Admin l Monday, August 02, 2021
LAGOS, Nigeria – Emmanuel Ukudolo delivered a speech on Hope for the future during the graduation of Christ Algate School, Ojodu. The speech prepared for Grade 6 is here reproduced for documentation.
It’s a pleasure to be given this very rare opportunity to speak on the subject, HOPE FOR THE FUTURE on this important occasion.
What is hope?
Hope is the feeling of expectation or desire we have for a particular thing to happen. It could be moving to a new environment as in your case secondary school and thereafter the university, where the molding will continue in the quest to achieve your desires, your hope to become Medical Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers and Accountants among others. So what is your hope?
Is it bright or dim? I dare say that it is bright based on the nature and quality of your exposure at Christ All Gate. You have been well grounded all round as the report we have received indicate.
Four of you graduating today have already been admitted into the best schools around, you sat for their entry exams first attempt and you came out in flying colours. Besides, you have been brought up in accordance with high morals and leadership qualities that the world desire, leaders who have human feelings, loving and caring. So, I dare say, once again that you future is indeed very bright.
As you move into your various schools, you will be making new friends but you must hold your head high with confidence that you are the best, I mean you are the very best, because you have received the best of training but you must watch out for “destroyers of hope”, because they stand the chance of dimming or making you lose out in the great hope, that great future that awaits you.
WHAT ARE THESE HOPE DESTROYERS/DIMMERS?
1) Bad friends:
A bad friend is any friend that would lead you away from your path to success. At your age, a bad friend includes somebody who smokes, drinks alcohol, a cultists, somebody who parties at the wrong time and does not like reading; somebody who likes to cheat especially during examination. Somebody who will tell you let’s go out and play, let’s go to party, let’s visit our friends, each time you pick up your books and want to read.
Make friends with brilliant people, high flyers, who will encourage you to read your books. As Proverbs 13: 20 says, “The one walking with the wise will become wise, but the one who has dealings with the stupid will fare badly”. So make friends with intelligent people and you too will become intelligent, make friends with people who read and you too will love reading.
Ask questions, when you are confused or you don’t have the solution to any particular problem. Be humble, meet with friends who have the knowledge to explain to you.
Strive to know when you don’t know, knowing that nothing is impossible with God on your side. Psalm 18:29 says: “ With Your help I can charge against a marauder band; By God’s power I can scale a wall”. So always echo this word, “With God nothing is impossible”, no question, no mathematical calculation is impossible. But you must meet those who know, learn it, calculate, calculate and calculate and you too can be a mathematician.
2) Too much play:
Play less and read more, as the adage says, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. So, read, the more you read, the closer you get to success and your quest to achieving your desires in life, your hope in the future. When it comes to video games, be very selective, stay away from violent video games and games that promote immorality and spend less time watching video games and television. This is where parents need to play active role. As parents, you may want to install software in your phone that will enable you to vet and control what your children are watching on their phones and if you decide to send them to schools with hostel facilities, then regular visits unannounced in some cases becomes inevitable.
3) The rush to do things one is not ripe for:
You must realize that there is time for everything, don’t be in a rush to do things you should not consider in school or at your age. Ecclesiastics 3: 1 says, “There is an appointed time for everything, a time for every activity under heavens”. So, there is time to read, but if you choose to play when you should be reading, what do you think will happen? You will miss out in your quest for success, all the good things you want in life. So don’t ever think about cheating in exams because cheating kills your ability to know, so that you can become an expert in what you don’t know. Cheating kills confidence which comes naturally from knowing. It kills your ability to assert yourself in your areas of responsibility now and in the future. So, give no room for cheating in your life.
4) Failure to know yourself:
Many miss out in the race to success because they do not know themselves. No two individuals are exactly the same. There are some who will pay attention in the class, read less and come out in flying colours, others may need to pay attention in class and still burn the midnight candle, that is read, read and read to come out in flying colours. So, know yourself and act wisely so that you can reach your destination, which is success.
Just like your lovely proprietress and teachers, I am confident that your hope for the future is bright because you already have what it takes to make it happen.
BEING CHAIRMAN’S OPENING SPEECH (EMMANUEL UKUDOLO) ON THE SUBJECT, HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY OF CHRIST ALGATE, HELD THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021.
