If the thank you song composed by the Niger Delta graduands of Kaplan International College, Lagos, is waxed into a record, it would arguably be a hit among music lovers going by the way both young and old people who attended their graduation at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Monday danced to its rhythm.
The song reflected how the students, 160 of them drawn from the oil producing communities in Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo and Abia felt about being selected from their deprived communities to undergo a one-year foundation programme recognised by universities in the U.S and the United Kingdom.
“We thank you very much for this opportunity. We have learnt from the best. What happened to us is beyond our wildest imagination,” one of their spokespersons, Philomena Abe said. “We never imagined this could happen to us,” another of the singers said.
The programme, United States Pathway Programme (USPP) was localised for the Nigerian students by the Kaplan International Colleges, United States to enable them undergo the foundation programme in Nigeria before traveling overseas for their university education.
This week, 138 of them will be travelling to 10 universities in the U.S. to complete their degree programmes in science, management and art fields courtesy of a special scholarship from the office of the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs.
The remaining 22 of them will resume at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, in June.
The graduation was the first major forum the students had to relax after what the Principal of the school, Mr Guy Doughty, described as a highly intensive eight month session to bring them up to the standard acceptable by their schools.
He said the students (initially 180), who were accepted for the USPP with their O Levels studied further mathematics, calculus, American Studies, Chemistry, Micro Economics, Business Statistics among others during the programme and came out successful. Though 20 fell by the way side, Gary described the progression rate of 89 per cent as impressive.
“Some 180 students started the programme; 160 are progressing to the university, which is a 89 per cent progression rate. We are so fascinated that we got 100 per cent visa acceptance.
“We started late and had to play catch up. We had classes through March and April, sometimes up to 10 pm. The students had all these challenges yet came out successful. Please continue the way you have started; continue to make your families and Nigeria proud,” he said.
Given the antecedents of previous beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme said to be excelling in various countries worldwide, and the quality of tuition the 160 students would receive abroad, Senator Abdul Ningi, who chaired the occasion, appealed to the authorities of the countries to allow them return home after their studies to contribute to national development.
“You are asked to get educated so that when you come back, you are not only going to be ambassadors of the Niger Delta but of Nigeria.
“And to you Kaplan, we know that in America, wherever you see young people that are good, you call unto them. Please do not call unto these ones. They are all we have. When they finish let them come back. Train them well and we will continue to fund this programme,” he said.
Ningi also noted that the Niger Delta region is deserving of the programme, which is part of the amnesty initiative aimed at ensuring that non-militant youths in the communities that were most affected during the struggle make progress through education.
“I chaired the committee on Niger Delta crisis. I have travelled the nooks and crannies of the Niger Delta and I have seen the pollution of their farmlands and waters. They are farmers and fishermen and they can no longer do these. You do not need to be a Niger Deltan to understand the collective guilt we feel,” he said.
The senator was also full of praises for the Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, who he described as passionate about the programme. “I know without you the amnesty programme would have been politicized, bastardised,” he said.
However, he warned that the programme should seek ways to ensure that after their education, the beneficiaries are gainfully employed.
“We must find a way a way f making sure that when they come back, they get jobs. This is the next phase of the amnesty programme so that when they come back, they won’t go to the trenches,” he said.
In his speech, Kuku said he was glad the collaboration with Kaplan to localize the USPP has been highly successful. He said the initiative was created as a result of lessons from placing a previous set of 84 students and has saved the government a lot of money.
He charged the students to be focused on excelling in their various schools and make the President proud.
“You have done well and we are all proud of you. I urge you all to draw inspiration from several of your compatriots in universities in the U.S. who, though in their first and second years of studies, are already winning awards for academic excellence. Do not let your parents and your country down. Even more important, President Goodluck Jonathan, the man who has made all this possible and expects the very best from you at all times. Please do not let him down,” he said.
