Two Nollywood icons Joke Silva, actor Segun Arinze and a pilot, Enitan Dan-Faparusi have given success tips to students of the Lagos State University during the institution’s second Distinguished Lecture Series held at its Ojo campus.
The lecture was themed: “Life skills education and entrepreneurship learning in the 21st century.”
Dan-Faparusi, a law graduate of LASU and a US-trained pilot, who set the tone for the event, made the hall reverberate while displaying her LASU degree certificate in addition to the credentials she obtained as a certified aviationist from the US.
According to her, the gesture was to demonstrate that products of the institution could be much better than her, provided they could unlock and unleash their potentials.
Dan-Faparusi, who reeled out her name and matriculation no of her alma mater, admonished the students to inculcate in them virtues such as resilience, self confidence critical thinking, empathy, problem-solving ability, self confidence, time management, optimism and faith, describing them as core values for an aspiring entrepreneur.
Dan-Faparusi who confessed that she had no science background, added how her creativity and determination, saw her through while taking varying courses in aviation in the US.
“Naturally, I am not science inclined. I studies law and I was working in Nigeria. And then, my husband was to be transferred to the US to handle a project and the realisation hit me in the face that I had to give up my job here in Nigeria and travel with him. It was while I was in the Us that the idea to become an aviationist struck me.
“And then I realised I not only had to start learning basic sciences but also the rudimentary; all those little things about sciences I used to run away from when I was ins secondary school. So my children and husband became my tutors. I had to be humble enough especially when learning from my kids because oftentimes they would say ‘Mummy you are wrong’ and I would say “don’t say that; I’m your mother’.
Silva admonished the students to combine education with their divine endowments.
She noted that in this 21 century, employers are desirous of graduates who could demonstrate multiples skills in addition to what they study, adding that potential entrepreneurs also need multiple skills to have an edge in business.
“What makes you more viable as a person is not the certificate that you have, but additional skills acquired while getting the certificate,” she said.
She emboldened them not to dread future, but take advantage of the innovativeness and ICT that call the shots in this era. She warned them not to allow Nigeria’s harsh economic realities, put them off.
“Despite our economic challenges, you must all see Nigeria as a country with boundless opportunities. So the fact that you put your hands in one or two businesses but failed is not excuse not to try again. Learning is a key to success, and we cannot learn unless we fail. When you fail, you learn, then you can succeed.”
Arinze encouraged the students to be focused, open their minds to flexibility, and be ready to ask questions about grey areas.
Arinze pinpointed planning, education and skill acquisition as keys to attaining the zenith.
He said they would experience frustrations from friends and relatives as they move along the path of life; nonetheless, they must not be distracted, but be determined.
Earlier, wife of the Lagos State Governor Mrs Bolanle Ambode, herself an alumnae, warned students to stay off drugs and bad company, regardless of circumstances.
“No matter the peer pressure, emotional challenge or psychological issues you may be facing, I urge you to say no to drugs, cultism and other vices. One moment of indiscretion is enough to ruin a life; but l pray that your lives will not be ruined. I will advise you to make the best use of the knowledge gained today for your self-development tomorrow.”
She recalled her days as LASU undergraduate, , adding that the ambience then was not as good as now that the current management is fashioning a new direction for the institution.
She said the fact that many products of the school have and are still gaining global recognistion is a testimony to the realisation of the dream of the founding fathers, who had a vision of academic distinction for all students that would pass through the university.
In his brief address, the VC Fagbohun sProf Olanrewaju Fagbohun, said the mentoring came at a time Lagos State government is committed to tackling youth unemployment.
Fagbohun said CDC was established with a mandate to entrench student’s potential towards charting a career pathways and producing employable and marketable graduates for global relevance.
