Udora Orizu and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja
A retired Diplomat, Ambassador Joe Keshi has urged secondary schools in Nigeria to teach the art of public speaking and inculcate confidence in their students so that they would become qualified and quality leaders in future.Keshi who has served in many countries, including Togo, Ethiopia, Belgium, Netherlands, Namibia and others made the call as the guest of honour during a programme at Anglican Girls Grammar School in Abuja.
At the programme which was organised by the Africa Vision 525 initiative, with focus on Violence Against Women, Food Insecurity and Drug Addiction, Keshi expressed dismay over the level of public speaking by many Nigerian students.He said “It’s actually very disturbing when you see sometimes university students are protesting and you see them on television and how badly they do speak as the leaders of student union, and yet these are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow.
“He, however, encouraged the trainee speakers to focus on their studies, saying there was no guarantee that when they finish school after university, it would be a must for them to work in Nigeria.”As you go through your education, bear one thing in mind also, and I’ll end on that, there is no guarantee your generation and the global world that you live in is completely different from the one I went through.
“You might just find that the best paying job where your expertise and knowledge is needed is in Japan, and you will have to go to Japan. So keep in mind about these things that you are completely living in a different word from the word of your parents.“And that the sky You can actually aspire to the sky.
You can actually aspire to the moon if you want to but all that depends on how seriously you take the things you do in school as it’s a very interesting place. The friendships that you form today in your school last forever,” he addedOne of the trainees, Ms. Oyekwuluje Adaobi, said the group’s mindsets was that all the visions and dreams of Africa was to wake Africa, “and make it a place that we all dream of.””I have also learnt that there are lots of problems been faced in Africa. But then if we work together as one Africa, then we will be able to achieves what ever we want and build the whole continent,” she said
