It started like a joke but became serious when the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Seriake Dickson, was appointed into the International Advisory Board of the famous Lincoln University in United States of America. In fact, many people dismissed it as a political stunt and accused the governor of junketing.
Though Dickson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the management of the ancient university, some “Thomases” still nursed doubts over the real motives behind the agreement. But it later became crystal clear that the governor’s mission to Lincoln was for the overall interest of the state
All disbeliefs were cleared on Tuesday at the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, the state capital. It was a gathering designed for the usual transparency briefing where the governor was expected to give rendition of the state’s receipts and expenditures.
But when the governor mounted the podium, he unveiled a programme that added class to the human capital development of the state and threw the audience into excitement. He announced that 20 persons had been selected through a due process to go and study in Lincoln University under a special scholarship scheme. The beneficiaries were unveiled at the hall and were given their admission letters.
For the purpose of consummating the programme, the President of the university, Prof. Robert Jennings and two other professors from the institution were present at the event.
Dickson underscored his seriousness for the programme by presenting a cheque of $1million (N150million) to Jenkins and said the funds should be managed in conjunction with the Bayelsa State Scholarship Board.
He said the funds should be utilized prudently and should be used to offset all expenses of the students. He reiterated that the money would be managed in an established fund to be operated by the university and the scholarship board. He added that the government would deposit money into the scholarship fund every year.
He said: “Understanding that the economy of the future is going to be a knowledge economy, government is investing heavily building human capacity and investing in education.
“In less than two years, we have given several PhD scholars over 140 scholarships to study at the length and breadth of this world. You are now part of others undergoing masters degree courses across the world”.
He said the government had redefined its undergraduate scholarship programme to have a direct dealing with the universities and to solve the problems of scarcity of funds. The governor was particularly happy that the female beneficiaries (11) outnumbered their male counterparts (nine)
Dickson said that political appointees and their family members were debarred from participating in the scholarship programme. He said the directive was to ensure that the scheme was not hijacked. He, however, said the programme would be redesigned in future to accommodate them.
“We are going to redefine our undergraduate scholarship programmes beginning with Lincoln. We are not going to send students to several universities in the same year. We want to select universities and then have partnership with them directly.
“That is why we have started with this and next year we are going to send another set of students to Lincoln. I have directed the scholarship board to also look for another university in the United Kingdom build this kind of relationship. We want to deal directly with the universities and deposit funds for our students”.
He recalled that the Lincoln University had trained outstanding African leaders such as the late Nnamdi Azikiwe and the Kwameh Nkrumah of Ghanah. He urged the management of the universities to turn the students into the Nkrumahs and Azikiwes of the modern time.
Addressing the students, he said: “We don’t want to hear that you have run short of money or that remittances do not come your way. I congratulate you all, and your parents.
“Know that you are going as ambassadors of your family, as ambassadors of our country and as ambassadors of our great state. We expect you to utilise opportunities available in that school and in that country to improve yourselves.
“We don’t want to hear that you are involved in things that are not wholesome. We are honorable and hard working people and we want you all to reflect these virtues in what you do.
“Go and become champions of the courses you are pursuing. When you finish your courses don’t forget your home. What we are doing is to build a foundation. The future belongs to you all.”
In fact, Jennings who could not hide his excitement, described Bayelsa State as his home and fondly called Dickson his friend and brother. He said the partnership was one of its kind and poured encomiums on the governor.
He said: “Your governor is rare. This man (Dickson) is a precious gems among gems. We have partnership in Equatorial Guinea and other countries in Africa but we have never seen a governor in any of those states who showed this uncommon zeal in education.
“It is rare for a governor to set aside this kind of money for education. We are expecting the students at their other home. We will open our hands to receive you. We are making plans to receive then because we are excited.”
Explaining the process that led to the selection of the beneficiaries, the Chairman of the state’s Scholarship Board, Mr. Foster Ogola, said 10,000 applications were sent out by the board. He said 5,763 students applied for only 16 slots initially earmarked for the scholarships.
He said to fill the slots, the board conducted examinations for all the applicants at the Samson Siasia Stadium Yenagoa. He explained that the governor later increased the slots to 20.
“It was a transparent process”, he said adding that the beneficiaries would leave for America in January 2, 2014.
One of the beneficiaries, Constance Ebeifa, who spoke on behalf of the students promised to be of good behaviour. “We promise to come back in flying colours. We won’t disappoint the state because it is a privilege to study in one of the highest institutions in the world”, she said.
The highpoint of the programme was the conferment of honorary citizenship on Jennings by the governor. Dickson said henceforth Jennings should be identified as an Ijaw man and renamed him Funtumowei meaning “he who teaches and promotes education”.
