in its developmental agenda.
He used the medium to reaffirm the commitment of government in making education a top priority in the state, while also commending the current and past state governments in their efforts towards improving on the standard of education in the state.
In his contribution to the mentorship summit which had the theme, “Making The Certificate Practical”, the Speaker charged the students not to be weighed down by the challenges of the current generation, but to rise and build larger capacities for themselves, such that will stand them out among their contemporaries.
Stressing that student unionism had surpassed the era when students had nothing to offer to the society, the leader of the state legislature noted that in the present era, students are expected to contribute to the development of the society through innovations and creative works.
He advised the students against spending their leisure times only on entertaining ventures, urging them to strive above all challenges in making their certificates practical through reading out of the scope of their discipline to aquire wider knowledge in areas of discoveries, news and current affairs updates, as well as other educative areas.
Barr Luke also stressed that it is unsafe to hope on white collar jobs as prospective graduates because the number of such jobs available far underweighs the number of graduates in the labour market, adding that the students can more guaranteed of a better future if they develop the talents in them in creative ways.
“Let me give you this as an instance. Most American Presidents don’t make money while in office. They make money speaking at conferences and other public gatherings and they get paid in hard currencies. This is a typical of example of the kind of reward you can get from developing your talents. So I urge you all to rise and make those great exploits hidden in your individual talents. Read motivational books written by great men and learn from their experiences and intellectual wealth. That is how you will upgrade in your capacity”, he also advised.
The speaker, on behalf of the state governor, welcomed students who had come into the state from far and wide to be part of the programme, while wishing them a peaceful stay in the state.
He also commended the student leaders in the state for resolving the leadership differences that existed amongst them, which he said, tore the student community into factions, while expressing hope that the resolution will further reorganise the community and get them to also come to a reconciliation in other affected leadership capacities, especially that of the worldwide body of the National Association of Akwa Ibom State Students (NAAKISS).
