Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has commended the Imo State governor, over the establishment of the Rochas Foundation College of Africa, which has offered scholarship to the first batch of 275 students from 55 African countries.
Osinbajo said that Africa needs determined young people who understand that the future belongs to the bold and to the intelligent.
He noted that it does not matter where one starts from, “but how committed and how determined one is”.
The Vice President made the remark when he visited the Students of Rochas Foundation College of Africa in Owerri weekend.
Adressing the students, the Vice President, said that shaking their hands and talking to them “is talking to the bright future of Africa”.
His words “It is really a special pleasure to meet you personally and to be able to shake your hands as well. Shaking your hands and talking to you is talking to the bright future of Africa and am really excited. And the reason why it is so is because what Africa needs most is committed and determined young people who understand that the future belongs to the bold and to the brain”.
He continued, “it doesn’t matter where one starts from, it doesn’t matter at all where you start from. It is how committed you are, how determined you are and how hardworking you are, that will ultimately make the difference; all of those that you see anywhere in the world especially in Africa, everyone that you see has a story. Many have stories that are similar to yours”.
He added further that, “So, there is no disadvantage. As a matter of fact, you have become very privileged because there are millions of children in Africa and other parts of the world that have not had the opportunity of education. Every one of us who is seated here, who has gone to School, represents a tiny percentage of Africans, a small percentage including yourself. That you are in the School, you represent a very special privileged class and that puts a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders.
“You cannot afford not to do well. You cannot afford not to work hard. You cannot afford to blow the opportunity. This opportunity is a great one. Every opportunity to go to School is a great opportunity and all of us who are seated here are beneficiaries of an opportunity to go to School. I want to say that I am very excited for you and I also almost feel envious of you because the future is so bright and you are going to have such a great future.
“And when I look at all of you, and I see that you are from different parts of Africa and that you are already working together, you are doing what it is that we have been trying to achieve all these many years. So in the next few years when I meet you guys, you will be the Presidents, Vice Presidents, Prime Ministers, Engineers, great Technologists, great businessmen and women, great legislators all over Africa and when that opportunity comes you must not forget me”.
Governor Rochas Okorocha in his speech, told the Vice President that, “some of them have been here about one month or two months and many of them are still coming. But what has shocked me about this whole thing here is the relationship that exists among them, not even the story of poverty because you can see the young girl who introduced the Students said meet my brother, meet my Sister”.
He also remarked that, “this is the Africa that we are talking about and those people here are the future Presidents, future governors. There is a serious competition in the class among nations which country will beat the other. The first one to three positions in the class would go to America for holidays. We have been doing this for the past seventeen years. But this is the first time we are having the Rochas Foundation College of Africa, but there are other Schools we have with over fifteen thousand students and located in different parts of this country.
“This is an attempt to bring the whole African nations under one roof. That is why we signed the MoU here with President Jacob Zuma and the understanding with President Kuffo Addo and many nations are coming. We are hoping that this might be the final tree that would provide shed for all African nations and with somebody like you who is so passionate about things like this, I know with your support we shall go far”.