Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
By Saviour Ekpe
The word, ‘Selfish’ according to Oxford Languages dictionary is described as ‘of a person, action, or motive lacking consideration for other people; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure’ but Prof. Idara Akpabio, a Professor of Physics and Geophysics, though agreed that it is seen by many in a negative dimension, proposes and qualifies it as virtuous.
Professor Akpabio made the proposition in Abak, Akwa Ibom State during the 2023 matriculation ceremony of Peace Institute of 
Management Technology (Peace Poly) recently. Speaking on the topic, ‘Knowledge Management And Self Development In A Challenging Economy’ as a guest lecturer, the former Dean, Faculty of Science, past Chairman, Committee of Deans, University of Uyo who described ‘self’ as the real person while an ‘ideal self’ as imaginary and expected success to achieve in the nearest future explained that one needs to be selfish to achieve his ideal self by adapting series of strategies to achieve the goal through personal development before thinking of helping other people. He gave an analogy of air passengers that are always told to fasten their 
safety belts in case of emergency use life jacket on themselves first before attempting to assist others who may not be able to do so.
In his recommendation, the erudite scholar introduced AI (Artificial Intelligence) to his rapt audience, “The aim of knowledge management is to foster social cohesiveness and educate individuals to become and remain effective and engaged citizens in a challenged economy. For this, advanced information infrastructure, innovation, research, and quick technological change are the main drivers of the knowledge economy. I 
introduce you to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI). You can learn the rudiments of AI on your own. There are many resources for teaching yourself Al, including YouTube videos, blogs, and free online courses. Before long, AI will be able to solve virtually ALL issues of life challenged by our economy. The basic requirement is that you have to be FULLY ICT compliant. Start by exploring ALL the facilities your cell phone has in it”. He explained the importance of AI as according to him, could be applied to solve all issues of life including Robotics, 
Healthcare, Agriculture, education, voice assistance, E-Commerce, lifestyle, social media, data security among others.
Prof. Akpabio further challenged his audience to think, act and create what he described as ‘Imitator entrepreneurship’ to add value to the society as well as create a fortune for themselves while solving the unemployment question, “Imitators are entrepreneurs who use others’ business ideas as inspiration but work to improve them. They look to make certain products and services better and more profitable. They are willing to think of new ideas and work hard, yet they start by copying others. People who are imitators have a lot of self-confidence and determination. They can learn from others’ mistakes when making their own business…Let the knowledge acquired in your period of learning be translated into wisdom and understanding for the ultimate benefit of yourself and mankind”.
The institution had a total of One hundred and seventy two matriculating students with 95 undergraduates and seventy seven students for PDGE, B.Sc/B.Ed and M.Sc. The event also feature the matriculation ceremony proper, presentation and swearing-in of the Students Union Government (SUG) executive of the institution.
Present at the epochal ceremony were among others, Prof. Udosen P. E., Rector/Head of Administration; Dr. Emmanuel Inokon, Dean of Studies; Ass. Prof. Uduak Utibe, Facilitator, PGDE NTI/Uniport Programme; Dr. Ette Emmanuel E., Facilitator, PGDE NTI/Uniport Programme; Dr. Akpan Mathew J., Facilitator, PGDE NTI/Uniport Programme; Comr. Samuel Essien, Dean, Students Affairs; Mrs. Idorenyin Udoudo, Acting Registrar; Mr. Aniekan Johnson, Deputy Registrar; Dr. Joseph Udo, Dean Post Graduate School; Mr. John Ndianabasi, Ag ICT Director and all staff and students of the institution with some of their parents. Other guests that were present at the event were the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Abak and the representative of the Commanding Officer (CO), Nigerian Army, Ibagwa, Abak.
Peace Institute of Management Technology (Peace Poly) is located at Kilometer 4, Ikot Abasi Ekparakwa, Ibagwa Road. According to the school bulletin, admission is still in progress into ND, HND, B.Sc/B.Ed, PGDE, M.Sc including NTI programme, conversion from HND to B.Sc in partnership with other Universities. Members of the public are charged to take advantage of her affiliate programmes both full time and part time to advance their academic aspirations.
